Battery Advice

[GordonJ]

Hi all,
looking to pick someones brains here, from those with more experience than me. This week the car would not start, battery low 11.4 Volts so I have decided to invest in a smart charger. Having two cars and the caravan, and with the wife getting her own car soon I thought of investing in the Ctek charger. The three I am looking at are the Ctek MXS 5.00
7.00
10.00
Anyone any thoughts, all advice gratefully received.

Gordon

[robv12]

I use the C Tek chargers as available through the club shop

http://www.jec.org.uk/shop/127/ctex-batery-charger.html

tbh without going and looking I couldnt say which models I have but they are on my 350 and 40's and always do the job

BUT, if you have a battery that is not 100% a 308 will play silly devils and give you all sorts of funny electrical conditions

I suggest a replacement battery if in ANY doubt about the condition of the one you have fitted at the moment

[Brakebuster]

Gordon

if memory serves, the battery is less than a year old, and a genuine Jag one , so its probably all the winter driving

as mentioned, they suffer from not being regularly used and fully charged ,

any good brand smart charger would be fine, even better if it comes with a bolt on terminal tail set, then you simply plug it in

hope everything else is ok ?
cheerz

BB

[GordonJ]

Thanks for that Rob, never thought of looking at the club shop.

Gordon

[GordonJ]

Vince,
the battery had only dropped to 11.4V so I had guessed after reading a lot of the posts on here that it was only the standing idle in the cold garage that had dropped the voltage, although only slightly. That was enough to bring up the fault codes and prevent the car from starting. Even the jeep after standing two days had dropped to 12.1V. A jump from the jeep and it powered into life no problem. A good run up to LB airport and back to pick the wife up has sorted that out. Looking at the battery and the cleanliness of the terminals and general area had me thinking that the battery was not that old. Was going to give you a ring at the weekend just to ask that very question. Thanks.
I feel a smart charger might be a good investment though given the amount of batteries (4)here.

Gordon

[J44EAG]

11.4 volts is a partially discharged battery.

Our Jags must have at least 12 volts to fire the electronic module switch packs. If that voltage is not available, the car will not start. Been through this more times than I can remember.

A stable voltage platform is essential. At this time of year depressed temperatures really find out if a battery is any good.

My own car often gets used for short journeys. Headlights on, blower going full blast and heated rear window on. Used like that, I know that potentially I shall have a non start situation develop. At the first sign of a slow engine crank, then I take the car for a half hour run.

Just walked back from town to find a local club member with a flat battery on his S-type. This is a common occurrence for him. As usual, boot open and a mains lead and charger in action. Being a local chandler here, each time he gets a duff battery, he grabs a leisure battery from his stock and bangs it on the car. I`ve been guilty of that myself in the past. That type of battery just cannot handle the demands of modern electronics. A decent battery of the right construction is the only way to go forward.

Dropping back to short journeys, these are real killers for batteries. Cars with only small mileages accumulating seem to suffer almost permanent battery failure. The use of a switch mode C-tec type electronic mains charger will help enormously for vehicles used for short haul work. I had such a unit fitted to an old Rover 825 at one time. That car would drain its battery if left only for a few days. The C-tec kept the problem under control.

I install batteries and chargers on boats regularly. I use the switch mode Sterling International range of chargers out of habit and because I`ve never had a failure with those products. The recommendation is that the charger have a charge rate of 10% of battery capacity. ie 10amp charger for a 100ah battery. In practice, I run my own boat battery set up at 5% of total battery capacity. That seems adequate even for my needs as a frequent live aboard owner. I`m not a heavy current user on a day to day basis so 5% does the job.

Ideally at least 12.8 volts at the terminals is what I`m looking for on any 12 volt situation that I encounter. That is good enough for me, my boats and my Jag.

Hope that helps.

Mike K

[GordonJ]

Thanks Mike,
all good advice from someone who has dealt with lots of battery problems. I think it's a problem that someone will always need advice about. Luckily battery maintainance was part of my job in Germany with the army and having a litle knowledge of batteries and having read all the posts on the BB's I had guessed that infrequent running and the cold (even in the garage) were taking their toll. I knew from the posts on here that I needed 12V and having only 11.4V I knew right away that the car would not want to start. Unlike lots of other people I know not to keep trying to start the car, instead straight away I took a boost from my jeep. No problem straight into life. A good run up to leeds airport and back has done the trick.
Today now that my garden has been made ready I am going to bring my caravan here instead of leaving it in storage any longer, with this in mind that is why I asked for any recomendations on battery charging and maintainance kits. I will have four batteries here so I thought a good investment all things considered.
Once again thanks for your comments, every little helps from people who know through experience.

Gordon.
PS. I will be looking for a flag pole soon

[Brakebuster]

Vince,
the battery had only dropped to 11.4V so I had guessed after reading a lot of the posts on here that it was only the standing idle in the cold garage that had dropped the voltage, although only slightly. That was enough to bring up the fault codes and prevent the car from starting. Even the jeep after standing two days had dropped to 12.1V. A jump from the jeep and it powered into life no problem. A good run up to LB airport and back to pick the wife up has sorted that out. Looking at the battery and the cleanliness of the terminals and general area had me thinking that the battery was not that old. Was going to give you a ring at the weekend just to ask that very question. Thanks.
I feel a smart charger might be a good investment though given the amount of batteries (4)here.

Gordon

cool

another thing you may have noticed is the radio code written on the battery hold down strap , and module cover, so its never lost......


BB

[csholmes]

I too keep my X308 (2001 4.0L LWB, VIN F39932) garaged all winter, and thought that an occasional charge from my standard charger, e.g. every couple of months, would be sufficient. Not so. I will take the advice offered above and get a smart charger, but I have a more immediate problem. The battery now seems unable to hold its charge more than a couple of hours, and I must replace it. But the Jaguar expert sites seem to offer two batteries, without being clear which one is correct for this model. Jaguar Classic Parts clearly shows LNC1250AA for this VIN. The XJK site says C2D22312, but also shows LNC1250AA as correct.
Other recommended options for this model, from a supplier with a good reputation and offering value and immediate delivery are:
https://www.tayna.co.uk/096-Enduroline- ... P8383.html,
https://www.tayna.co.uk/017-Enduroline- ... P8382.html
https://www.tayna.co.uk/019-Enduroline- ... P8385.html
Once again, clarity seems in short supply. How does one judge which battery will be compatible with the car's system, and which will not?
Yours urgently,
Chris

[J44EAG]

Hello Chris.

069,017 and 019 batteries are commonly found on a Jaguar. Typically an 019 is usually rated at a 90Ah storage capacity.

Firstly, see if your fitted battery has any of those three numbers on its fitted printed spec plate. If it shows any of the above numbers plus its Ah rating, then you know what you will be wanting to replace it with.

Note this well. A Jaguar is fitted with a premium grade battery when new. A few years later a current owner will perhaps have fitted a cheapo Halfords type battery. Take it from me, budget batteries lack voltage stability and often fail early in life. In my opinion, they can often be a complete waste of money.

Jags perform best with premium batteries such as the Varta Blue and Bosch Silver ranges. Often you will find that the Varta will sell a 100Ah capacity battery in a standard 90Ah 019 sized case. Well worth getting one. Costs are a twenty to thirty pounds greater for the premium batteries with "silver technology" and with that you get a longer life battery and significantly improved stability. Worth every penny in my opinion.

PTJS1 has bought batteries from Tanya without issue.

If you are in doubt about fitment details, always ring the supplier and get them to check. They would prefer you to do this rather than have the hassle of having to deal with an incorrect order.

Mike K

[csholmes]

Many thanks for your helpful response Mike. I immediately went to find the printed spec plate as you instructed, but can't see it anywhere in the area of the battery. Where do I find it?
Best wishes,
Chris

[csholmes]

Sorry my mistake - you said the plate on the battery, not the car. The battery label says 12V 90AH, RC150 Mins, 800A (SAE), 4R83-10655-CA, and the battery is stamped with H3C109242 0861 586330, but there is no sign of the key numbers you mentioned 096, 017, or 019. The battery is not the original anyway, so might not be a reliable guide. I think that's why I hoped for an independent plate to remove all doubt. I notice that a search for 096 leads to this interesting selection:
http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/batter ... 1997-2002/
Of these, the Bosch Silver claims to meet the original manufacturer's specification.

[J44EAG]

90Ah is really the least capacity that should be installed. 70Ah is too small for winter use in my opinion. 100Ah just puts the icing on the cake. You can never have enough capacity.

Mike

[Brakebuster]

you should also consider Yuasa brand batteries, they are actually the company that make the batteries for Bosch l......and have been around for 100 years..

again , the battery size code and cold cranking capacity must be of the highest available for jaguars


i run their ' 5000 ' range in my cars,,,



BB

[csholmes]

Thanks Mike and BB.
Based on your advice to go for the higher capacity, I narrowed it down to:
1. Jaguar 90 'AMP' - C2D22312 from XJK £138.00 + postage (£7 for 2-3 days)
2. Tayna SMF YBX3019 12V 95Ah 850A £146.95 + postage
3. Yuasa 017 Enduroline 95Ah 840CCA £ 63.95 + postage (£9.24 for next day)
I chose the 3rd option based on specification, guarantee (4 years), price, reviews, and next day delivery.
With what I will save I will buy a CTEK MXS 5.0 intelligent charger, or possibly the 'test and charge' model, especially if forum members can recommend it.
I now await delivery. Meanwhile, thank you gentlemen for such valuable guidance.
Best wishes,
Chris