Just acquired my 2000 XK8. Love it, but...

If it sits for two or three days, it needs to be jumped to start.

Item. The battery was new, when I bought the car in Dec.

Item. Have had the Jag dealer and one other reputable garage check the battery and electrical system. Neither found anything amiss.

Item. My driving is around town so although I drive often, it is one to five miles at a time. I'm OK if I drive everyday, but let a couple of days pass and it doesn't have the juice to start.

Question: Is this normal? If not, does anyone have any ideas?

Submitted by vineyardman68@… on Fri, 06/10/2011 - 00:42

Edited on 2011-06-10 15:11:16

I agree with Phillip. The only reason a cars battery will run down like yours is if somthing is amiss------as with something continuing to burn current. A light bulb noy turning off, or a short of some sort. Davids post above is just a band aid and should also be looked into. Little things can and will lead to major things and when it comes to electrical problems, that could end up being bad..................

By the way----great picture and "I love this car" is written all over your face........

Chuck
05/XJ8L

Submitted by NE48-24099 on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 18:40

Ben, something is wrong in this picture. The battery should not go down in in a few days or even a month.This does not happen with any other cars or any other Jaguar. Please do 2 things for me. 1) after the car has had a run, check the voltage of the battery. With a digital meter it should read about 12.50 volts. 2) Disconnect the positive battery post and place an ammeter through the circuit. My guess is that you should read between 40 and 100 milliamps. Let me know how you make out.

Submitted by dgbelanger@att.net on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 20:30

Ben -

I have a 2003 XK8 coupe and found the battery went dead while I was away on a two week trip. The service advisor said there are abount 30 computers that want to be fed even when the car is not running.

I solved the problem by getting a Deltran 2 bank battery tender and it has been connected whenever the car is parked. Cost is around $40-60; less than a new battery.

Something else to check - and this may vary with your dealer. Jaguar's manual says that the battery electrolyte should be check at every service but the dealer tells me that they no longer do this. After the first (and only) failure I discovered that the tops of the plates were all visible and I added quite a bit of distilled water. I check it regularly now.

Harbor Freight also sells a "Float Charger" that periodically goes on sale for $4.99. I have two on cars (not Jags) that aren't driven very much and have used them for a year or more without any problems.

Dave Belanger
Houston, Tx