Car won't start. Dead battery

Asked by Guru95GYR Jun 10, 2017 at 02:37 PM about the 2002 Jaguar XK-Series XK8 Coupe RWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

The car won't start. It is dead. Want to check battery.

2 Answers

35

How long has it been since you have driven it more that 5-10 minutes? Mine is a daily driver, so noo problem! But, before I got it my mother in law complained a lot about this. She didn't drive it much, and so when she did, she often had to get the battery charged first. These cars, as you may have noticed, carry a lot of on-board electronics: all the sensors and fly-by-wire components can take down the charge on a good battery in a couple of weeks... If the battery is starting to get tired - age, repeated charge-down incidents, or extended exposure to cold temps can all contribute! My best advice if the problem is the battery , and you have gone to a parts house or somewhere and had it checked and /or replaced, is to pick up a "battery tender" whike you are there. If you can hook up a car for a jump start, you can install a battery tender! After you hook on the leads, you can run the connectors supplied outside the trunk (in XK8) so that after driving each time, it's easy to reattach the tender. When you have it hooked up and you use it...the battery will always be on full charge, and you'll be ready to roll! I learned this from a motorcycle guy, who had a problem with his big twin's battery, especially in winter with less riding. They work on anything with a battery; ,lawn mowers, tractors, off - road vehicles and motorcycles. My favority is the original, by Deltran. Now, there are quite a few other brand available, including one at Harbor Frieght for $10-12 bucks. The Deltrans is running around $35 now, for a basic unit for one battery. You can find units made for 2, 3, or more vehicles at once. It's a must have for Sunday Drivers, good luck & happy driving!

2 people found this helpful.
15,715

Harbor Freight has a new version of their Battery Tender. It is usually $20 on sale. It is far superior to the $6.00 version. I have six classics plus a yard tractor and riding mower. I have put this unit on all of them and they always start. One note: don't hook them up unless the battery has a full charge or it puts too much of a strain on the tender to try to charge it. They are only meant to retain a charge.

1 people found this helpful.

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