Charging battery

[bertie1249]

Well today I'm the official owner of a s-type manual 3.0 sport and I'm really pleased with the car, only 17,000 and I must say she is in lovely condition.

She won't be used now until the new year so I intend to Trickle charge the battery over this period.

On a previous car I had the battery was also in the boot but had the facility to connect the charger under the bonnet, to relevant connectors.

Is this the same with the s-type and where are the connectors or do I connect it directly to the battery in the boot?

Should I also disconnect the battery to the car or is it safe to leave it where it is and connect the charger directly.

Thanks everyone and looking forward to learning from this forum.

Rgds

Phil

[thathawk400]

Hi the battery is near the spear wheel you can connect your charger directly to the battery terminals I have a cetek charger pemantly connected to my battery as my car is not a daily driver lift up the spare wheel cover and you will see the battery hope that helps

[V6Leaper]

Hi Phil, well done on the S type - with only 17,000 miles!  That's fantastic and will serve you well. 

I am not an expert on car mechanics but have always taken an interest.  It might be that the computer only has a certain amount of back up battery (built into the circuit) thereby possibly, after a certain time losing memory settings that you would need to reset when you reinstall the battery. If that was just your vehicles personal settings and the time I wouldn't mind removing the battery.  However, if this involved settings for fuel flow and other critical vehicle settings I would be cautious.  It is for this reason that I think best to wait for someone who has good knowledge rather than relying on my best guess before taking it off!  As long as there is indeed no complications as I have just mentioned, If I were to not use my car for a while I would definitely consider bringing the battery indoors to a dry garage or shed etc to trickle charge.  The low temperatures of winter reduces a massive amount of power from our batteries (as I found out yesterday when mine suddenly packed up with no prior fault)!  I'm not certain but I think I read ages ago that 3 degrees centigrade and less, will drain the battery by 30% (the "less" gradually gets worse.  On a sliding scale, I cannot remember but might have been as high as 50% or 60% power loss! 

Sounds a good idea to install a trickle charge plug somewhere convenient so that you can remove and connect easily every time you use it.

[bertie1249]

Thanks for your replies. Will leave the battery in the car for now and connect up to my charger. Just in case I mess something up if I remove it.

To her credit, the previous keeper has really looked after her. For a 10 year old car it looks as if she's just come out of the showroom. 

Cheers,

Phil

[JOE-DOT-COM]

Hi Phil

Ctek do some good car battery chargers

I have a Jaguar one, its a ctek one, with a Jaguar logo on it

the Jaguar kit comes with a socket you mount inside the boot and connect to the battery, through a fuse

if you connecting direct to the battery, just make sure it still has its vent tube fitted, it a tube from the battery that goes into the tyrewell and out the back panel, when you charge batteries you get a explosive gas, it should vent out the back panel, behind the bumper, just check its still there, as some people forget to put them back if they have had the battery out.

it ok to charge the battery with it still connected, make sure it a smart charger, not just a continuous charger, as it will just boil it dry

cheers

Joe

[bertie1249]

Cheers Joe, mine is also a Ctek charger. I used it on my previous BMW and had to put the setting on AGM if I can remember correctly.

I guess the jag is not an AGM battery not sure but if it's not I'll have to change the settings.

Thanks for letting me know about the battery vent tube. Didn't know about it so I'll check if it's there

Cheers,

Phil

[Old Peter]

Hi Phil, 

Wise words from Joe as always.  I have found that on some cold mornings I get the "Parkbrake Fault" notice appearing, which I cured by disconnecting the battery for a short time, and then resetting everything.

I seem to have cured it by putting my battery on charge on a weekly basis as I don't do many long runs in the winter.  I leave the battery connected while I charge it and did know about the vent tube  ----    it is always useful to check it though.

My charger switches off when the battery is fully charged.

Regards,

Peter.

[Raistlin]

My solution is the same as Joe's, This LINK takes you to my own solution to the S-Type battery problem. It also links to show you what the C-Tek charging point looks like in my car

[bertie1249]

Thanks Peter, will make sure battery is topped up :)

Cheers Paul, thanks for the link, liked where you've placed the ctek indicator, will have to invest in one of them as it's easier than faffing around to get at the battery and connecting crocodile clips.

Only thing I'll have to watch is that my car is parked in the open, used to leave it overnight with the old car but will have to watch with this one to make sure no water gets in boot.

I have a ctek mxs10 and on my previous car I had to use the setting AGM.

What setting does it need to be on for the jag

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Raistlin]

Depends upon which battery you have Phil.

[bertie1249]

I've found it it's a Bosch S5 013 100Ah

and it should be on the normal setting programme. 

[Raistlin]

Sounds about right Phil.

Absorbent glass mat (AGM) batteries would be clearly identified.

[Chris welch]

Hi all, about to charge my battery on my S type 3litre sport ( due to non use on lockdown) what would be the best charger to buy. And I take it the battery could be left in situ.

REGARDS TO ALL

CHRIS

[Old Peter]

Welcome to the club, Chris.  

The short answer is  that the battery can stay in situ.

The best charger to get is the Cetek, which can get connected to the battery and remain in the boot.  I am very satisfied with mine and in this period of lockdown when my car is hardly used if charge the battery every week.  I have a socket outside the garage and it makes things very easy 

Regards,

Peter.

[Chris welch]

Thanks Old Peter for your prompt reply. Much appreciated 

Regards again Chris