Battery Charging and Conditioning

[PDS]

Hi, I have just become the proud owner of a 2010 XKR 5.0 Convertible and as winter is quickly approaching the car will have limited use. 

With this I need some advice on:

1. Where to connect the battery charger/conditioner - either hard wired directly onto the battery terminals with the cable protruding out the cover into the boot to plug in or onto the jump points behind the louver panel on the left hand side of the boot.

2. Is the attached equipment adequate to plug in as a battery charger/conditioner?

Thanks 

[Jimbov8]

47 minutes ago, PDS said:

Hi, I have just become the proud owner of a 2010 XKR 5.0 Convertible and as winter is quickly approaching the car will have limited use. 

With this I need some advice on:

1. Where to connect the battery charger/conditioner - either hard wired directly onto the battery terminals with the cable protruding out the cover into the boot to plug in or onto the jump points behind the louver panel on the left hand side of the boot.

2. Is the attached equipment adequate to plug in as a battery charger/conditioner?

Thanks 

Hi Paul,

Do not fit your charger direct to the battery as you will bypass the battery monitoring system (BMS). The negative of your charger should go to a suitable ground point. Here is my, Jaguar recommended installation;

and what it looks like with the trim in place:

The charger you have will be fine.👍

[PDS]

Thanks Jim, that's the best advise and illustration I have had so far, much appreciated. 

[Spyderromeo]

6 hours ago, Jimbov8 said:

Hi Paul,

Do not fit your charger direct to the battery as you will bypass the battery monitoring system (BMS). The negative of your charger should go to a suitable ground point. Here is my, Jaguar recommended installation;

and what it looks like with the trim in place:

The charger you have will be fine.👍

Hi Paul

I am told that there is an easier solution, I have just acquired a XKR 4.2 supercharged convertible and when I  bought it, the seller explained to me how to do the charging/conditioning with connection in the louvre covered panel just behind the rear lights on the left hand side of the boot.

If this comment works some clever feller will answer it and I won't have to ring my seller and say I can't remember how to do it. I will keep looking and if you don't get a reply, I will ring my man up and eat a bit of humble pie. I will then tell you how you can do it slightly easier than Jim has proposed.

Jim seems to be on the ball, but I think the photos were of a coupe not a convertible.

 

Jim but Spiderromeo also

[JOE-DOT-COM]

HI

Make sure you put a inline fuse on the positive lead, as close to the battery as possible

if it get trapped for any reason, it will pop the fuse, otherwise it will catch fire

these leads should be supplied with a inline fuse

Ive used CTEK smart chargers for years and can be left on long term, anything above 3amp ideally, CTEK is what all the manuafacters use, Jaguar, Aston, BMW, Porsche, Rolls Royce. I use the Jaguar CTEK in mine, as it comes with a dedicated socket for the boot, so you just plug it in without the need to move anything.

Also the Jaguar CTEK is fully automatic, just plug in and go, no buttons to press, if you get a power cut, it just starts again , no need to go back in and press any buttons.

cheers

Joe

[N6 JMX]

Hi Paul, welcome to the wonderful world of XKR motoring, I hope you have many happy, top down miles.

The answers above are good, but my recommendation is to use the charger connected as follows:

Lift the boot floor and you will see an earth connection - looks like a threaded screw coming up from the boot floor - down on the left hand side as you look forward. Ensure you remove the paint to get a proper connection to earth / ground, fit the black clip.

Remove the vent louvre on the left hand side panel of the boot as you look forward and, with a torch, check inside and down for the battery remote positive cable, which should have its termination covered with a rubber boot. Slide the rubber boot forward, off the terminal and you will fit the red clip here.

Ensure your charger / conditioner is on the 12V setting. and switch on. There is plenty enough "give" in the boot edge seal so that the charger itself remains outside the car, with the charging leads passing over the seal with the boot lid closed.

As an aside, the usual 2 x battery conditioner's used by enthusiasts are:

The CTEK MXS 5 or the Ring Automotive RA-RSC 612, both of which are suitable for 5.0 litre engines like yours. My preference is the Ring Automotive, because its LCD screen provides ongoing information on the state of your battery and it has more features. Plus the Ring Automotive unit can be switched to cater for AGM batteries - as used in Stop - Start engine systems.

Please note, the battery in your car should be considered as a "Consumable" and you should be looking to change / replace when it gets to 5 years old. The car is extremely sensitive to battery condition, with a failing battery able to throw up numerous random / false dash light and messages. The battery's ability to start the car is no longer the best pointer to its condition.

Enjoy.

N6 JMX

[Jimbov8]

22 hours ago, PDS said:

Thanks Jim, that's the best advise and illustration I have had so far, much appreciated. 

You’re very welcome Paul.👍