Purring cat

Hi all,

Boy, is my face red! My cat is purring contentedly, now that it has been fed a good dose of
DC amperes. After all my fooling around, Hugh Rainge suggested I really should charge the
Battery. I have never owned a charger. I bought one today. After about one and one half hours
on the charger, it started fine.

I guess I just discharged the battery by leaving the doors open while I ripped out the radar
detector. I never knew a vehicle that just didn’t start, because of low battery. Apparently the
microprocssor just says, “Hey, low voltage, don’t connect to the starter solenoid.”

Oh, well, all’s well that ends well. Now, I have to go out and put back ashtray, ski slope,
center console, driver side knee bolster, etc. It has been a good learning experience. I now
know where a lot of stuff is.

Wouldn’t you think an electrical engineer would know better?

Mucho thanks to Hugh and all who offered suggestions.

Don Keirstead
'91 XJ40 Sov 4.0L & purring
Chelmsford, Mass. USA

Don

Did you not get a warning sound when you tried to start it.
I ran down my battery a few weeks back by leaving the interior lights on,
When I turned the key all I got was this buzzing sound, took me a while to
figure what it was trying to tell me.

Vince, 89XJ40

Don

Did you not get a warning sound when you tried to start it.
I ran down my battery a few weeks back by leaving the interior lights on,
When I turned the key all I got was this buzzing sound, took me a while to
figure what it was trying to tell me.

Vince, 89XJ40

Vince,

Nope, no buzzing, no warning, just no start. Everything else seemed to work, but I later had no
headlights. High beam headlights flashed when I pulled up the directional lever. Relays seemed
to pull in. Very strange experience, but now I’ll know. Hugh Rainge says I better buy a battery.
I’ll probably do that Friday.

Don KeirsteadOn 05/27/98 13:14:37 you wrote:

Don wrote:

I guess I just discharged the battery by leaving the doors open while I
ripped out >the radar detector.

I should have thought of this - because the same thing happened to me 3 or
4 years ago when I got my first XJ40. I had the doors open for a few hours
while working inside the car, and the battery, which was near the end of
its life, didn’t have enough charge left to start the engine. It did turn
over a couple of times before giving up, so I knew it was the battery and
not something I had done to the wiring.

When a door is open, not only do the interior lights come (roof, headrests,
puddle lamps, boot) on but some relays are also energised to power the
electric seats. It must have added up to a few amps. Has anyone measured
the battery drain with a door open? This was on a 1988 model.

Steve
1990 XJ40 2.9 with a good battery

Don wrote:

I guess I just discharged the battery by leaving the doors open while I
ripped out >the radar detector.

I should have thought of this - because the same thing happened to me 3 or
4 years ago when I got my first XJ40. I had the doors open for a few hours
while working inside the car, and the battery, which was near the end of
its life, didn’t have enough charge left to start the engine. It did turn
over a couple of times before giving up, so I knew it was the battery and
not something I had done to the wiring.

When a door is open, not only do the interior lights come (roof, headrests,
puddle lamps, boot) on but some relays are also energised to power the
electric seats. It must have added up to a few amps. Has anyone measured
the battery drain with a door open? This was on a 1988 model.

Steve
1990 XJ40 2.9 with a good battery

Steve,

I readily admit I should have suspected battery, but my interior lights are on a timer, except
for the door light. I never thought of the relays. There was no attempt to start. The starter
solenoid didn’t pull in, even. Battery voltage was 12.5. Watching the voltage while I turned
the key to “start” didn’t even get a flicker. Hugh and I tried jump starting the Jag from my
Ford Ranger. Nothing happened, but we didn’t leave it connected long enough.

Live and learn!

Don Keirstead
'91 XJ40 Sov that will soon have a new batteryOn 05/28/98 08:43:30 you wrote: