Charging XF Battery

[tonycordon]

My owners' manual says that the battery of my '13 XF 3.0 S Sportbrake should be disconnected in order to charge it.
Is this really necessary? The car will not be used for about 6 weeks whilst I recover from a shoulder joint replacement, so my intention was/is to connect my Cetek 'intelligent' charger to keep it topped up.
Do I really have to disconnect, or is that just for (maybe high current) conventional chargers?

[WyrleyD]

I used to use CTEK charger/conditioner on my XF that used to be parked up for long periods. My charger was hard wired to the battery with the positive attached to a spare nut on the battery positive terminal and the negative bolted to the bodywork in the boot. Never had a problem doing it that way.

[Equus]

I have exactly the same model.

I killed the alternator a few weeks ago, after a weekend driving through heavy flooding in Wales. The AA used boost-charging with the battery in place, several times, to get me home, and once there I recharged the battery from pretty much dead flat with a decent quality 12 amp 'intelligent'; charger, again in situ, with no issues.

I suspect that the advice in the owner's manual is precautionary.

[blueacid]

Late reply, but I've also charged it in-situ, wired in with a ctek. No problem!

[a8hex]

If you read the handbook then you'd never take it out of the garage. Just about everything beyond filling up the tank is accompanied by a warning that "this should only be attempted by a qualified Jaguar technician" I though half the manual had been written by an intern in the their legal department trying to show off. I used to have an XK150 and the owners manual for that was a fraction of the size as the one for the X150, and told you how to do things like stripdown the cylinder head
Still
I discussed this with the guys I bought XKR from and they laughed and said almost all the cars in the show room were regularly connected to a such a gadget since the engines weren't running but people were forever moving the seats and playing with other bits of the electrics, so they need charging.

[Simpo Two]

a8hex said:

I discussed this with the guys I bought XKR from and they laughed and said almost all the cars in the show room were regularly connected to a such a gadget since the engines weren't running but people were forever moving the seats and playing with other bits of the electrics, so they need charging.

Yep, I once foolishly bought an XF and before I'd finished going through the menus the low battery warning light was on. It's called 'progress' apparently.

[fatboy b]

Simpo Two said:

a8hex said:

I discussed this with the guys I bought XKR from and they laughed and said almost all the cars in the show room were regularly connected to a such a gadget since the engines weren't running but people were forever moving the seats and playing with other bits of the electrics, so they need charging.

Yep, I once foolishly bought an XF and before I'd finished going through the menus the low battery warning light was on. It's called 'progress' apparently.

I’m on my third XF. The only problem I’ve had with a battery not charging is when a terminal came loose. You have a lot of history and negativity about the XF. I still think it’s a gem of a car with an amazing chassis. Old fogeys like you won’t like the car’s firmer (than a 70s XJ) ride. But I guess those people will be off the road soon when they can’t renew their licenses.

[Simpo Two]

fatboy b said:

I’m on my third XF.

The picnic shelf on the back looks handy for picnics. Good choice

[fatboy b]

Simpo Two said:

fatboy b said:

I’m on my third XF.

The picnic shelf on the back looks handy for picnics. Good choice

I prefer ironing on it.