Battery voltage too low for Topix / SDD

[miniman]

(X150 XK)

Trying to code in aux audio module - no matter what I do SDD / Topix complains battery voltage is too low (reading between 11.6 and 12.5). Have had it on charge (charger reads 12.7) and tried it whilst hooked up to my (running) Discovery - not having it.

Battery on its last legs?

[reddiesel]

12.5V is the minimum required as far as I remember so I tend to agree that possibly yours is on the way out . I would try and swap with a known good one before I went throwing money around .

Edited by reddiesel on Saturday 27th November 20:08

[8bit]

SDD is picky about this for safety reasons. If you're reflashing a module in the car and your battery level drops too low then the flashing process could be interrupted and you'd be left with a corrupt module. What type of charger have you got? It really should be a 25A minimum (50A preferred), so that it can supply enough power to run the whole car without the engine having to be running. Sticking your CTek 5A trickle feeder on it just won't cut the mustard.

[miniman]

8bit said:

SDD is picky about this for safety reasons. If you're reflashing a module in the car and your battery level drops too low then the flashing process could be interrupted and you'd be left with a corrupt module. What type of charger have you got? It really should be a 25A minimum (50A preferred), so that it can supply enough power to run the whole car without the engine having to be running. Sticking your CTek 5A trickle feeder on it just won't cut the mustard.

Yeah I don't have a charger that kind of power sadly.

[8bit]

miniman said:

8bit said:

SDD is picky about this for safety reasons. If you're reflashing a module in the car and your battery level drops too low then the flashing process could be interrupted and you'd be left with a corrupt module. What type of charger have you got? It really should be a 25A minimum (50A preferred), so that it can supply enough power to run the whole car without the engine having to be running. Sticking your CTek 5A trickle feeder on it just won't cut the mustard.

Yeah I don't have a charger that kind of power sadly.

So if you plan to do any module reflashing then do yourself a favour and get one. I tried to reflash a module to resolve an issue on my first XKR without any additional power source and ended up immobilising the car, having corrupted the CJB module. I had to get someone with the proper kit to resurrect it, luckily it was possible to save it without having to remove the module. For stuff like reading/clearing fault codes, doing window/seat calibration, parking brake service mode etc. that's not as risky but having first-hand experience of what can go wrong I strongly recommend you get something more robust if you think you might need it. I got a Draper 12V/24V 25A one (model 53951) for £100 from a seller on eBay, it was a new one, not used. That seems to work well.

[lexusboy]

12.6v is the lowest SDD will let you carry on with programming modules

[8bit]

lexusboy said:

12.6v is the lowest SDD will let you carry on with programming modules

Yes - but if the battery isn't in great shape and the voltage drops too much more than that during flashing you can end up in big trouble.

[miniman]

So I’ve got a big charger now (Clarke BC190) - 38A trickle I’m hoping will be fine but can it be set to boost mode or is that only for flat batteries?

[Dave211]

A battery charger is no good at all. The SDD is telling you the voltage isn’t enough to run the programming.
You need something like a cTek PRO25S a stable power supply.

[Winco]

I do my own SDD programming on my 2013 XF Sportbrake and I use something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B072J97N8T/ref...

This one has an adjustment for the output voltage so you can set it to 13.6V or so. Some power supplies are 12V and 12V only with no adjustment and so are no good.

I have a permanent fused tail connected to the major terminals on the rear fusebox terminated in an Anderson connector. Normally hidden away behind trim, it is easy to pop out. The power supply has a matching Anderson connector.

I use a voltmeter and a current clamp meter so I know exactly what is going on. The car will easy pull 25-30A with the ignition on.

Just be careful with the exposed mains connections on the power supply.

I think the official Jaguar name for this is Battery Support Unit or similar.

Edited by Winco on Thursday 3rd February 21:43

Edited by Winco on Thursday 3rd February 21:44

[miniman]

So do you disconnect the battery and then hook it up, or leave the battery connected?

The latest blocker for me is when running the ACM enable function, SDD wants to download updates / extra files and can’t. Gah.

[Winco]

Leave the battery connected.

[Winco]

miniman said:

The latest blocker for me is when running the ACM enable function, SDD wants to download updates / extra files and can’t. Gah.

Do you get the option of downloading the updates onto a USB?

[8bit]

miniman said:

The latest blocker for me is when running the ACM enable function, SDD wants to download updates / extra files and can’t. Gah.

What version of SDD are you using? v131.03 was the last before it had to be able to reach the Jaguar TOPIX service on the internet (which requires a paid subscription) I believe.

[Winco]

SDD V160.004 on Win7 32bit

and free. let me find more info.

[Winco]

https://www.jaginfo.org/threads/sdd-v160.113802/#p...

[miniman]

Winco said:

miniman said:

The latest blocker for me is when running the ACM enable function, SDD wants to download updates / extra files and can’t. Gah.

Do you get the option of downloading the updates onto a USB?

Looks like it but not sure where from.

[8bit]

Winco said:

SDD V160.004 on Win7 32bit

and free. let me find more info.

My question was for the OP, as he reported the updates issue

[miniman]

8bit said:

Winco said:

SDD V160.004 on Win7 32bit

and free. let me find more info.

My question was for the OP, as he reported the updates issue

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