1996 Jaguar XJS Repair Question
Asked on October 23, 2011
Do I need to reset the alarm system after reinstalling a battery, or did I mess up the electrical system?
I had a dead battery on an 1996 Jaguar XJS. I took the battery out to charge. Upon reconnecting the battery after charging I accidentally put the positive wire on the negative terminal of the battery, but noticed the mistake and did not connect the negative wire to the positive battery terminal. Now that I have the battery connected correctly, when I attempt to start it, the car begins to turn over then makes clicking noises, begins to turn over, then clicking noises again and continues back and forth with this without fully starting. I am not sure if this model has a fusible link that I may have blown due to the misconnection of the battery, or if this is part of the anti-theft system that may need to be reset since the battery was fully disconnected. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The battery reads 12.5 to 13.25 volts when tested unconnected.
Asked by jchathaway848Answer
Replied on October 29, 2011
It sounds like a weak battery. Have a helper try to start the engine while you check for battery power drop. Simply use your volt meter on the battery the same as you did when you checked it for output. If the voltage drops below 9.6 volts when cranking, either the battery still needs charged or it is shot.
Replied on October 30, 2011
Problem solved..
I had to lock and then unlock the car manually via the door lock and key to reset the anti-theft system.