Sup /o/
With Canadian winter literally pissing over my shoulder right now, my car is having trouble cranking in the morning.
Basically, the headlights go dim with each crank, and it cranks VERY slowly--but it never fails to turn over. This only happens when the car has cooled down--it hasn't become very cold at all yet, and that's what worries me. I've had difficulty with slow cranking when it was 10C (50F) out. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's coincidental that it's happening now, but I know it'll only get worse.
Each crank will be separated by about a second, and probably takes about 5-6 cranks to fire up which isn't excessive (but it sure sounds like it when it coughs for 6 seconds). I've ruled out my alternator (steady 14.5 at the terminals, volt meter shows 13-14 always), and my battery seems to hold a charge fine--the lowest I've seen it is 12.25V which was after 2 days, and I'm pretty sure it's because I had the lights on for so long. It usually sits at 12.4 or 5.
Now, I have a big ass fucking Mercedes battery in my car--a 95 Jaguar XJ6. Naturally I'd assumed its cells need a top up, but I can't figure out how to get the fucking cover off, or if it's even supposed to come off. There's a hole on each side, and they don't seem to lead anywhere to release it... at least, that's what I could gather. I tried wedging a knife around and got no results, other than a tiny fizzle of acid around the middle of the battery when I must have gotten too close. This is fucking weird, how do I get the cover off? The indicator says the battery is "OK" but I'm pretty sure if it's able to be topped up, it needs it.
Thanks fuckers. Hopefully someone with a Merc knows what to do.
Pic is the huge bastard.
>>13821935
Pic is where the acid started leaking from when I stuck a knife in it. you can also see the indicator that states it is "ok".
Once the car is warmed up, it fires up immediately.
>>13821935
>>13821947
Unless I am being retarded then the small covers marked in red in this photo can be pried off with a thin screwdriver or similar
Go to a battery place and have them do a load test on the battery. See if they will let you purchase a battery and return it if the problem keeps up after the cranking. If you have time, maybe keep the car there for a while to completely cool down, and then try starting it with a newer battery.
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xjlovers/xjfaq/coldstartchecklist.htm
You might check this out as well, although you didn't mention which XJ-6 you have. I'm kinda leaning towards not a battery issue if it starts when warm, if it's testing ok, although a load test on the battery would let you know that.
>>13821958
Tried, but they are attached. I wish I had taken a pic that makes that clear, but I'm 99% sure they don't come up at all. Since I trust you I won't discredit your advice and I'll try again later, but I'm pretty sure they aren't removable. Does your car have the same battery, Benz? It's from the same era and I'd imagine it would have came with it.
>>13821970
Nah, mine has a Bosch where I can do pretty much the same, except that its just one large plastic bit that comes off
Shine a light on it, look around for any place you can stick a screwdriver into... still, I wouldn't put it past the jews at Mercedes to sell a battery you can't service
>>13821963
Sorry, I mentioned that it's a '95. It's actually a Vanden Plas but that's just a trim level, and it's the same as the 4.0L XJ6 under the hood.
In Canada there are no "battery places" unfortunately. We can't even get a free OBD check at Napa.
I checked out the link and it's by Doug who I know on the jaguar forums. It's for a Series III XJ6, and mine's an X300. It's either the battery not providing enough amps, or it's the starter. It's a toss up because it doesn't happen when the car is warm; the battery is fully charged if the car is briefly turned off, so it doesn't narrow that down... also, the engine and oil are warm, so it doesn't tell us much about the starter, either. I wanted to check the battery cells before moving on to the starter.
>>13821984
Is it your first winter with it?
Old, worn batteries have insane cold-crank powerloss, although they may appear to hold a decent charge and stable current
Have you tried putting a charger onto the battery, letting it sit for a good 12 hours and then trying it?
>>13821979
It looks like it has a long plastic bit that comes off, but it won't pry off no matter what I do; I gave up because of the acid. There are screwdriver-sized holes on either end of the long strip (running the length of the battery in the middle; the piece with the warning stickers and label on it), but they seem to be just holes. I tried to insert a screwdriver in them and nothing happened. Fucking weird.
The "acid level" is OK, according to the indicator. Not sure if I can exactly trust that, though. I would have to get another battery of the same size and swap it out in the morning just to rule it out.
>>13821995
No, haven't tried that. I have left it disconnected overnight and it still had the same symptoms, though. It's definitely holding 12.5 or so volts, but I'm betting it's fairly old so you might be right about the CCA loss. Still, when it's 10 degrees out...?
It's my first winter with the car, by the way. I'm seriously considering garaging it but I don't have a beater, and I just fixed the auxiliary coolant pump so I get heat now...
![exide-premium-017te-car-battery-ea1000-2002-p[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/6b4derP.jpg "exide-premium-017te-car-battery-ea1000-2002-p[1].jpg")
>>13821999
How much force did you apply? These things can sit quite tight
Those holes in the plastic are just holes or what, no screws or anything (that'd be weird in them?
>>13822015
Having 12.5 volts just means that there isn't anything wrong with the voltage itself or that there are any leeches - it says really very little about the actual performance and capacity of it
A battery that is way past its lifetime will really start feeling it once the temperatures start dropping, and yes; even at 10c
Are you able to find the date of manufacture on the battery?
And also; if you're going to be looking into getting a new battery I can recommend Exide and Tudor, the two batteries that were found to be "acceptable" for winter driving over here, with competitors like Bosch, Banner and Global failing, giving way too low power when the temperatures were down to -18c
>>13822041
I applied enough force to twist the plastic. I tried all the way around, too. The acid seemed to come out of where I prodded, which lead me to quit fucking around just in case the cover wasn't removable for a reason. There's no screws in the holes, and yeah that'd be weird!
I'm pretty sure it's an old-er battery. Couldn't find the date of manufacture, but it's a Mercedes 100 AH and I believe those are old.
That Exide is pretty sexy DESU. I don't anticipate -18 here but you never know. I should look into it.
>>13822079
The fuck? I got word filtered tho desu senpai
>>13822079
My best guess is that the battery is fucked
Its a Jag, probably not driven all that much the last years before you got it and pretty much not had any money put into it on stuff like that
>>13822085
True. I'll at the very least trade the fucker in at a salvage place and see what they got. Thanks Benz bro, you're the coolest.
Hey, at least the car is getting plenty of love since I got it.
>>13822102
Feels good, doesn't it?
My own car had 90 000km on the odometer when I bought it in 2013, and had done on average 6000 kilometres per since it was bought, one single owner. And yet you could tell that it was somewhat careworn; rust, tons of change, bobby pins and paper under the seats and rubber mats, white stripes on the roof/pillars from the automated wash, scratched-to-fuck wheels, small dents and scratches pretty much everywhere, old tires, dirty engine and whatnot. There is absolutely nothing major about giving it a good, thorough wash and polish, interior vacuuming and cleaning, banging out a few smaller dents, grinidng & painting up again the rusted parts and so on, but it just feels so damned good to kinda give it a "new life" with a more interested owner
This photo is literally taken the hour after I had bought the car, grinding down the rusty flares
>>13822139
Haha, I know exactly the feeling you're talking about. I've fixed all the scratches on the bumpers, repaired the trunk wiring, programmed the key fob, cleaned the MAF sensor and throttle body, bought new tires, et cetera. I know it's silly, but the car seems... grateful that it has an owner who loves it so much. I'm determined to drive it forever and hopefully break a million klicks.
And if shit ever hits the fan, this'll be her fate.
