F type completely dead with new battery

[Fastaf]

Hey all, I’ve been roaming this forum for a while now and now unfortunately have my own issue to bring up that I haven’t seen anyone else post about. I’ve got a lovely 2014 Coupe 3.0.

This has been a bit of an ongoing saga for a few weeks now, and I’m currently in a situation where my car is not switching on at all.

I’ve had the AA out on three occasions and now they’re saying that it just needs to be taken to a garage however I’m wondering whether there’s a simpler solution here that has been missed.

I’ve had the low battery display for awhile but the car didn’t show any other issues so I was unsure if it was real or not. A few weeks back I tried to switch on the car and it just completely died. Completely dead electronics no signs of life the car would not lock or unlock.

I had the AA out who jump started the car and got it running. The technician said I should leave it running for half an hour and then take it out for a drive. I did this but as soon as I started driving and giving the car some accelerator all of the electronics started rapidly switching on and switching off and started flashing. This included the headlights in entertainment display the dashboard clocks everything started to freak out a little bit.

I then called them out again at which point did the battery test and said I needed a new battery. I purchased and install a new battery but now unfortunately have no power to any part of the car. The battery itself has 12.8 V across it and when I check the earthing points in the boot it’s all seems to point towards that 12.8 V figure, However when I check the voltage across the front jacking points the voltage is only 4.8V.

Nothing is working, car won’t even lock. Doesn’t seem to be any sign of water damage or fuzziness and connections generally seem fine. When jump started from the jump points, the car starts fine and the electronics are okay. But again if you give it gas it starts rapidly flashing. There seems to be 12.8v coming out of the fuse box and going to the front of the car so that doesn’t seem like the issue.

Any thoughts? Otherwise I’ll have to have it towed and don’t fancy shelling out on something that feels quite fixable. Appreciate it!

 

[Anonymous]

Check the main earth connection to chassis under the offside front wheel arch?

 

[Anonymous]

Such as this post.
https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4283

 

[scm]

Check the main earth connection to chassis under the offside front wheel arch?

Offside being the right front wheel well, in case you're not RHD.

 

[Fastaf]

Thanks for this both! Doesn’t look like I have this connector on my ‘14. Will follow Nick’s posts and look at the earth strap that they found under the engine bay.

Very weird that this was all okay before the battery died but assume a new battery and it sitting for a few weeks exacerbated it.

On holiday I did get a picture from my neighbour that the cars lights were on. (I’d left it as is as I thought it was entirely dead and it was when I left it) but can only assume that the earth connector had a connection for a while and died again.

 

[RPSN]

Will follow Nick’s posts and look at the earth strap that they found under the engine bay.

Here you go https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=44313#p44313

 

[NavigatorNI]

You've probably already checked these, but just in case: There are 3 earth points on the boot floor, circled in yellow on attached photo. Ensure they are making a good connection, especially the bottom one with the main heavy cable. This cable might not move when you wiggle it, making you think it is tight when it actually is not. Again, probably obvious, but recheck that the connections to the battery itself are tight, not just sitting over the terminals.

 

[RPSN]

There are 3 earth points on the boot floor, circled in yellow on attached photo. Ensure they are making a good connection, especially the bottom one with the main heavy cable. This cable might not move when you wiggle it, making you think it is tight when it actually is not.

+1 for that.

Further details on it here https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=60018#p60018

 

[pirateprentice]

Just out of curiosity, I assume none of the earth straps on F-Type attach to aluminium panels, right? It's a very tricky metal to get reliable electrical contacts on.

 

[RPSN]

Just out of curiosity, I assume none of the earth straps on F-Type attach to aluminium panels, right? It's a very tricky metal to get reliable electrical contacts on.

That is incorrect.

Here's one example where the earth strap attaches to the aluminium chassis/body https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=44313#p44313

 

[pirateprentice]

Interesting. Does that strap carry current? With the heat and moisture and vibration I'd want to see a connector of a suitable transition metal and some anti-oxidation treatment.

 

[RPSN]

According to member Nick it’s an earth strap joining the body and engine block https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=44207#p44207

In that case, current used or generated by the engine should carry through the strap to maintain electrical earth continuity.

 

[Fastaf]

You've probably already checked these, but just in case: There are 3 earth points on the boot floor, circled in yellow on attached photo. Ensure they are making a good connection, especially the bottom one with the main heavy cable. This cable might not move when you wiggle it, making you think it is tight when it actually is not. Again, probably obvious, but recheck that the connections to the battery itself are tight, not just sitting over the terminals.

Thanks for all of your help friends, it actually ended up being this - the earth was attached to a different point in the boot and I can tell the original point has been sheared off. Now attached to a different earthing point and working well!
You’re all better than most of the mechanics I spoke to and the AA

 

[NavigatorNI]

You've probably already checked these, but just in case: There are 3 earth points on the boot floor, circled in yellow on attached photo. Ensure they are making a good connection, especially the bottom one with the main heavy cable. This cable might not move when you wiggle it, making you think it is tight when it actually is not. Again, probably obvious, but recheck that the connections to the battery itself are tight, not just sitting over the terminals.

Thanks for all of your help friends, it actually ended up being this - the earth was attached to a different point in the boot and I can tell the original point has been sheared off. Now attached to a different earthing point and working well!
You’re all better than most of the mechanics I spoke to and the AA

Glad you got sorted and thanks for the feedback. It's always good to hear a result.

 

[gabou1510]

Th "flashing" thing you're mentioning happened to me. The black connector on the battery was not properly tightened.