Help Please - £2.6k Battery Cable!

[Steveyballa22]

Good Morning. So I have taken my MY19 340 RWD F-type for its first service today (of my ownership).

It's one of the big ones (I had done my research on these forums - thanks) and new what to expect with the oil change etc required at 5yr interval. Within 2 hours of dropping the car at Grange Jaguar dealership I have received a courtesy 'health-check' video. The usual brakes/wheel reading etc but what has amazed me is "advise battery cable in o/s/f wheel arch corroded". I have attached a picture hoping someone can help identify severity of issue, and if anybody has any experience of this (I do not see any reference elsewhere on these forums)?

I purchased the car from Inchcape Jaguar in October last year (<12 months ago) along with warranty. The car has done <25k miles in 5 years and under my ownership has been garaged (I am second owner). The quote of the replacement/fix of the Battery Cable is quoted at £2,635.19!

Would really appreciate any insight anybody can share about this, the cost, whether the work is critical etc. I reallyy love the vehicle and want to take good care of it, but including the £700+ service today, at c£3,250 this visit within 12 months of ownership is set to cost almost 10% of what I paid for the car!

Thanks to the community in advance.

 

[ianp]

I always have extended warranty at the highest level to avoid issues like this.

 

[Steveyballa22]

Thanks so much for your response. Do you have any experience of claiming under warranty? I purchased extended warranty when buying the approved used vehicle from Jaguar. It's the Inchcape / Car Care Plan warranty. Thanks in advance.

 

[scm]

Did Grange know you have the extended warranty when they quoted you for the job?

If the warranty won't cover it, it might be worth finding a trusted independent who may be able to sort it out without the expense of replacing everything - dealers do tend to just replace en masse until the fault (or the customer) goes away. Good luck!

 

[Kev]

Copper doesn’t rust, it oxidises and would be black if moisture had got in the cable or show the blue/green patina if exposed to the air for a long time. The cable would be insulated anyway so how it can be corroded is confusing. It could be contamination or rusty water on the cable sheath? The price to replace is high because it’s part of the loom on that side and Jaguar would replace the whole lot rather than just a section. It may be worth giving it a wipe with your finger to see what comes off

 

[paddy1000111]

I don't think the cable is corroded. It looks like the structure it attaches to is corroded and it's dripping rusty water on the cable causing it to be stained. You can even see the rust staining on the plastic trim that the plastic clips are attached to. If you have access to that area I would advise buying a product called Korrosol by bilt hamber, it's a iron fallout remover and would take all the "rust" (staining) off and then you can re-investigate as to what's actually corroded which is most likely not that bad but could do with a clean up and reprotection.

Worst case scenario and it is the end of the cable a good auto electrician should be able to cut and splice that cable. That's the difference between a good Independent and a dealer. The dealerships replace parts to make a problem go away, an independent will fix stuff or replace on request. A good example was my washerbottle leaking on a downhill slope. The one way valve was gone in the back and the main stealership wanted to take the bumper off and replace all the parts. The independent suggested we just put a new one way valve in the front which cost about £6 and if it goes wrong again it's easily fixed.

 

[cj10jeeper]

That does not look like a corroded cable as it's rust coloured indicating from iron/steel and as Kev notes that doesn't happen to copper. I'd first be looking above that steel chassis member as it looks more like rusty water from it or above running down the cable. There is a well known issue of rust in the cable junction box but looks to be a different area.

Next I'd pull the warranty paperwork and look at the exclusions before putting a call into them to confirm it is or isn't covered and o from there.

 

[Steveyballa22]

Thanks all for informative and prompt responses. Really appreciate it and this gives me a much better understanding as I decide what to do ! I will collect the car this afternoon after service and not instruct any work until I have been able to look into the matter in more detail. The 'scary' part is the narrative on email from the Service Manager explaining that "the cable hasn't failed but when it does it can cause multiple concerns inclusive of loss of power steering" Could this be true / dangerous?

 

[cj10jeeper]

Thanks all for informative and prompt responses. Really appreciate it and this gives me a much better understanding as I decide what to do ! I will collect the car this afternoon after service and not instruct any work until I have been able to look into the matter in more detail. The 'scary' part is the narrative on email from the Service Manager explaining that "the cable hasn't failed but when it does it can cause multiple concerns inclusive of loss of power steering" Could this be true / dangerous?

Of course the service manager has to sell the downsides to you as a duty of doing the service and 'free' check and to protect the dealership by explaining it. He's also of course got one eye on the work.
If the cable fails then if the power steering is on that circuit you'll lose the assistance. However, it's most likely to fail on a cold wet morning when the amperage is at its highest and you'd still have steering, albeit very heavy.
I'd just keep driving whislt you decide what to happen as it's taken months or years to get to that state so a few weeks isn't going to make any difference.

 

[paddy1000111]

Correct me if I'm wrong here but is this not the cable that goes to the O/S/F jump point/fuse box in which case it only passes through that area? I've just had a look at diagrams and my own car and there's no terminal in that area from what I can see. I think the bracket that it runs under is corroded and has nothing to do with the cable as it comes out into engine bay for another 2ft before connecting into the OSF fuse box.

 

[gasgas]

go to an indie, i posted a long time ago about this box in the arch, and to open it up clean it out and fill with a product to stop water getting in, has it effected the car