So last night, I came out to my car, on my way to get some food. Long story short after being puzzled by its non-responsiveness to my key fob, I finally figured out the battery was dead. Apparently I had left the roof lamp on (I think), and I hadn't driven it in about 4 days.

Needless to say, I needed a jump start. I got a friend to come give me a jump. We had to push it out of the space it was in because there was a car parked next to me. Before we did this however, I put the key in the ignition and turned it to the on position to get the steering wheel to unlock so I could turn it. Well, we jumped it and I forgot to turn the key to the off position. Lights came on, alarm went off, spoiler went up, tow alarm was flashing, dash lights came on... car went crazy basically. Turned in on and ran it for about 10 mins like this, but the alarm wouldn't shut off, so I turned it off. Died again. Jumped it again, but remembered to turn the key to the off position this time. Everything worked fine, no lights, warning signs, alarms, nothing.

Only one problem, the BAS ESP light came on and didn't and hasn't gone off. Checked the fuses to see if I blew one, and they were fine. Just tell me... What did I break? And what's a good way to get the dealer to fix it (I'm still under warranty)?

 

Try page 88 of your manual, Sychronizing your ESP/BAS. This can take a few hours to actually reset, at least on mine it did. If that does not correct it there are several sensors that can go bad and cause this. Steering angle sensor is one of them. Try the reset first. It is a warrantied item and they should know how to fix it by reading the code.
Good luck - Pat

 

See the manual...p135

 

Following these instructions carefully, mine reset immediately

 

under the hood there is a little square box right next to the washer bottle ,,open it and see if the 50 amp fuse has been blown,, you can temp jump accross it and if the bas ans esp lights go out ,,that is the problem, replace that fuse and you are on your way,,jim

 

Jumping the car with the key to off? I'm confused, how did you do that? You mean that after you get a jump start you should turn the key off and start the car under its own power?

 

ppro - did your spoiler go up when this happened? Just wondering, mine did. I did the reset and it did nothing, came out to the car a few hours later and all was well.
Thanks for printing the page for him.
Pat

 

Manual - Page 61 - Lamp goes off by itself after 15 minutes if the door is ajar. It might also go off by itself if you leave it on. It would be worth checking because if it does go off on its own, you might have a different reason for the battery dying.

 

I think I just left it on, like actually pushed the button and forgot to turn it off again.

And thanks ppro. Didnt see that. Ill try it.

 

I believe he meant that you need to make sure the ignition is in the OFF position when you hook up the jumper cables to the dead car, which makes perfect sense. You might damage electrical components with the initial spark that occurs between the jumper cables and the battery if the ignition is in the ON position.

BC.

 

That is indeed what I meant. Hence, asking what I broke.

Hopefully the reset will work. About to go try in now.

 

Worked. Thanks guys.

 

Glad it worked for you.
Pat

 

This happened to me last Friday. I was ready to get my car towed to The Dealer. I disconnected the battery and had it tested. It was good. Once I put it back in, the XF started right up. I guess disconnecting the battery reset something.

It's been working fine since then.

 

ppro, thanks for the red box highlight on resetting the ESP/BAS.

I plan to replace my battery soon. When you do the reset, it says to turn ignition to "on" before making the stop-to-stop proceedure. Can you have the engine running or do you turn the wheels manually without the eng running?

Thanks for the great information. James

 

A few tips on jumping high tech cars:

Try not to jump if possible. If you have a battery charger handy and practical, charge the battery for a sufficient time, then attempt to start without the charger connected.

Running your engine with a dead battery after jump starting is very hard on your alternator. You are asking your alternator to put out all it has, getting it very hot and it may even shorten its life. I understand if that is your only option at that time. Most alternators are designed to output enough current to run all your car's needs, plus MAINTAIN your battery charge, not bring it back from the dead!

To help lessen the burden on your alternator, have the cars hooked together for as long as possible before you attempt to start the dead car. It won't be such a shock to the good cars alternator because it has a charged battery backing it up.

Another thing I learned that has kept damaged components to a minimum:
Have both cars turned off when hooking up your jumper cables. This will minimize the surge to a good car that is running when you hook up to the dead battery. Once connected, start the good car immediately so the dead battery won't draw down the good battery and prevent it from starting.

James

 

It sounds like a bad connection at one of your battery terminals. Corrosion doesn't always have to be present to cause a faulty connection. I am a firm believer of once a year disconnecting your terminals, cleaning with wire brush, etc... then reconnect and use a corrosion resistant compound. Trucklite makes a very good product, I use it nearly everyday on all types of electrical connections.

Good Luck, James

 

Turn the steering wheel while the car is running.
Fully to the left and then fully to the right and back to center

 

My did it when it was off. Turned it on after I did it and the light never came back on. Now I just gotta figure out what's wrong with one of my NEW tires that's leaking.

 

Check to see if they didn't tighten the valve core tight enough.

BC.