Hi Terry I would invest in the CTEK comfort connector which attaches to the positive terminal of the battery and an earth (not the Battery Negative). Unlike more recent Jags, my understanding is that the XK8 does not have a battery Management System module mounted on the negative terminal so the rationale for not using the negative terminal on your car is not to avoid confusing the computer as it is on cars like the XF, but simply to move any "spark" point away from the battery in the same way you attach jump leads to the Positive terminal and the engine block or other earth point away from the gases which the battery might generate. The beauty of the CTEK connector is the ease with which you can connect and disconnect the charger. If using a simple extension remember to fuse the positive lead. Using a CTEK you should be fine just connecting without worrying about removing the battery. One of the major benefits of the CTEK is that it is not just a trickle charger but a battery maintainer so you can simply leave it connected as long as the car is not being used and it will keep the battery in perfect condition. Regards John

First of all I admit to being guilty of searching for YouTube videos on this topic to try and resolve once and for all that it is acceptable to “hard wire “ the spade terminals of the lead provided with my Ctek mxs 5 charger to the terminals on the battery, or whether the charger leads should be connected to the terminals located behind the louvered black panel on the lefthand side of the boot. Removing that plastic panel I see that there is one terminal protected with a rubber sleeve which, according to one video I presume is the positive and there is a nut on the body which I understand can be used to secure the negative spade connector. I’m afraid I’ve also found no comfort or confirmatory advice from Page 182 of the downloaded XK owners manual (part No. JJM 10 02 30 121 which I assume to be the manual relevant to my particular model. It even seems to infer that the battery should actually be removed from the vehicle for charging !) . I understand that there is a Battery Monitoring system and I can only assume that this has something to do with the advice not to simply connect the spade connects to the battery terminals, but I am at a loss given the conflicting information from different videos. Also a friend with an XK8 just connects his trickle charger via spade connectors directly on his battery, but is the “verboten” for the newer 5.0l XK ? My intention when buying the ctek charger was to simply secure cables to the battery, trail the extension lead out from behind the cover into the boot and then simply connect the charger to the trailing clip connector when ever I wanted to put the car on trickle charge. So what’s the best advice?

Currently looking to do mine, as I don't trust an original 19 year old hose after having to remove it with the reservoir, to change the front wishbone. The easy option here is to buy a 45 degree unequal silicone hose. You then just cut either end to match the original hose exactly, then secure with some good quality clips (stamped, not perforated band, zinc plated or stainless). The pipe on my reservoir is 18mm and the heater pipe looks to be 13mm . The nearest fit I can find is 16mm x 13mm and that's what I've ordered. Next size up is 19mm x 13mm and it's better to do down rather than up. The old original pipe as at today is about 17mm ID. I have actually bought a replacement hose set from Swallows for peace of mind. HOWEVER, this little bit of hose is not included in their "Full set", plus potentially some other hoses involved in the heater pipework. It's a bit daft they don't do a little bit of hose like this, given it connects to the reservoir.. seems pretty important to me.

Perfect - many thanks Dave

now £2500 ONO

Lovely, thank you for your reply and suggestion. Much appreciated

Hopefully some members on here may be interested otherwise, Facebook Marketplace is okay to list but put a slightly higher price and let them knock you down