Hi guys,

I just brought an X-type, 2002, 2.1 litres, petrol. It is in very good condition for its age and is a lovely drive. But I have a problem with my headlights.

have been trawling the forum for advice, and a nice guy called Thermo is very good at giving advice, so I followed the procedures on a number of posts to rectify this problem, or at best narrow it down.

To clarify, it is not the Alarm back-up due to no warning light, it is not the other relays that F69 covers either, it is only to do with the headlights. Also, my Full Beam will not hold its position, but it does when a new fuse has been swapped and the engine is not turned on.

As soon as I turn the engine it blows the F67 fuse. So in my mind prior to turning the engine am I correct in assuming there is no relay fault regarding R9 and all fuses obviously are correct and working?

So I ask what is the potential problem?

I heard Thermo talking about the difference between 12VDC engine turned off compared to 13.6VDC engine on.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,
Chris.

 

Ken, hopefully we can get you taken care of. Lets start with clarifying things to help you understand why the fuse is doing what it does. Fuse F67 does not have power to it when the engine is off (ie, key not in the car). So, with that being said, yes, you can install a new fuse and it will remain good because it has not seen power applied to it. But, once you apply power, it will fail. Another way to look at is is like joining two hoses together with a piece of sausage casing. You can stick the casing between the two hoses and it will hold the hoses together. But, you apply water, that casing is going to pop like a balloon. Same thing here. So, now comes the question of why the headlight circuit is blowing the fuse.

This is not the wisest way of troubleshooting, but I think it is the best based on your ability. So, lets start with getting a handful of 5 amp fuses as we may destroy a few in the process. Once you have the fuses, I want you to have the car off (key out of the car) and first remove relay R9 from the engine bay fuse box (set it off to the side). Now, install a new fuse in the F67 location. At this point, insert the key and roll it to the II (RUN) position (no need to start the car). Leave it in this state for say 5 seconds and then roll the key back to OFF. Pull fuse F67 and see if it is good still. If the fuse is blown, then we have a problem somewhere else than the headlights. Write me and we will take things from there.

With Fuse F67 still good at this point, reinstall the fuse. Now, roll the key back to the RUN position. Go to the fuse box under the hood and remove relay R10 (yes, R10). Put this relay into the R9 position. Watch as you put the relay in, do you see any sparks occurring? After installing the relay, turn the key back to the OFF position. Check fuse F67. Is it bad now? If yes, then odds are you have a problem with the fuse box itself (write me, but odds are, you will end up needing a new fuse box which is a matter of undoing some plugs and putting the plugs back into the proper holes). If the fuse is still good, then you have a bad relay and you can put relay R10 back into the R10 position and you can make a trip to the local auto parts store to get a new relay (this is a generic relay and does not need to be jaguar specific).

I think you might be confusing things together and driving yourself a bit bonkers. Fuse F67 has nothing to do with your full beam (I am assuming you are talking about your high beams or main beams, never hear someone refer to them as full beams). These are 2 different circuits. To have one affect the other, we would need to have 2 different faults or the wiring harness has been damaged somewhere that would most likely require professional help. With this being said, lets make sure we are not going on a wild goose chase here as you are somewhat new to the car. Pulling the left lever on the steering column will activate the high/main beams. This will only do it momentarily (flash to pass). If you push the left away from you, the lever should lock into position and this will cause the high/main beams to lock in and remain on without you holding the lever. I have seen situations where this holding function has broken and has caused interesting problems with the car.

Lets get a few answers with what I have posted here and lets see where this leads us.

 

Hi Thermo,

I swapped the R9 Relay with the R10 (starter motor), guess what, everything works perfectly so thank you for your expert advise. I must have a semi faulty Relay as it has no problem starting the engine. I am ordering a new one.

Kind Regards,
Ken/Chris.

 

Good to hear that you figured out the problem.