Hi I am suffering with the poor dipped headlights on my X type.
What bulbs do I require to upgrade these please?
I am not after blinding superlights or a complete revamp of the lighting system just a bit more light.
I find the main beams to be OK.
Thanks.

 

Are your dipped light settings set OK? They are adjustable via a small adjuster on the dash - I m wondering if you have them set too low as when I had an X-Type the dipped lights were whist not exceptional perfectly adequate.. also it is worth reposting this in the X-Type selection where you will find loads of X-Type owners there to advise :-)

 

Thank you for your reply. Of course I know how to adjust the beams. I would still like a bit more light. It is a common complaint on the X type that the dipped beams are not very strong.
I did resist posting on the Xtype forum as most of the good folk on there are in the US and advice would refer to bulbs which are not available in the UK. A search on there gave such results.
Thanks again.

 

I apologise if that is your perspective - as a previous X-Type owner I know there are quite a number of British X-Type owners who lurk in the X-Type area and if you post your query specifying your request for info is UK you will get responses - in the meanwhile when replacing bulbs I usually go for the High output bulbs in Halfords or EuroCarParts but do note that higher power means more heat and may have an effect on your headlamp adjusters which can become brittle on X-Types

 

Thank you that's the sort of advice I am after.
I know the wattage of the standard bulbs but not the output so don't know how much heat the new bulbs might generate.
Thanks again.

 

Mainly for the lads in UK.
What would you recommend as an update to the original bulbs. It has been suggested that too much heat is not good in that area.
Just want a bit more light than the standards,
Thanks.

 

I also will be upgrading the headlight bulbs on my car.
I am going to replace them for Ring xenon ultima bulbs, which are H1 types.
These are 55w road legal replacements.

Paul.

 

If you are after more light, then the true answer is going HID. Most halogen bulbs top out at about 1500 lumen. HIDs top out at 3300 lumen and they are only 35W (50W ones are illegal everywhere that I am aware of including USA, Europe). This will also give you the ability to have a slight effect on your headlight color (warm white, cool white, daylight white, etc). Now, getting away from warm white (ie, 4300K) will lower the lumen output slightly. But, the difference between 4300K (warm white) and 6000K (cool white) is only 200 lumen (you will still be double the light output of most halogen bulbs).

If you need any assistance, let me know. I have helped people do a few HID conversions. The X-Type is easier in that the headlights already have the projector in them to help them meet the laws in most places.

 

Thermo,
I assumed he was talking about upgrade bulbs only.

Regarding factory HID units, do they use the same standard headlight units, so hid or filament bulbs are interchangeable, or are the lamp fittings different ?

I understand the dip/low beam goes through a prism, so aftermarket hid kits would not cause the scatter issues with normal reflector types.


Btw, I do understand the high voltage/ballast needed with true hid.


Paul.

 

Thanks folk. I do just want to swop bulbs and not involve any conversions. 10% more light would be great.
Over here in the UK there are legal headlights which almost blind oncoming traffic, they seem to be an intense white and are a menace. Just how much light do you need on dipped headlights?

 

Dunks,
I too live in the UK, and I know exactly what you mean !
With a normal reflector type of headlight, fitting hid conversions causes too much scatter and causes the dreaded blindness.
With our low beam lamps having a prism fitted, the conversion is more successful, as the prism has a sharper cut off, so far less scatter issues when fitting aftermarket hid kits.
As you may be aware, fitting aftermarket hid kits in the uk is still not legal, the headlight units have to be factory fitted hid types, this is the main reason why I would not do it.
Btw, the Ring Xenon Ultima bulbs (legal upgrade) will increase light output by 120% more than standard quartz halogen bulbs, I can tell you from personal experience that is makes a very effective improvement, as well as being legal !

I have fitted these in my old 626 mazda, and the improvement was quite impressive.

Paul.

 

DUNKS,

I've moved your question from UK & Eire Region to X-Type forum. The Region forums are for location specific posts (meetings, recommended specialists etc. The Model forums are for technical questions from wherever a member may be located.

It would be useful to add whether you already have HID's.

Graham

 

Thank you super mod but I had already done that.
Thanks anyway.
No my car does not have HID

 

Thank you Paul I think I will give them a try.

 

Let me know what you think of them.


Paul.

 

 

I have just ordered a pair online. I will report the improvement .

Thermo I appreciate that HID is the way to go, but looking at UK legislation it gets messy. Yes the Xtype can legally be fitted providing the beam shape and colour are correct.
BUT one must declare the modification to your insurers. Any mod whether improving performance or not usually incurs a 20% increase in policy. "because they can"
Not declaring any mod can cause your insurance to be null and void in a serious accident.
I was involved in such a case a couple of years ago. "a crash for cash" and my vehicle was inspected by a very proficient inspector. Believe me any mod to my car nomatter how minor would have been found. This guy really knew his stuff. I had declared no mods to the insurance company. An infringement could have cost me my house in lawyers fees.
Thanks anyway.

 

Man On The Hill, when it comes to factory halogen verses factory HID, you are in 2 different worlds. About the only thing that is common is the plastic housing. Electrically, there is an extra ground wire for the HIDs due to the starting current of the HID ballast. The HID housings also have the ballast mounted inside the housing. So, your wiring runs to the ballast which is mounted to the back of the bulb. The bulb fitment is fairly similar to that of the halogen bulb.

What I have done is mounted the aftermarket ballasts on the frame rail under the headlight housing. This allows you to ground the ballast directly to the frame (better ground than the factory setup). Then you simply use the included harness (found in most setups) and you run the power wires out to the ballast and then the wires back to the HID bulbs which fit right into the H1 mount in the halogen housings.

The factory wiring (other than the one additional ground wire) is capable of handling the 35W aftermarket HID setups.

If you need to know more, let me know.

 

Hi Thermo,
Yes I am aware that the difference is night and day, so to speak.
I did not know the ballast is mounted in the housing on factory units.
My understanding of hid bulbs is a high voltage is required to strike it, then the ballast limits the current, so the voltage drops when working.


Because of insurance problems over here, I would only consider factory original parts, and even then the car is still modified from standard, they consider any changes from as the car left the factory as modifications, and yes they still load the premium, this also includes non standard size tyres, let alone any changes in wheel rims!


Also as we pay Car tax, or Vehicle excise duty, insurance companies also state that if you have no car tax, your insurance is invalid, this is how crazy this country has got !
When has road tax ever caused the car to be un road worthy, or in a dangerous condition ?


Paul.

 

Hi Thermo! I am a new member to this Forum. I have been visiting this site as a guest whenever I have issues with my 2003 Jaguar X Type 3.0 AWD. Your posts have been very useful to me. Jaguar Dealers in South Africa, particularly the Durban and Ballito Dealers, are near clueless about Jaguar X Type. Each time I take my car to them, they would not help me. Ever since I started following this Forum, I have managed to fix all problems in my car.


The last problem that buffled every technician, was the issue with the fog lights, and taillights. The fog lights were not coming on, but would when I apply the brakes. When the vehicle is in drive mode, the reverse lights and rear parking sensors would be activated. At night, the tail lights were not coming on, only the reverse lights would be on.


I searched here, looking for a fix to my car's issues. I then stumbled upon your posts. In line with your posts I did the following:
1. Changed fog lights bulbs and put the correct ones (I had used the Chinese bulbs 100 watts)
2. Inspected the wiring harness for the tail lights. Both harnesses on the tail lights were melted. I cleaned them nicely and put everything back.


Guess what, the issues were gone, gone, gone.


Thanks to you Thermo, Thank you so much.
You really are verteran Thermo. Keep up the good work