I have noticed this for a while and it seems to be getting worse (I have 2004 X 3.0). The inside dome lights and floor lights, along with the inner headlights (the ones that come on dimmer, not the two outside bright headlights) have a very fast flicker all the time. Revving the engine doesn't make any difference, the flicker is always there. As soon as I turn the key off the flickering stops.

My first thought was alternator. I called the dealer and they said alternator failure is rare....and by the way is over $700 just for the part. They told me to check the voltage at the battery with it running. The voltage at the battery is 12.5 with no engine and about 14.6 with the engine running. The voltage does not change with speed of the engine, which sounds like the alternator might be ok?

Any ideas? Could it still be the alternator although it appears to be producing clean power with no fluctuations in voltage?

Thanks

 

Davidoo, first off, welcome to the forums. We do ask that you introduce yourself in the "New Member" forum. I think you will find it very beneficial. You will also get a true feeling for what this forum is like. You will also be able to find lots of good information around here. So, grab a cup of Joe, look around and enjoy.

As for your problem. It is sounding like your dimmer switch is starting to go. Try dialing up the dimmer to full brightness. Do the lights still flicker. If no, then it confirms a problem with the dimmer. If yes, then you more than likely have a loose wire that is wiggling with the vibration created by the engine.

 

Thanks for the response, Thermo. Tried the dimmer and it makes no difference. Since it does it with the headlights plus the dome lights that you manually turn on and can't dim I have more than one fuse circuit involved. Finding a loose wire seems close to impossible. I'm almost hoping it is the alternator, at least I know where that is located. I thought if someone else had this issue they might remember what the fix is.

 

I had the battery tested at a local parts store and it was bad. After replacing it the lights no longer flicker at all.

 

Welcome aboard, we are a nice bunch on this forum. and yes I agree the dimmer switch is probably going.

 

I have the same problem
I get my headlights do that every once and a while not at the same time one at at time as I'm driving either one will go or the other just a blink
also with at dusk they all do a quick blink on and off a few times so I shut off the auto lights
NOW I got when I shut car off and I get out everything blinks a few times so I did a unlock and lock with remote and it stop
What the *** can it be?????

 

VIto, i would say to first start off with replacing the battery. It seemed to fix the problem for the other guy and is possible that it is your problem too. The X-Types are known for being very sensitive to a weak battery and will cause random indications. If it is only your low beams (outside headlights) that are blinking together, then it could be a relay. If they are blinking independently, then are you running HID headlights? If so, any sort of voltage fluctuation will cause them to do what you are seeing and this points back at either a battery going or a ground wire issue. BUt, because both headlights are doing it (as I am getting from your post), the odds of having both fail at the same time is pretty low unless you have pulled the front bumper cover off and made some wiring modifications recently.

 

Hi Chris
Battery is pretty much new I got the car last year and its been replaced from Jaguar by past owner I can't see it being dead with 2 years but it can happen one never knows
I never did a mod on anything don't want to touch anything really on this car because of its attitude LOL
Im going to check ground next but I want to take care of a shock problem that I think the car has first because with this car one thing can cause another so Im going to do it one at a time but I will keep you updated
I just bugs me out that when I shut car off and I get out that all the lights would flicker like that
It seems like if I shut off the auto lights the problem goes away but I can be wrong

 

Vito, keep in mind that the alternator does not put out a flat-line DC like the battery does. The alternator really is an AC generator and then rectifies the AC into DC. So, you have some pretty big bumps in the voltage when you do things that way. Hence why you may be seeing problems if the battery is not up to snuff (as the battery is what filters these bumps out). You can take the car to any auto parts place and they can test the battery (for free normally) and they will tell you how good the battery is. Then you can go from there as to whether a new battery is required or not.

 

Thank You
I will look into that also
Ill keep you up to date on how things go

 

You will notice a lot of strange "things" happen with the electrics in these cars when the battery is low or starting to go. I had a few gremlins with my electric system until the battery went dead, replaced it and all the gremlins when away. Also, if your like me and don't drive a lot the battery will dropped below 12.5 and some of the gremlins will start up again. I check my voltage once a week and when it drops below 12.5 I put a battery tender on it to bring to full charge. The other day my back sensor were going off for no reason, I checked the charge and it was 12 so I put the tender on over nite and the next the the problem went away. These cars are very sensitive to swings in voltage on the battery.