Hi, I am a new/old subscriber, I had an X type some years ago and was a forum member, I have now got a 2012 XF 3 LTRE PETROL
and though it is a lovely driver, the lights are pathetic!!! They are HID xeon which are supposed to be the bees knees but I can safely say they are the worst
lights on any car I have ever owned! Any ideas what is wrong? they look clean and quite brighjt to look at but do not light the road at all.
Lespres

 

Very common for the XF HIDs to leave the factory pointing way low, only a few feet in front.
Easily fixed by using the 6 mm hex adjusters on the light fittings to wind them up a bit.

 

Hi OzXFR,

I've recently had the headlamps on my 2008 XF replaced with LED. The result is a complete transformation. I didn't do it myself but went to an auto systems provider who does apple car play and a host of electrical upgrades. The whole car is now done with LED and they did a wonderful job of adding additional LED lighting in the boot as well. The company is about to do a further upgrade for me with the Jaguar door treads and add puddle lights as well. Let me know if you want the details. I'm in Melbourne and the company works very closely with an independent Jaguar specialist in Sydney.

 

Thanks for the suggestions but I no longer have an XF I have an F-Type instead.
No lighting problems on my F-Type, I swapped out the stock HID globes for stronger/whiter/brighter ones, I raised them up a few notches and they are plenty good enough for me. I also fitted after-market logo puddle lights (under the doors in the F-Type not under the mirrors like in the XF) and I fitted OEM illuminated tread plates. Plus I swapped out the feeble yellow halogen footwell lights for bright white LEDs, all other interior lights in the F-Type are LEDs from the factory so I have no idea why they went with those feeble halogens in the footwells!

 

Well this thread might have made my day. I've dealt with horrible night vision in my 2013 XF for almost 9 years now. Dangerous really. Back when new, I brought the car in to have the headlights adjusted. The dealer claimed the headlamp aim was automatic, there was nothing to adjust, and they were behaving as designed. My XF has had the worst road vision of any vehicle I have ever owned. So does the green hex screw adjust the vertical height/aim of the head lamps?




Thanks,
Mike

 

I remember on my 2010 XFS and 2010 XFR there were two 6 mm hex adjusters on each headlight cluster, one for up and down and one for side to side, but I forget which was which. I *think* a 2013 XF (ie a "facelift" vs my 2010 "pre-facelifts") is the same except that the hex sockets changed from white to green.
Also the older pre-facelift XF like mine had separate high beam and low beam lights, HIDs for low beam (called dipped beam in the UK) and halogens for the high beam, although the HIDs also stayed on for high beam (which is why they were known as bi-xenon), while the facelift XF has only one headlight/globe each side.
I suspect the headlight adjustment procedure is shown in your Owners Manual/Handbook.
Anyway your best bet is to park flat and level in the dark a few feet back from a wall or fence, turn the lights on and play with those adjusters, you will soon find which one does what and which direction of turning does what. Probably best to mark on the wall or fence the edges of the light beams before you start fiddling so you can always return to those settings should things go **** up! You also need a fairly long 6 mm hex bit / Allen key.

 

I had this same issue on a 13 XF. The headlights were pointing at the ground, you don't have to adjust side by side just the up and down adjuster.

I parked on a flat service against a wall about 15-20 feet away and adjusted based on the center point height of the headlight to the wall with the driver side slighty dipped to not blind traffic.

I believe green adjuster with the red insert is side to side, I wouldn't touch that one, the other should be up and down.

Massive improvement after adjustment.

 

Hi HartmanDm (Mike),

Glad to see other XF collegues assisting you and hope it all works out. Even so, I would seriously recommend changing to LED lamps and obviously actual adjustment is just as critical. I do a lot of very long distance drives in Australia and the performance of the LED's has been spectacular. Night driving on lomg distance trips has been so much less tiring. I'd find myself getting sore eyes etc, I don't get any of that now. Recently I did an overnight drive of 1,000km's and I felt in far better shape when I arrived.

GeeVeeXF - Melbourne Australia

 

The plastic green screw circled in my earlier post does adjust the vertical aim of the headlamps. The left-right aim is handled automatically on my model, as well as 'auto-leveling' the vertical aim, which compensates for when the rear is loaded with weight. I think the headlamp system was over thought. Anyways, I did my normal head lamp aiming procedure of checking aim 25 feet from a wall. Both head lamps were aimed too far below the height of the mid point of the head lamps. And there was no consistency in the aim height across the lamps.

I have LEDs on my 66 Alpine. Better lighting than my modern cars.

Thanks,
Mike

 

When I was in the automotive industry many years ago, the procedure used to be to set the headlamps to aim dead level and straight ahead ON HIGH BEAM. The internal structure of the lamp then ensures that on low beam, the aim is slightly down and away from oncoming traffic (i.e. down and left here in Aus, down and right in U.S. and Europe). I do this by nosing the car up close to a wall on a flat surface, marking the centre of the high-beam spot on the wall, then backing a little away from the wall. When the aim is correct, the light shines in the same place as you back away.

 

Unfortunately, here in NZ I don't know of any company that advanced! Two auto electricians I have been to are dis-interested

 

Yes, I have done that (adjustment) and can now see I have actually got lights but still abysmal! To the point that I only drive my Mazda6 at night, which incidentally has cracking lights<

 

hi GeeVee XF for your interest, I have just had confirmed, it is illegal to convert to LED in NZ! Hu? it is fine if the vehivcle arrives with LED from the manufacturer?
it never ceases to amaze at Govt decisions at timed

 

Lespres that is staggering. Some mindless bureacrat has decided. I can only speak from my experience but I think the conversion has contributed to a safer driving experience. The LED's project further and are obviously much clearer. Yes I had them professionally supplied and installed and my installer did advise that he could only upgrade them to the recognised Australian standard and that seems fine to me. Perhaps that might be the issue that people are changing over to LED but aren't complying with whatever the lighting standard is???