Greetings,

I was in the market for some new LED headlights and found a unique pair on eBay from a Chinese seller. They have wider “J” blades than the OEM pair. I thought the look was a bit more updated and refreshed from the previous model headlights. I gave them a shot.



They came with the headlight harnesses and are plug and play for the most part.

Before actually mounting them, I tested them to see if they worked. They worked just fine, but I kept getting the dreaded AFS headlight fault. I tried a few different things to stop the fault from appearing. All failed.

I was considering returning them due to the fault. I slept on it for a few nights racking my brain and decided to try modifying the vehicle’s CCF file. That did the trick!


Essentially, I modified the headlight type bit, telling the vehicle that I have basic halogen headlights and NOT the advanced front lighting system LED headlights. Upon startup, the AFS headlight icon no longer appears on the dash.

I have been driving around with them for about 10 days now, and it almost feels like I have a new car from the exterior. It definitely does not look like a 2013 model year vehicle.

The best thing about these headlights is that they DO NOT blink! The orange turn signal lights sweep across the LED blades; no blinking. When the turn signal stalk goes back to the original position, the orange light gradually fades back to the DRL. It looks greats! Overall, I’m happy with the lights!

Here are a few pictures:











In addition to the headlights, I also installed LED turn signals for the mirrors. They also have the same sweeping effect as the headlights. The sweeping effect from the headlights and turn signals look very elegant and upscale.





This is an easy upgrade for anyone that is looking to refresh the exterior of their XJ!

 

Wow, very cool. Sure is a neat upgrade. Great way to add DRLs to an older model. Price? Manufacturer? How did you get the CCF file modified?

 

There are several Chinese sellers on eBay that have these headlights. I’m pretty sure that they’re all coming from the same manufacturer. The difference may be warranty, return time, and customer support. I got mine from a seller listed as “runstarr”.

I was able to get these for $1800 including shipping. I did the CCF modifications myself with JLR SDD. I have been using the software for years now.

 

I think these are the one's you've purchased and I see that they have an AFS option. I'm wondering if you had chosen an AFS option when ordering would they need CCF programing.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...m%3A#nav-store

Also this is from the same seller with the slimmer OEM DRL's

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...m%3A#nav-store

 

Most of the sellers are selling both versions. I had the ones with slimmer “J” blades.

I suspect that you will still have to do the CCF modifications. The pinouts on the connectors are different from the vehicles stock wiring harness. The new headlight connectors have less pinouts. There are only 7 pins on the right headlight connector and about 4 on the left. Additionally, the left and right headlights are connected together by a harness. This all comes with the headlights so no big deal. The internal wiring is different. Because the aftermarket headlights has less pinouts than the stock vehicle headlight connectors, that AFS fault automatically triggers. The vehicle recognizes that it can’t access those motors functions as there’s no corresponding circuit. Either way, the headlights still functioned with the fault. I just hate fault lights on my dash. Unless you get a version where the pins match exactly or the AFS functions are accessed through the stock vehicle connectors, you’ll have to do the CCF mod.


OEM vehicle connector. 15 pin inputs.

Aftermarket headlight connector. 7 pins.

 

You already had the facelifted LED headlights and switched to these?

 

Yes. I did the complete facelift. The bumper, headlights, and rear taillights. I did the facelift back in 2017. I bought used headlights though; they were not in perfect condition. I just wanted some new ones. Back then, I made the headlight harnesses from scratch. Now you can buy the harnesses complete to do the upgrade. Also, I did not have to do any CCF changes with the previous facelifted LED headlights.

 

How does the light output compare? Xenon vs OEM vs Chinese LED? You're probably one of the rare people that have tried all three. Also I'm guessing the Chinese headlights don't have The cornering function and the extra cornering side light.

 

I have never had any complaints about any of the headlight models. All three have worked fine and have provided superior visibility. The decision to do the modifications was based purely upon the visual look.

The Chinese model gives the best overall visibility. No, they do not have the cornering lights. If you look closely, the J blades are longer than the OEM model. As such, that corner portion of the headlight is shorter. All of the automatic functions work. Auto off/on, high beam assist etc.

The OEM LED model is an upgrade from the Xenon model. They are brighter. A popular forum member XDave started the headlight retrofit phenomenon back in 2016. He gave 2 methods to make the harnesses; full functionality (difficult) and without AFS (easy). I went the easy route. Consequently, I didn’t have the static cornering lamps with the OEM LED model. Even without that capability, the headlights performed spectacularly. No visibility complaints. Several others have done this upgrade as well without visibility concerns. I think it comes down to your budget, the look, and difficulty of the modification. All of the headlights provide great visibility.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...nality-167689/

 

What year is your XJ? 2013?
The headlights on our 2012 are getting worn so we're looking at options.

 

I have a 2013. For a 2012, you have 4 COA’s.
1-possibly change the internal bulbs and purchase new headlight lenses.
2-OEM LED headlight upgrade. The actual OEM models from Jaguar, new or used. US or UK.
3-Aftermarket Chinese version of the OEM LEDs. As mentioned earlier, both are being sold, US or UK style, AFS or non AFS.
4-The Chinese aftermarket model. US or UK style.

 

Thanks, I definitely appreciate it.
Replacing the lenses was my first choice, but from what I've read it may not be worth trying.
On Ebay I have found a number of the aftermarket headlights from China that look very nice, and most claim to be backwards compatible, fully functional & plug-n-play, but from what you & others have posted it's not that simple.
Genuine Jaguar replacements from JLR are $3800 each, but I see some used (but some in very good condition) for much better prices on Ebay.
It will take a bit of digging to figure out which option to take.
I really wish that headlights were still glass.

 

I have seen the lens kits but no one has posted any instructions on how these head lights come apart?
On my old S-Type we could bake them for about 30 minutes or so at about 150F. Then the glue/seal was soft and you can pry the light apart. Just push things back together when you were done and the sealant would stick it all back together.
.
.
.

 

Hi,
I am curiously following this thread as well. With high mileage my headlight lenses have been taken their share of Finnish elements; snow, ice, stones, sand and lose spikes. I know that they can be sanded and coated, but most coatings are not even close as good as original and added coating will go even more foggy just 1-2 years. (how much coating manufacturers are interesting to make long lasting coating and ruin their own business? )

Also been noted that traffic fumes have been made dirty layer inside of lense and been trying to find out is it possible to remove the projector lense from headlight assembly for better access to the inside of the lense. Most of the vehicles when i have been cleaned the lenses and reflectors the improvement have been big. Led headlights are mostly closed so they stay much cleaner, but halogens & xeons have ventilation.

 

Someone on the UK forum tried to bake an X351 light and it melted.

 

Thanks Chris and yes I also read that and it certainly put a stop to me doing any experiments!
If I had a broken light I would try a few things but these are so expensive that there is no way I can chance it if it goes bad and I damage stuff.

But the lenses are all over AliExpress so I figured that somebody must be changing them out?
.
.
.

 

I have mint condition 2012 US spec AFS Headlights 50k miles if anyone wants to buy and I will upgrade to the Chinese LED's

https://i.imgur.com/dQXjyBk.jpeg

 

Assuming it takes some time for you to get & install the headlights you plan to upgrade to, it would probably work better to upgrade your car, then sell your headlights.
And forgive me for not knowing where you live, but what country is MK?

 

Yeah I'm just seeing if there is any interest. I would want to spend that much money and be stuck with two sets of headlights.

MK now changed to NMK is North Macedonia.