Hi all,

I have the illuminated alluminium tread plates in the doors and in the boot. Recently I found that the light of the boot is not working. I asked the dealer if I could pass by to have the light replaced and they said that I could go and we made an appointment. However a couple of days later they contacted me and told me that they found out that the whole tread plate is to be changed and the cost is above 400 euro.

Did anyone have the same issue? Is there no way of simply changing the bulb (if any, I do not know how the light is produced) or any other part to have it working again at a reasonable price?

Honestly, requesting more than 400 euro for a deffect non-essential courtesy light looks to me a serious Jaguar rip-off in case they did not foresee a cheaper way of having a courtesy light serviced.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

All the treadplates use an integrated driver, including the tiny one for the boot piece. Your dealer is correct in that it is a non-serviceable part which is only available pre-attached to the larger plastic trim.

That said, if that trim has ever been removed for whatever reason it is possible that it was not plugged in again as it is very easy to miss. If it didn't just randomly stop working one day then it is worth checking. There is a small black/yellow wire connector roughly central under the trim which can usually be seen (or if not, felt) by lifting the spare boot floor panel up. The harness connector comes out of the big bundle of wires that runs along there as a 6" pigtail. If that has not been plugged in then just unscrew the four fixings holding the trim to the rear of the car, then pull sharply upwards to disengage the clips. Reassembly is the reverse.

They do fail occasionally though, so you may be unlucky. As it is only cosmetic, and in the trunk, there should be no harm in leaving it as it is if you don't mind it.

 

xdave,

Thanks a lot for the detailed information. I will try to check it during the week (or during the weekend) and I will post the result.

Thanks again!

 

If it's plugged in but still not working then you should reflow all the solder connections. Europe uses a different kind of solder with no lead it it. It's not as reliable as the leaded.

 

Hi all,

just as feedback information, I have visited the dealer and let them know about your tips. They tried but the connections were OK, so apparently it must be something else (I do not know exactly what kind of lighting is there and what may have failed, but apparently it is not serviceable and the only solution would be a new one -which is not going to happen ;-) -).

Anyway, thanks a lot for your help!

 

Just an uneducated question here. Is there a separate switch to illuminate the plate in the trunk to actuate it only when the trunk is open?