2012 XJL:
my left front turn signal works intermittently. Jag repair shop told me I have the turn signal bulb incorporated into the entire headlight assembly, therefore, you have to replace the whole headlight assy and it's several thousand dollars. Is this true? I have not been able to google/youtube anything that shows me "signal bulb replacement". I see videos for headlight HID bulb replacement, no turn signal. Am I stuck with a whole expensive headlight assy? It is intermittent. Read a code from Autozone, and it is actually indicating a "short" on the drivers mirror side. I'm not sure how smart the code reading is.
anybody have this issue?

In addition to this, my passenger side headlight is out! Any recommendations on a very bright lumens HID replacement bulb to use?

 

The front turn signal light are made by LED:s, so it is not changeable. Since you have problem on mirror turn light, i really think that the problem are there, not in head lamp. Fix the mirror turn light problem first, and then see if you have more problems. (i bet your front turn signal problem are coming from mirror signal issue)

For HID:s i use Osram night breaker laser. <BlaBlaBla>.. +200%, type D3S. They are bright, but the brightest edge fades down in 2-3 years. I have "scandinavian" DLR settings on, what means that my driving lights are On all the time. (in mid summer we could drive without lights in night, but i like to be visible as much that i am there. Too many times somebody chancing lane over me) I change HID:s between 100tkm / 60tMiles, becase they lose the brighness by use.

 

rightturnclyde, I know this is going to go against what you think, but trust me, this is the short of the story. The bulbs in your headlights is a 35W bulb, not a 50W. So, when looking at bulbs, look for the lower wattage bulb. If you try to install the higher wattage bulb, you are going to destroy your ballast which is going to make yet another repair that you have to do. Atleast the ballast is replaceable, separate from the headlight housing.

Like the dealership said, the turn signal is built into the headlight assembly. So, there is no "bulb" to replace and if that is your problem, yes, you have to change the whole headlight assembly. This is where I would be checking the wiring going to the headlight assembly first and making sure that it is good. If it is an intermittent light function, then that is most likely caused by a broken solder joint. Unfortunately, attempting to open up these headlight assemblies is a very time consuming thing and at best, you are going to take chunks out of the edge of the clear lens. I have tried taking one apart and I tried heating it up to pull off the clear cover. No luck. Fortunately for me, I had gotten my hands on a destroyed headlight, so, causing more damage was not a big thing.

 

Can you DIY anything?
It will be very expensive to own a Jaguar otherwise.
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Thank you for the response. I'm going to order new headlight bulbs, and try to put them in myself. As far as the whole headlight assy for a turn signal, I guess I just won't make any left hand turns anymore. My NASCAR dreams are done. :-)

 

To change headlight bulbs the headlight have to be removed. For that you have to remove front bumber cover, what sounds big task, but is it not.
You need access behind of front inner wheel liners to release bumber cover and headlamp. No need to remove tyre, but helps if you lift chassis a bit by jack and turn steering so that tyre give you working space. Also releasing the front botton tray on its rear mountings, so that it will slide off with the bumber you need to have access under vehicle. (or you can revove the front end screws, but there are quite much of them...)
For this and more small DIY works, i recommend to download x351 Service and Repair manual from sticky section of this part of forum.

 

Yes that's why I asked if you can DIY anything. As Vasara pointed out the front bumper cover needs to come off to change the removable bulbs. Pretty simple and I recommend using two people just to prevent paint damage. I have done it one man but always struggle to prevent damage.

You might keep an eye out for a used one? There are many on EBay and you might find one for a good price?
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