having a problem with rear lights ...

When i put car in reverse:

left LED driving/brake lights go out
left reverse light goes on bright
right LED driving/bright lights stay on
right reverse light goes on dim

When i put rear fog lights on:
left LED driving/brake lights go out
left fog light goes on bright
right LED driving/bright lights stay on
right fog light goes on dim

And yes i have check fuses, swapped bulbs, check each bulb receptacle ...

PLEASE HELP before i go insane

ps. I read somewhere that the cars in England have on 1 reverse light? Not sure but this car could have been imported directly as it was not originally purchased from a jaguar dealership, but from importer.

 

It'd be beneficial to know what make, model and year you have

 

2004 xj8 base

 

Check ground G24. If good check rear electronic module. (passenger side trunk area) Next would be harness inspection.

 

agree on it possibly being an earthing problem, we used to get similar issues many, many years ago on tail light clusters. My 2004 UK jaguar has reversing lights both sides

 

well thanks so much for the responses. i checked the g24 ground, disconnected it and checked for any corrosion but all good there. i wiggled all the wire connections and everything is good. i even took battery charge cables and connected from battery neg to g24 to ensure good ground. no change.

i also tried the emergency flasher and the left led running/brake lights blink from dim to bright opposite from amber turn light. if i turn on the rear fog the relay starts clicking double time like when a bulb is burned out.

addtional note the parking sensor is giving me a fault. all the sensors are clicking. beginning to wonder if it is related.

what can i do next? or am i SOL? any help is appreciated.
someone tell me i didn't make a $10k mistake with this car ....

 

i checked each light socket and found a red common HOT wire providing 11.9v to each socket. so i am thinking the circuit is completed using the seperate ground to each individual socket. seems odd, but ok? so can i check the circuit at the connection for each light assembly. this would rule out the bulbs and sockets.

thoughts or suggestions

 

I would. Well actually I'd start at the source (Fuse) and check ground and power along the way but if the connector is convenient it's as good a place as any to start.

I'm still not convinced you don't have a ground problem. I recommend an ohm meter vs the test you did previously using battery cables.

They're cheap enough.

 

let me start by saying i am a decent mechanic but electric is not my strong suit. i got out the multi-meter and started checking at the light assembly connector. there are 7 wires/circuits on each side. i identified the hot wire and will call it #1. with engine off:

all lights OFF - i got 12.0v on #1 with grounding on the nearest ground post for both sides. on the left #2,3,4 & 6 were at 12.0v when i completed the circuit with #1. #3 was 5.5v. #7 was 10.8v. on the right #2-6 were 12.0v and #7 was 10.8v.

running lights ON - all same except both #7 were 10.6v.

running lights ON and reverse - all same except left #3 was 5.9v and both #7 11.1v. here is where it gets strange. the left led running lights is OUT, the left reverse is VERY bright (too bright) and the right reverse is barely dim.

i am convinced it is not a bulb or socket issue ... but it appears that left #3 has a short.

does the ciruit go thru the fuse panel before going thru the electronic module, or vice versa? i do not know how to do is test the ground like everyone suggests, or ground directly to battery??? how can identify if it is panel or module or what ???

thanks to all for the suggestions and advice

 

No doubt frustrating. Here is a link to your electrical diagram for your model.

JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

It will be fuse (power)-> light-> module-> ground, I think.

to check for proper ground - set your multi meter to ohms. touch the two leads together and the meter will go from 0 to infinity. That's what you will want to see when testing for ground.

Disconnect the wire loom from GP24. Connect one test lead from your multi meter to the ground post and the other to the negative post on your battery. The meter should move to infinity. If it doesn't, the post is probably corroded under the surface.

If it goes to infinity, the ground POST is ok.

On the wire bundle (ring from the ground post), the ground wires go into the module. I don't have a module in front of me so I can't tell you if they plug in or are sealed. If plugged in, unplug and test with ohm meter again. Ring end to the connection end. Wiggle the wires to ensure no short at each of the 5 pins.

I hope I'm making sense to you.

Tail lights are on section 8.3. fuses start on 1.2. Begin with 8.3

 

i hope this is amusing someone ... cause it makes me nuts!

i checked the ground as suggested above. checked grounding post, checked before plugging into module, checked at light assembly (while still plugged in). all show infinity.

after looking at the electric diagrams i realized my previous numbering scheme was off. so going forward i will use actual description. with ignition on and lights off i got 12.1v on all except both tails 10.7, left stop 11.1, right stop 10.5. not sure if this indicates anything but will continue as soon as i can ...

 

After trying many different scenarios the bottom line is that as soon as one of the light bulbs (ie. turn, reverse, fog) then all things go wacky.

I tried to verify the fuses and according to diagrams #15 - Right LED, #46 - Right Bulbs, #49 - Left LED, #17 - Left Bulbs. The both LED fuses work correct, however the Right Bulb fuse has not affect and Left Bulb fuse controls ALL the bulbs Right AND Left.

I am thinking that regardless of the REM, the fuse panel must be jacked up?

 

RESOLUTION!

Fuse Box was jacked, bought one of ebay for $110, put it in and EVERYTHING WORKS!

thanks to all for suggestions

 

Glad you resolved it spanky. Can you elaborate for those who might encounter this in the future?

What do you mean by "fuse box was jacked"? What was the specific problem with the box?

Thanks for clarifying and really glad you fixed it.

 

not sure exactly was wrong with the rear fuse box. all I know is how the lights were messed up as described above, and so I switched out the box and everything worked.

Now if I can figure out the rear parking assist I will be content ...