MY 2010 Tail Light Upgrade Revisited
#22
I think Jochem means "expensive in general" without realising that we're talking about 2010 tail lamps modified to fit 06-09 cars as a (hopefully) plug-and-play upgrade.
Since list price on parts down here in NZ is about 2x what it should be these will probably work out cheaper than buying from Jaguar locally and rewiring to work.
Since list price on parts down here in NZ is about 2x what it should be these will probably work out cheaper than buying from Jaguar locally and rewiring to work.
#24
I have a set on the way from Germany so we'll find out how "plug and play" the upgrade is.
Minor point - LHD and RHD cars require a different modified wiring harness (since the reverse and fog lamps are on opposite sides) and US market cars have a different part number to Euro LHD cars for the 06-09 left side lamp on the liftgate - not sure if that affects the wiring but it would pay to check with the Germans.
Minor point - LHD and RHD cars require a different modified wiring harness (since the reverse and fog lamps are on opposite sides) and US market cars have a different part number to Euro LHD cars for the 06-09 left side lamp on the liftgate - not sure if that affects the wiring but it would pay to check with the Germans.
#26
I have a set on the way from Germany so we'll find out how "plug and play" the upgrade is.
Minor point - LHD and RHD cars require a different modified wiring harness (since the reverse and fog lamps are on opposite sides) and US market cars have a different part number to Euro LHD cars for the 06-09 left side lamp on the liftgate - not sure if that affects the wiring but it would pay to check with the Germans.
Minor point - LHD and RHD cars require a different modified wiring harness (since the reverse and fog lamps are on opposite sides) and US market cars have a different part number to Euro LHD cars for the 06-09 left side lamp on the liftgate - not sure if that affects the wiring but it would pay to check with the Germans.
No more>" Hey your back up light is out".
Because now you have lights on both sides.just like it was suppose to be.
#27
yes - but the existing wiring for the reverse light goes to the left side of my RHD car and to the right side of your LHD car so the Germans needed to know that before shipping the parts
#28
New tail lights arrived from Germany today.
There are heatsinked resistors attached to an aluminium bracket on the back of the left/right sides and the fog/reverse lamps have a crossover cable linking the 2 sides. It all looks pretty slick. Also included were some cable ties and velcro tape. No installation instructions but it looks fairly self explanatory. Worst part will be removing the trim from the inside of the liftgate.
Probably won't get a chance to install until Saturday but I'll post some before/after pics...
There are heatsinked resistors attached to an aluminium bracket on the back of the left/right sides and the fog/reverse lamps have a crossover cable linking the 2 sides. It all looks pretty slick. Also included were some cable ties and velcro tape. No installation instructions but it looks fairly self explanatory. Worst part will be removing the trim from the inside of the liftgate.
Probably won't get a chance to install until Saturday but I'll post some before/after pics...
#30
I'm not sure cost + shipping + tax in New Zealand dollars will make any sense in Texas
Ahyhoo - lamps installed without too much trouble. A couple of gotchas. The new lamps have 3 threaded studs for securing them. The old ones have 2 nuts and a press-in stud at the front. You need to pop out the grommet the press-in stud goes in from the front. Also the top thread seems a bit shorter so I had to replace the nut.
No bulb out messages which is good...
It doesn't look like they've come up with a solution to the flashing reverse/rear fog issue that George Kale used relays for. However I may have a simpler solution.
If the 2 sets of lamps are drawing 2x the current then a resistor in SERIES will limit the current - whether it still provides enough to drive the LEDS is the only issue. The only reason I thought of this is because I have a bunch of resistors I use to limit the current in LED circuits in scale modes.
So I tried a 100 ohm resistor in series with the reverse lights and the flashing has stopped... A 100 ohm resistor in series with the fogs stops the flashing - but only 6 of the 8 LEDs light on each side so it's probably a bit big. Tomorrow I'll try a 47 or 80 ohm and see what I get.
Ahyhoo - lamps installed without too much trouble. A couple of gotchas. The new lamps have 3 threaded studs for securing them. The old ones have 2 nuts and a press-in stud at the front. You need to pop out the grommet the press-in stud goes in from the front. Also the top thread seems a bit shorter so I had to replace the nut.
No bulb out messages which is good...
It doesn't look like they've come up with a solution to the flashing reverse/rear fog issue that George Kale used relays for. However I may have a simpler solution.
If the 2 sets of lamps are drawing 2x the current then a resistor in SERIES will limit the current - whether it still provides enough to drive the LEDS is the only issue. The only reason I thought of this is because I have a bunch of resistors I use to limit the current in LED circuits in scale modes.
So I tried a 100 ohm resistor in series with the reverse lights and the flashing has stopped... A 100 ohm resistor in series with the fogs stops the flashing - but only 6 of the 8 LEDs light on each side so it's probably a bit big. Tomorrow I'll try a 47 or 80 ohm and see what I get.
#31
#32
#33
#34
If it's as easy as splicing in a couple of resistors it's not that big a deal.
The rear, brake and turn lamps all work flawlessly and the installation is pretty simple.
#36
#37
Also, where exactly are you placing the resistors?
Last edited by rscultho; 06-11-2011 at 06:32 PM.
#38
I picked up a resistance substitution wheel while I was at the electronics store which makes dialling in the right value easy.
Reverse lights will illuminate with anywhere between 33 and 150 ohms. At 10 ohms they still flash and 150 is looking fairly dim - I think I'm going to split the difference and use an 82ohm.
With the substitution wheel fog lights work at 10 ohms, since the next step up is 33 I tried a 47 and 33 in parallel (which gives 19ohms) and, with the engine running, all the fog LEDS are on, with the engine off, 2 out of the 8 on each side are barely lit so 15 ohms is probably better. <edit> confirmed 15 ohms works.</edit>
The cable provided has connectors which plug into the existing wiring harness. I'm making up a couple of short leads with connectors on each end with the resistor in-line with + like this (yes I know the resistor is on the black wire but the + on the reverse connector is dark - so it made it easier to make sure I have it the right way round)
Someone far more knowledgeable than me may have a better idea or a reason why this is a bad idea. Since the reverse lights are only on momentarily and the only time I use the rear fogs is to tell the truck that's 2ft behind my rear bumper at 70mph to back off, I only really need them to work to pass our local safety inspections.
Also it's entirely possible that their harness works perfectly fine on LHD cars and there's a problem with the re-wiring they did for my right hand drive car.
Reverse lights will illuminate with anywhere between 33 and 150 ohms. At 10 ohms they still flash and 150 is looking fairly dim - I think I'm going to split the difference and use an 82ohm.
With the substitution wheel fog lights work at 10 ohms, since the next step up is 33 I tried a 47 and 33 in parallel (which gives 19ohms) and, with the engine running, all the fog LEDS are on, with the engine off, 2 out of the 8 on each side are barely lit so 15 ohms is probably better. <edit> confirmed 15 ohms works.</edit>
The cable provided has connectors which plug into the existing wiring harness. I'm making up a couple of short leads with connectors on each end with the resistor in-line with + like this (yes I know the resistor is on the black wire but the + on the reverse connector is dark - so it made it easier to make sure I have it the right way round)
Someone far more knowledgeable than me may have a better idea or a reason why this is a bad idea. Since the reverse lights are only on momentarily and the only time I use the rear fogs is to tell the truck that's 2ft behind my rear bumper at 70mph to back off, I only really need them to work to pass our local safety inspections.
Also it's entirely possible that their harness works perfectly fine on LHD cars and there's a problem with the re-wiring they did for my right hand drive car.
Last edited by jallitt; 06-11-2011 at 10:40 PM.