09 Jaguar XF LED Headlamp conversion

[bluewoody]

Hello, This is my first post so be gentle with me, im after a bit of advice, i have searched the forums for led and headlamp but could not see what im looking for, i have recently purchased a 2009 XFS 3.0D and love it but the headlamps are not the best and i was wondering if i could fit LED bulbs to the existing headlamp units, having looked on the internet i have then started reading about can bus errors and have reached a point where i cant find a definitive answer if i can fit them or not, im worried an eBay supplier is just going to say its fine but then the engine management light comes on and i end up with a big bill to sort it out, thanks in advance for any advice given

steve

[Tigger]

Hi Steve and welcome,

From my limited knowledge and as far as I'm aware, there is no LED Bulb conversion that can fit into an existing OEM headlight cluster, new cars with LED set up have a matrix of bulbs to point in different directions as no single LED is capable of giving the correct and safe spread of light on the road, LED's are forward directional (like a torch beam) and do not have the spread of light like a standard Bulb, projector lights like those in the X Type rely on a special lense in front of the standard Bulb to project light on to the road but aren't that good although manufacturers use the design to save space I guess.

There are various aftermarket HID headlight conversion kits around that can use existing OEM light clusters, but, I would shy away from converting, unless they are specific to your car, the wrong or generic choice could leave you blinding on coming road users (as we've all seen with young lads in their hatchbacks) .

if you are looking at converting other smaller bulbs , sides, interior etc, go for good quality with a resistance circuit built in, this will ensure you don't get any error messages. LED's draw far less power from your cars battery/ system than standard bulbs and thus the car will assume the bulb has blown so the need for resistors to be built into the bulb to con the cars system.

i have converted my Xtype's projector bulbs from standard to H1 night breakers and it has been a vast improvement, so you could look at reviews on upgrade bulbs for your existing clusters and go from there, Google autobulbs direct , they cover everything that's on the market and have reviews as well.

as I said, I have limited knowledge on this subject and I'm sure the guys on here will advise otherwise if such a conversion exists, but I don't know of one

Cheers

Andrew

[Old_Growler]

5 hours ago, bluewoody said:

Hello, This is my first post so be gentle with me, im after a bit of advice, i have searched the forums for led and headlamp but could not see what im looking for, i have recently purchased a 2009 XFS 3.0D and love it but the headlamps are not the best and i was wondering if i could fit LED bulbs to the existing headlamp units, having looked on the internet i have then started reading about can bus errors and have reached a point where i cant find a definitive answer if i can fit them or not, im worried an ebay supplier is just going to say its fine but then the engine management light comes on and i end up with a big bill to sort it out, thanks in advance for any advice given

steve

As Tigger said Steve. I would go the route of fitting a decent known brand of Bulb which will give the desired effect as dip beam is poor on the pre face lift models, Suggest trying something like Philips xtreme vision which will give a good light increase over standard bulbs without extra heat as there's no way heat can escape from projector style units. LED bulbs run hot! LED side lamp bulbs will not fit though the hole that the long tube clips into between the high & dip beam lamps to hold them. I know the yellowish side lamp bulbs don't look that good but beware on upgrading them to pure white as I found out to my cost they melt the tube and clips! It's much less hassle to remove the headlamp units than trying to fit bulbs with the head lamp units still in place. There are 4 bolts 1 under the wing, 2 on the slam panel and 1 lower down by the grille side. Lay something soft on the ground in front of the lamp your removing. Wriggle the lamp unit gentle taking care that the part that wraps around the wing does not damage the paint, Once this is slightly forward wriggle the unit forward and slightly upwards (Care needed as the 2 plastic fittings for the slam panel are know to harden with age and snap easy!) Once the unit is free unclip the wiring loom. Suggest if memory is not that good? Take a photo of the lamp unit with the bulbs still in place! As it's easy to replace bulbs on these units upside down! Plus don't move the switch that converts to LHD lamps. Replacement is opposite to removal and suggest fitting the under wing bolt a few turns 1st as you may have to wriggle the unit to find the hole. The bolt lower down by the grille I suggest tape the bolt to the socket when replacing as if this drops your never find it again! (care needed removing also)

The only experience I had of fitting LED bulbs were to my Subaru Forester due to the dip xenon ballast HID power pack failing and Subaru high replacement cost it was cheaper to buy LED replacements.The ones I bought had built in cooling fans and but due to the size of the Bulb cover would not fit.

[bluewoody]

Thanks guys so much for the detailed replies, im glad i joined here now, looks like i have avoided a lot of sorrow

 

cheers

steve