Electric Headlamp Adjusters.

[Wrinkly]

Do ALL Jaguar S Types have electric headlamp adjusters, or only certain models of certain years?

Many thanks and Regards, John

[JOE-DOT-COM]

hi

all S-type have electric headlight height adjusters, some are manual,  dial on dash, some are self leveling, HID ones.

all suffer from broken adjust, they go brittle and break, ending in drooping headlights, replacements are avail on eBay

self leveling lights, all STR and option HID if fitted, have two sensors, front and rear, should do the dance every time the ignition is switch on, lights go fully up, then fully down, then level, if any key parts are unplugged, with battery connected, sensors or headlights, the self leveling will stop working and can only be reset with Jaguar ids/sdd software

cheers

Joe

[Wrinkly]

11 hours ago, JOE-DOT-COM said:

hi

all S-type have electric headlight height adjusters, some are manual,  dial on dash, some are self leveling, HID ones.

all suffer from broken adjust, they go brittle and break, ending in drooping headlights, replacements are avail on ebay

self leveling lights, all STR and option HID if fitted, have two sensors, front and rear, should do the dance every time the ignition is switch on, lights go fully up, then fully down, then level, if any key parts are unplugged, with battery connected, sensors or headlights, the self leveling will stop working and can only be reset with Jaguar ids/sdd software

cheers

Joe

Joe

Many thanks for the information. I have replaced dipped beam bulbs with RING Xenon 200 bulbs and am finding that the beam has not improved tremendously.  I have seen the replacement adjusters that are available, which lead me to believe my lights may be suffering "the droop", as you refer to it. I was hoping that some models did not have electric adjusters, thus saving the what I imagine is a fiddly fix procedure. I am presuming the H7 fitments that I have on my car are not HID. Have gained knowledge/information from somewhere, that I cannot remember where, that the whole of the front bumper has to be removed to fix headlight units. Does this apply to fitting the replacement adjuster kits that are available from eBay. Hoping that the fix is relatively straight forward.

Best Wishes and Regards, John

 

[JOE-DOT-COM]

hi

adjuster fail on all the S-types

easiest way to tell if they have broke is hold the back of the high beam Bulb and if they feel loose, move up and down, the reflector will move, then there broke

they may just need adjusting, also the lenses can either fog up or go milky on the outside, which can be cured with a 3m headlight restoration kit which polishes the lense, to like new look

some times may be quicker and cheaper to buy a used pair of headlights on normal bulbs

cheers

Joe

 

[Wrinkly]

44 minutes ago, JOE-DOT-COM said:

hi

adjuster fail on all the S-types

easiest way to tell if they have broke is hold the back of the high beam bulb and if they feel loose, move up and down, the reflector will move, then there broke

they may just need adjusting, also the lenses can either fog up or go milky on the outside, which can be cured with a 3m headlight restoration kit which polishes the lense, to like new look

some times may be quicker and cheaper to buy a used pair of headlights on normal bulbs

cheers

Joe

 

Joe

I very recently rejuvenated the glass on all four headlamps and fortunately they look almost new. I initially thought that this was why dipped beam was not great. The rejuvenation of the glass along with fitting (as per your good recommendation) RING Xenon 200 bulbs has not achieved what I was looking for in respect of dipped beam performance. My latest thought is now that the headlights may need readjusting and then I found out that there is a problem of S Type adjusters failing.

I will try and test the high beam light tomorrow in the fashion you have described to confirm if the adjuster/s are broken. I am hoping not because I do not fancy the job of removing the front bumper in order to remove headlamp units to be able to fix them.

Have identified  a person who will repair these adjusters on both lights for around £90 plus postage. You have to remove the light units and send them to him. He splits the lenses and totally cleans everything as well. I should hope he did for that money. !!!!!

Feel as though I am between "a rock and a hard place" at the moment, and not certain how to proceed. I might just leave things as they are at the moment, especially as I do not do that much night driving these days anyway.

Thanks once more for the further information.

Best Wishes and Regards, John.

[Wrinkly]

Does the bumper have to be removed to fit new adjusters to dipped headlamps and can the new adjusters be fitted with the lamps in situ on the car?

Cheers and thanks, John

[Anthony James]

Yes unfortunately the bumper does have to be removed. However my son removed mine in about 40 minutes. (But then he is a lot more nimble than me!).

Are Ring Xenon 200 bulbs road legal? (Or don't you care? 😀)

Have replaced my bulbs with Osram Night Breaker Lasers which claim 150% light. I am impressed by them. Only downside is shorter life.

I also suffered the 'droop'. bought a replacement unit on eBay but it arrived in the same state.

Might have used the same chap as mentioned by John above to replace adjusters. As I'm only 30 mins from him I took them there and he did them more or less as I waited. I'd already had them polished otherwise I think a polish was included in the price.

You can open the headlights yourself to replace them if you fancy putting them in your oven at a certain temperature for 20 minutes or so!

[Wrinkly]

Tony

I was in the same place as you at one time. I had a son who would have done the job in no time at all. He was actually a degree qualified race engineer. Unfortunately I lost him four years ago, when he took his own life and left two sons behind. He was twenty eight years of age, I am 72 and nowhere near as agile as I once was. Just to add to the problems my wife died in March of this year. Enough about my demise.

Yes, I do care very much about being road legal and RING Xenon 200 are guaranteed as road legal bulbs. No, I do not fancy putting the lamps in the oven at all. In fact I do not fancy doing the job at all.

I have wondered about buying a second hand pair of lights but was concerned that I would end up, as you unfortunately did, with another pair that had broken.

Thanks for the advice that bumper has to be removed.

Best Wishes and Regards, John

[JustBadly]

Best headlights ever, makes it look like daylight. Dip beam has a fan, full beam does not. Recent changes to the mot mean that led lights can be used on a vehicle when not original equipment, providing the beam pattern is satisfactory.

[Wrinkly]

12 hours ago, JustBadly said:

Best headlights ever, makes it look like daylight. Dip beam has a fan, full beam does not. Recent changes to the mot mean that led lights can be used on a vehicle when not original equipment, providing the beam pattern is satisfactory.

What sort of life expectancy do the manufacturers quote for these lights?

Regards, John

[JustBadly]

12 hours ago, Wrinkly said:

What sort of life expectancy do the manufacturers quote for these lights?

Regards, John

I've had them in for over a year and they are working fine. If you want the product details I can do this. The sales page showed part dimensions and I was able to compare emitter height vs standard filament. Once I had that I knew the beam pattern would be identical to a standard Bulb - except much brighter! Having said that, main beam isn't too bad but standard dip beam is almost dangerous. These sort it out and are comparable to HID.

[Wrinkly]

Justin

I have established that my adjusters are working correctly, so obviously do not need to be replaced.

Would however like the link to where you purchased these bulbs.

Many thanks and Regards, John