Headlight Bulb upgrade

[JagmanXJR03]

Happy new year all!
I am looking to upgrade the bulbs in the headlights. I do not want to upgrade to Xenon as the expense will be high, but has anyone purchased and installed better light bulbs, as the standard ones are a bit behind the times.

[J44EAG]

A known issue. Not a problem though even for halogen equipped cars.

Here is my post on the subject. I fitted halogen Halfords Extreme Brilliance H7 lamps to my old V8 02 plate S-type. 130% extra illumination claimed. Road legal with 55W rating. Recommended. From my own experience, you will notice a huge difference after fitting...no comparison to the original OE lamps. viewtopic.php?f=195&t=9572

There are aftermarket Zenon/HID conversion kits available...not all have the appropriate certification. Converting to Jaguar HID is likely to be expensive and labour intensive. Hardly worth the time, expense or trouble when the Halfords +130% lamps do the job very well. Phillips and Osram also offer their uprate lamps but going the Halfords route means if you ever need a replacement, they are always quickly obtainable via their retail stores anywhere in the country.

Mike K

[JagmanXJR03]

Hello Mike, thanks for that. What is your experience of fitting them, easy?
Also I have the parking brake fault appear, and I have tested the battery and it is fine, any thoughts?
Paul

[J44EAG]

Space is VERY tight behind the headlight units. You need someone with small hands and thin wrists together with long nose pliers. It can be a bit of a cuss of a job, Paul.

Try this for the electronic hand brake. Firstly charge the battery with a mains charger to ensure the battery has at least 12.8 volts. With the car in park, turn on the ignition and hold the EPB switch down at the same time switching the ignition off. That induces a maintenance mode which can be used when changing EPB pads/footrake pads. Leave the car untouched for half and hour. Then start up and see if the message has gone and the car back to normal. If you have a code reader/clearer such as the iCarsoft 930i or an Android phone, Torque Pro app and a ELM327 bluetooth unit, that may be useful.

Otherwise try a battery disconnect for at least 20 mins. Have your radio reset code to hand before trying the disconnect.

Old, cold, end of life batteries can and will also cause this type of fault. Drop test a battery to confirm true condition and not just terminal voltage.

Hope that helps.

Mike K

[JagmanXJR03]

Thanks Mike, I will see what happens as at present the light is out.
Paul