brake light bulb failure message on dash

[dennisv8]

Hi,
My car is a 2007 XK and I have been getting the above message intermittently. While the message is on the dash the brake light on the driver's side doesn't work. If I turn the engine off, leave it for a few minutes then switch on again, the message has disappeared and the brake light is working again. Suspecting a loose connection or bad earth I took the car to an auto electrician but he found nothing wrong but the problem persists. Is this a known issue or could it be a depleted battery throwing up spurious warnings ? Car starts on the button.
I would be grateful for any suggestions on how to proceed.

[Astromorg]

Edit: Too late did I realise that this is (probably) an X150, not an X100 thus probably negating the following offer of help! But it may help an X100 owner in the future!

This sounds like the all too common intermittent, prior to permanent, faulty brake light switch assembly!
There are two brake pedal operated microswitches; one is normally open and closes to put the brake lights on, the other is normally closed and opens to cancel cruise control and inform the ECU that the brakes have been applied. Getting the switch assembly out is relatively simple but replacing it is notoriously difficult unless lady luck is very much on your side!
Many just replace the switch assembly without further question - the expensive option! - but others successfully replace only the microswitches at a much better price!. In my own case I tested the switches that both proved to be OK, but were suffering from a dry solder joint to the cicuit board. Repair cost nothing.

A comprehensive account of the of how to go about this job is here
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xk8- ... ear+lights

and more here
http://www.jaguarforum.com/showthread.p ... ake+switch

[dennisv8]

Thanks for your reply. The car is indeed an X150 but I also have an X100 so the info will be useful if I get similar problems with that. In the meantime, this is one of those intermittent irritating niggles that it looks like I will have to put up with for now.