OK,

The headlights in the Black car decided to stay eluminated today, even in the sunshine, bugga.

The time out and switch off as they have always done, so stuck relay is out the window.

I have NOT had the Dragons Blood from the mirror, and the mirror vision is normal.

I looked around, and people that have replaced the interior mirror with a "cheaper" version appear to have foregone the Auto Headlamp feature, so my "Grey cells" indicate the sensor is inside the mirror????????

I have fiddled with the wires, and shone a super bright LED torch in the general area, but they stay on.

Any clues for the old guy please.

 

If they stay on in Auto in bright light but switch off with car off and even come on/off with remote fob (if early cars do that?) then yes I'd be thinking the sensor for light level. I gather it's in the mirror rear or thereabouts and uses the blank bit of windscreen (windshield) so it can sense the light.

It'll be on the elec guide and you can probably check it via wherever it routes. (The guide has lots more than just circuits as I'm sure you know.)

 

Cheers Grant,

I have the X202, so possibly different. The "Auto" position on the 03 has been code for "Daytime Running Lights" as long as I've had the car (Since 08)

While scanning it with WDS recently in an attempt to resolve a climate control problem, I noted failures of both Driver and passenger solar sensors. Sorry, don't remember the codes, because WDS s'plains it to you right there on the screen. Bob advised me to check the panels either side of the dash to make sure there weren't plugs adrift as it would not be common for both to fail at once.

That was all good. A new solar sensor (there's only one component, but I guess it feeds both sides) set it all right. On the X202, it is located in the center of the defrost panel - the one that cracks and breaks just aft of the leading edge of the windscreen.

Prior to that, I had a recent problem of the lights flashing with car off and key stowed...sometimes the "on" flash would last so long I could be bothered to go open the door and switch them to "Off." Additionally, they would go off randomly at night whilst running. A new Multi-Function Switch sorted that, but still on all-day in "Auto." Again, the solar sensor cured that ill, now in auto, I only have lights on if it is darkish.

 

D'oh - that sounds right. The one I mentioned is for the auto-wipers I think.

 

Update.

This AM I had a Seniors moment.

The Silver car, Her Magesty's, works as designed, and is still an X200, and 1 year younger than mine.

The thought of swapping parts HAHAHAHA, not worth the blood shed, trust me.

Sooooooo, Inteligent that I am, I turned the IgnON on her car, and the lights came ON, good start.

Shone that LED at the mirror, NOTHING, just a tired arm.

Shone it at the Sensor dome on the dash top, OFF, within 15 seconds.

Now we all know know, X200 Auto Headlight Sensor is in that dome, NOT the mirror.

XR81511 is the part number, and NLA, so more search and destroy coming, stay tuned.

 

Grant, glad you've identified the culprit. FWIW, the part number for the X202 is solar sensor, XR836394. No idea if that will mate to your pre-facelift car, but I'll go snap a pic of the connector side, and mounting and post them under edit, and then maybe you can determine? They are available from the dealer, as well as eBay in the $31-$34 range.

Beware, on my 2003, the panel was apparently cracked-thru in two places, about 12" either side of the sensor. Therefore, I thought it'll be an easy change...just pull the broken middle piece out and renew the sensor, right? Right! soon as I touched it, the "broken middle piece" became the 6 broken middle pieces. additionally, one of the solar sensor mounting bosses crumbled as I removed the screw. Couple days of rebuilding the boss and the broken middle piece with epoxy while I awaited part arrival.....and despite being coated in cured epoxy, the boss crumbled again on installation....and long before the screw bottomed out! Fortunately, there are two mounting screws....and one is sufficient.




Ignore the round bit right of the tape in this one, it is just a knob from a dryer used to hold the sensor level for the pic:










Sorry about the orientation on some of them....I took them all with the camera oriented the same, switched the portrait ones back to landscape in photobucket, saved with replace original, yet here you have it....?!?

 

Yes that's pretty much what happened to mine. I bit the bullet and got a new one from Jaguar for about $280.

Yes too much money but any used one by this time would be brittle and weak too. I had epoxied the panel 2-3 times before it just started coming apart.
.
.
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The upside: once mine cracked-thru, it quit rattling!

 

Thanks for that.

I will rip the car apart when it returns. Crash shop due to a side swipe, nothing major, just a PITA, and HE is paying, thanks Dash Cam.

One Indy supplier here stated the X202 can be fitted, but an extra hole/s needs to be drilled, as the X200 is a simple push in sensor, and drilling holes up there with the windscreen in place will be a laugh a minute.

Another claims that the Ford sensor is the same, dunno, I will search that at work today, wrecking yard on site.

Thanks again.