Hello everyone,

I recently became the owner of an 04 S-Type 3.0L. I'm an automotive mechanic of 18 years, so I'm pretty adept with vehicles in general. That being said, when I got the vehicle, only the driver's side low beam was working. Now they both don't work.
I removed the headlamps, and according to the wiring diagram ( if it's correct ) I do have source voltage to the ballasts.
So my question is, is there a conversion to LED? Or a conversion to generic halogen bulbs?
or am I stuck with Xenon/HID bulbs?
Any help is much appreciated!

 

Not sure what you mean by "source voltage to the ballasts". But I read it as: You have a 12V-low-Amperage-signal voltage for the HID lights. If that is the case, nothing is stopping you to use that 12V-control voltage to control relays (generic relays are pretty cheap there days) and use those relays (of suitable Amperage) to switch thru a direct feed from the battery to whatever other light source you want.

Having said this: HID lights are using extremely high Amperage (I designed only the light switch for the X-Type as member of the X400 design team), but I am sure that the S-Type light switch would also not be able to handle that Amperage directly). I.e. the OEM design for HID lights would involve relays. Are your OEM relays OK?

Maybe it also helps you to know, that the fusing concept in the S-Type (and X-Type for that matter) is a bit crazy: Pretty much every light (high/low/left/right) has it's own fuse - I had this issue recently that the left high beam did not work. I wasted a lot of time taking everything apart, as the last thing you think of, if that it could be the fuse (because the right high beam worked alright) - who would anticipate there to be separate fuses for left and right...

Cheers, Peter

 

so, since LED headlights are not legal in Aus, and I want brighter, and longer reach, what are the options? I just watched a utube video that compared xenon and LED. so its Xenon for me.

 

Hi Roberto, while I have not converted any of my headlights away from the OEM equipment, it made me wonder, as to why LED conversion should be illegal in Australia, thus I googled and found this:
https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-adv...D%20headlights.

So LED headlights seem to be OK, but better confirm with your VIC-version of the NSW-RTA (=RMS)
Cheers, Peter

 

For Gen 2 cars, both HIDs and halogens were available. If I had HIDs, I would repair them and not even dream of swapping them out for halogens. HID bulbs and ballasts age. Worth checking if that is the problem first.

I don't believe the Gen 1 cars ever had an HID option. For these all we can do is make sure that the clear lacquer on the lenses is in good shape, put in the best bulbs you can find and make sure that the aim is not pointing too low. I use the latest Osram Night Breaker or Philips X-treme bulbs whenever required and find that even though they don't look as bright as HIDs or LEDs, they can throw a good amount of light and they aren't filtered too white (copy HID/LED look), which loses some uasble light. These halogen headlight units were homologated for 1500 lumen bulbs and all H7 bulbs will be in this ballpark. The better ones focus the light better using a smaller, more precisely positioned filament, which unfortunately also burns out sooner. Bulb life is improving though.

Osram have a range of LED-halogen replacements, including the H7 style, but in Germany they are so far certified only for a few popular cars. As Peter mentions above, maybe this is similar to the Australian rules. These LED replacements also have 1500 lumen outputs so will probably not be that much better but will last much longer and use less power. The S-Type is not in the certified group and nor is my much newer Hyundai Tucson

 

thank you, Peter and NeilR. All I want is a little brighter and farther illumination for night driving. I think the Osram and Philips you mentioned are available locally. I will stick to these options.

 

HI Roberto, as neilr wrote, if you can fix your HID, there is nothing brighter... - but when you just wrote wrote "brighter and farther" - it came to mind: Did you check already, if your headlamp leveling is still OK, or if your headlights are falling around wildly in their housing? That's actually quite likely. The little plasticky thinks (little wheels and similar inside of the headlights) are extremely fragile and doomed to fail. I ordered already repair kits for mine. SO just touch your headlight unit slightly from behind - if that moves your headlight, you have a problem and need to fix the headlight leveling... Cheers, Peter

 

Peter_of_Australia, I have a 2004 X-Type with 3.0L that came from the factory with Hologens. Do you know if I purchased genuine Jaguar X-Type Xenon headlight assemblies if they are a simple swap or is there anything else that would need to be modified for them to work in the vehicle. I have found several on e-Bay that look intact. I have also seen several aftermarket manufacturers that have upgrade kits that come with ballasts and igniters. Any experience with the aftermarket otions? Regards, Mark.

 

Hi Peter, as you mentioned, the headlight units on mine move on both sides. I have an 01 S-type. Would you know if there is a repair kit for it? Thanks

 

Hi Roberto,
The repair kit I used was/is described as repair kit for S-Type 1999-2007, thus I'd say, you can use the same kit for your 2001 S-Type as I did for my 2004 S-type.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/373183839022
As everything, it is now 10% more expensive as it was less than 2 month ago...
I'll try to write up the DIY repair guide for the headlights today, if not then tomorrow or so...

 

Hi Roberto,
I've put in a night shift and just wrote the new thread "DIY Guide: S-Type Head-Light (Headlamp) Repair (incl. new level adjuster kit)" in answer to your question above.

 

thanks Peter, now all I need are the other tools (heat gun), accept that I may not be able to use the car for days as I fumble in the repairs, and spare time to do it. Easy-peasy, mate.

 

"Good thing wants to have it's share of time" - this is my translation of a German saying...
I bought my 2004 S-Type 4 months ago - looked like it were in good shape - but I am basically working on it fully time since then, which does not worry me.
It is not yet registered, but I have 4 other cars registered. I've just been today to the RMS (=RTA) to renew 2 of them (16 and 25 year old cars - passed rego without problems). My future goal is to have 9 or 10 cars registered, which are older than 30 years. On historic rego of course... I plan to have the first historic car registered next year, and in 6 years a total of 6.

 

Way to go, Peter. 9 cars on club permits will be awesome. Reg of my 01 S-type in Vic is @$880 but when it hits 25 yrs old, rego will be $60-150 depending on total days use. Bud, thanks for the DIY, really appreciated. Oh, I am getting a croc jack this weekend as well.

 

I use a 3000kg hydraulic jack from Supercheap (bought, when they had a special) and a similar one from a garage sale, plus 4 stands.
The rego-price difference is about the same here. But I see in your post that VIC (just like SA) settled on 25 years now! Unfair! 30 years in NSW.
The regulation about historic vehicles in NSW is: Apart from club events you can drive 60 days with log book.
And I just googled the rest: WA is also 25 years for historic vehicles...

 

The left side low beam HID is out on my 05 STR. I've discovered what a fun time it will be to replace. Since it's been a few years since the last post, I'm wondering if anyone has experience and/or recommendations for LED conversions? From what I've read, I need to find a D2S rated 55 watts but there it seems more convoluted than that. Would these be suitable? D2S LED Xenon Headlight Bulbs For Infiniti G35 2005-08 G37 2008-14 Coupe Sedan X | eBay