Well, I never knew! Sorry.

 

yeah you just see alot more HIDs since theyre internally heavier. But they both break and can be screwed just as long as it only the center adjuster. once the other ones go you need to rebuild if HID, if halogen I toss them. Those break apart to the point a repair kit doesnt have enough pieces to replace the broken parts

 

Oh great another thing wrong with this car.

 

The headlights on my '05 S-type R recently went down and stayed pointed down after I came to a sudden (though not all that sudden) stop. The low beams don't flop around when you wiggle the high beams like they do in Vance's video. The high beams are very firm and the lows only move a little bit, like the good side in the video. Is there something else that could be the problem here? I don't want to try the screw method if that's not the problem.

Also, the headlight repair kits on ebay with the little plastic and metal pin parts, what are these parts for? Are they what I need?

 

Greencat, welcome to the forum!

I've been here just over a year, and have had great advice, assistance and encouragement from really knowledgable members.

Sounds like too much of a coincidence, both headlights going down simultaneously from just a quick stop. Forum member Brutal should be able to advise.

The eBay repair kits (from Poland) are supposed to be superior replacements for the OEM adjusters. I bought a set but, for the last year my STR has the driver side with a screw fix, and the passenger side still OK, waiting to fail. I don't really want to take the headlamps apart until that time. Too chicken.

 

Is your automatic mirror and rain sensor wipers working. I had trouble with my headlight and found out it was the fuse. I believe it was F16 in the passenger compartment.

 

Green, sounds like you lost leveling, either power or programming.
Robin, screw the unbroken side as this will give added support and prolong or keep that side from breaking. Also there is no differance on movement of hi beam or low. theyre one complete assembly inside the housing. Just the hi beam connector is easy to access and check for movement

 

Greencat, I think that means first to check fuses/relays and anything else to do with levelling (wires, connectors, check voltages if you can) but if that turns up nothing then a dealer can reprogram (and troubleshoot for that matter

The suddenness and both suggests something such as a blown fuse maybe caused by a chafed wire that finally hit something or the like.

The electrical guide is part of JTIS, free download, if you want to DIY

 

I found this thread on Headlight repair after I discovered that the internals of one of my headlights was floating around in the housing. I read all nine pages and found interesting comments on the self leveling headlights, but little to none on the standard headlight. This evening I carefully pulled apart my head light to get to the broken pieces. Now I have to figure out how to fuse/bond/weld the poorly designed pieces back together. What a wimpy design!!!

A couple hours later: I started trying to take the broken white pieces of plastic off of the adjusting screws, and the material is brittle and rotten. It shatters without any force at all. Anyone know by chance if these internal adjusting pieces are available as spares? Typical manufacturing attitude these days. A perfectly repairable module has to be scrapped because of a few poorly designed internal parts. Almost tempting to fab the parts out of Delrin, but that would be yet another small project added to a growing list for my car.

 

Well I be darned... A couple people are selling a repair kit on E-bay.

Jaguar s Type s Type Normal Xenon Headlamp Headlight Repair Kit Adjuster | eBay

 

It is funny that you bring this up. I had to pull my headlight out on the right side to install a new headlight bulb stay that was missing. When I did this I verified that the headlight on the left had an adjustment that was broken and the light was floating like yours. I had the light in hand and debated, do a quick or detailed repair, I elected to do the quick fix and install the screw knowing it was a fix I could live with. It is amazing the things you find on these cars that were done that any good engineer / designer would have X on the drawing board. I guess quality control was non-existent. Good luck with your repair.

 

At $40.00 a repair I am glad I had an option.

 

Hi --

I thought I'd add my temporary fix to this thread. At the beginning of February (2013) I acquired a 2005 S-type 4.2 VDP. It had headlight droop on the right side. I recalled having read about this on this forum. I did the test and wiggled the high beam lamp from behind and yes, both high and low beams (lows are HID projectors) swung freely.
FIX: I read about BRUTAL's screw fix and was just about to do it when I realized I was short of time. So, I asked my brother if he had any wood shims, and he didn't, but he went to his firewood and tore off a little shim-wedge shaped piece and I wedged it between the back of the headlight assembly housing and the 'L' shaped high-beam lamp base and voila! instant redneck fix! I put some duct tape on there to complete the redneck fix and I've kept this fix for the 3 weeks and 2,000 miles I've had the car. I have had to push the shim/wedge back in tighter a few times, but it's been holding recently. I'll get around to doing Brutal's screw fix sometime soon.

QUESTION: can I aim the HID low beams a bit higher? The auto-leveling works on both sides. I just find that they are aimed low enough that with the very sharp cut-off, I outrun the low beams about what, about 40 MPH? They might be at the OE aim -- they are not really low -- but as a gauge of aim, I can say that following traffic at 40+ MPH at a normal distance the low beams don't even come up to the rear bumper of the car ahead. I would like to aim them higher but so that they are still low enough not to dazzle/blind any other drivers but are high enough to provide more useful illumination of the roadway.

 

I plan to have my lights adjusted soon but when I do I need to tell them that the screw was installed. If this work the way I think it should the screw I installed applies pressure to the light back against the adjusting screw in the back and will allow adjustment provided you make adjustments on the front screw. That is if I am correct.

 

I can see where the readneck fix would work. I was able to move it also just with the electrical connector that goes into the light. A shim with duct tape would hold it for a while. I am in the process of putting in the screw while working on the trans. here are some pics of a 2000S if you own one for reference. When you move the connector you can see the headlight itself go back into place. I pointed out where you would see this and wherer I am putting the screw, lust like Brutal did.

 

how do you type over a pic?

 

Use photoshop.

 

OK- I am new to this kind of forum- but have exhausted other research avenues- I did the screw fix described here a year ago- from a you tube clip- and other than the fact that they dont always level the same each time, the screw was easy to do and took about fifteen minutes- One word of caution- drill a pilot hole to keep the plastic housing you are going through from cracking, and second, remove the screw you use to make the thread into the hole, and grind off the tip so it doesnt start to degrade the internal stop part- whatever it is- New question- drivers side low beam is yellowish, like a halogen, and the passenger side is blueish- but flickers after being on for a minute or so and goes out completely in another minute- but occasionally it may stay on for 15 minutes or more- Heard someone say somewhere that it could be the battery(?) which admittedly I have never replaced on the 2003 S type 4.2, and the car has 140,000 mostly night driving miles-and I hasten to say (with some trepidation) that I have never had a single problem with anything on this car-(excepting a wayward possibly intoxicated raccoon...) would buy it again if it was still being made- I would like to replace the low beam ballasts and bulbs, but get incredibly conflicting statements whenever I try to buy same, that it cant be done- Is a dealer my only recourse? (and they are the ones who broke the headlights to start with, when requested to aim them higher- their fix? stuffing folded over foam pads behind the assembly... which I didnt discover until three years later, when I removed the shroud...) Help! Thanks

 

You can replace both the bulbs and ballast on the stype, and while you have them out why not buy 2 repair kits and take the lenses off in the oven and fix them right for good

 

That's what I am doing. I just wish I had thought of putting the whole assembly in the oven, rather than use a hair dryer and screw driver to slowly peel off the cover.

Any ides what temperature to cook the assembly at and for how long? I tend to burn things I put in the oven.