Hello. My headlight level adjustment engine is broken. Are these engines possible to reapair? Can they be bought seperately or do I have to buy a complete lamp?

Will be gratefull for any help.

 

Welcome to the forum,

Sorry to hear about your headlight adjuster.

We can assume it's a Jaguar but Model and Year details will help!

Please post in New Member Area - Intro a MUST to introduce yourself and your vehicle to all the members. In return you'll get advice on where to post tech questions.

Graham

 

It's an X type 2005, so I am actually not sure if it's a Ford Mondeo or a Jaguar. :-) But at least the headlight can be considered as Jaguar.

 

I've got the opposite problem, mine makes a whirring sound but doent move the beam.

 

This seems to be a weakness of these cars. The worst part is that I have hardly ever used this adjustment, but it's broken still. Do you know if I have to replace the whole lamp, or just the adjustment engine? Repair it would even be better if that’s possible. To buy a complete new lamp on a Jaguar will cost a fortune, at least in my country. I’m planning to have my car on EU control soon and need to know my options.

 

Hi there Cruiseliner,

Yeah this is a major issue with Jag X-Types

The problem is not with the adjustor motor but with the actual clips holding on to the lights. Well 99% of the case anyway.

You can fix this yourself but it will take you most part of the day if you havent done it before (which I assume you havent).

You will need to take off the entire front bumper to release the headlights and then fix the mount clips inside.

First things first, you will need to buy some replacement clips, you can find these off ebay. You could try re-glueing the ones you have now but they might fail again like mine did.

- Remove the radiator splash shield from the bottom of the car, held on by a few big screws long the bottom and wheel arches
- Then take off the front bumper, held on by (i think) 2 bolts on each side and another two bolts at the front where the lights are
- After unmount the lights (i think they are bolted) and unclip them from the wires
- Now this is the tricky bit, with SLOW force, try to pry open the lense of the headlight, it will very slowly come free. Try to keep the clips out of their locks by putting a piece of thin wood or metal there so they don't snap back in. Use a razor or blade to cut the sealing material and you should eventually get the headlight lense off.
- From here you can see the damage done. Just pull out the broken adjustors and put the new ones in.
- Be sure to keep the entire lense and lights dust free then seal the lense back on with some sealant and put it all back together!!

Congrats if you made if this far, it is quite a long read haha. PM me if you got any questions, ive done this twice and need to do it again soon

 

Thanks for the information. I have just assumed that the engine is the problem (because the garage suggested that), but the plastic clips may very well be the case. I will check that further. Anyway, I see that this is a time consuming repair and will cost a great deal if I choose to get a garage to fix it with the repair kit. I will probably do it myself. I send you a pm if I have more questions.

 

Hi Cruiseliner,

Sure PM me anytime if you got any more questions. I know how long projects can take on a car but I expect to be around for a few more years yet, so anytime

 

Hi,
I have the same problem and trying to find out, if the adjuster kit on Ebay
cures this.
I am confused between the, sweep motor just buzzing and the pivot problem that can be fixed by Brutals screw fix (details on this forum).

I will watch the post perhaps we can exchange progress

Stan

 

Hi, lancervi,
will this fix work when the motors just buzz and dont move the lens.

Thans
Stan
the

 

Car projects are often postponed, but in this case I will have to deal with the problem before the end of the year. I don’t know how things are in Australia, but in Europe we’ve got this EU regulation where all cars older than four years have to get a safety check every other year. The head light adjustment may not be a major safety issue, but the rules are so strict that such things have to be functional to get the car through the test. It’s often wise to correct known errors in advance rather than jump to expensive quick fix suggestions from the garage during the test – such as replacement of the whole lamp.

I have now checked my lamp further and believe the engine is the problem in my case. I can’t hear any sound from the engine, which I guess I should have if the plastic clips were broken. If the engine is the problem – is this the item I need?
05 07 08 JAGUAR S TYPE XTYPE HEADLIGHT LEVELING CONTROL UNIT ADHLS COMPUTER ECU | eBay

 

Hi Stanjag,

If all you can here is the motors buzzing, (be sure that this isn't just the engine making its normal buzzing sound when you turn it on (without engine running)), then it might be an actual problem with the headlight adjustor motors. There's only a few things you can do in that case to check if the motors are the problem or the clips.

Open up the headlight casing from inside the bonnet (as if you were changing a light blub, check your manual if you are unsure). Now with the cap twisted off put your hand inside and try to see if the the unit inside the case moves around easily (do not use force otherwise you will break it), if so the issue is definitely the clips inside are broken and you will need to use the steps above. If the unit doesn't move then yeah it could be an issue with the adjustor motors. I'm not sure on how to fix those unfortunately, but I will get back to you with hopefully an answer tomorrow.

 

Hi Cruiseliner, don't we all know how long car projects take :'(

I'll just double check your issue with a few guys I know that work on Jags so I will hopefully get back to you tomorrow with an answer

Cheers

 

Hi Stanjag and Cruiseliner,

So I've spoken to my lovely Jaguar mechanics and they still believe that the issue would be to do with those darn clips. But anyway just to confirm follow post #12 above which will give you absolute certainty whether or not the issue is with those clips or not.

Let me know how it goes!!

 

Hi guys,
Thanks to Brutal and Cruiseliner for the input!
Couple of points as there are a few members with issues with the headlamps.
As far as I can make out there are a few variations and members need to have the full type information to give the correct advice.
1) Automatic leveling
or
2) Manual leveling adjusted by switch on dash.
3) bulbs
or
4) HID
or
5) Xenon
in UK they say HID I think the Xenon might be the same ????????


It seems that the automatic & manual motors are different.
I don't know if the headlight actual shape and fitting changed by year?
or what years/types are interchangeable.

I am gathering information and will start the project when I return from vacation 18th Oct.
In the meantime any information or tips no matter how trivial will help.

Thanks

Stan

 

My car has got manual adjustment by switch on dash and H1 halogen bulbs. I also believe that HID and xenon are the same.

 

I have now checked the unit inside the lamp. It doesn't move. I have also double checked if I hear any motor sound when the switch is turned on. The lamp with the problem is completely silent. The other lamp is buzzing.

So, I guess that the motor is the problem in my case. Maybe this is what I need? JAGUAR X-TYPE HEADLIGHT HEADLAMP STEPPER ADJUSTMENT MOTOR | eBay

 

>My car has got manual adjustment by switch on dash and H1 halogen bulbs.

What years/models have the headlight adjustments? My '05 has halogen bulbs (i.e., non HID) but there is no adjustment mechanism that I'm aware of.
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Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons

 

[QUOTE=pab;584056What years/models have the headlight adjustments? My '05 has halogen bulbs (i.e., non HID) but there is no adjustment mechanism that I'm aware of.
[/QUOTE]


I don't know what models supposed to have this adjustment or if it's standard on some models or free customer's choice. If you've got the manual adjustment it's located on the left of the steering wheel (assuming you have your wheel on the left side). It's a small turning button. However, If you have the automatic adjustment it's kind of natural you're not even aware of it.

 

>I don't know what models supposed to have this adjustment or if it's standard on some model

I don't recognize that. Perhaps it wasn't offered on cars for the USA.
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Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons