After owning an 82 XJ6 for years but having to part with it, I was rather looking into owning a cat again for the quality of the drive looks and just the love of the car. I was offered a 2002 xtype a while back and jumped at the chance to get back into the swing of things.
I had found a very reliable mechanic ( I know how the cats can be) owner manuals and joined this forum and reading a lot pretty much knew what could and might lie a head.
That being said I and my mechanic may have something unusual going on with the LH headlamp. In the good old US0fA we have what is known in our states as annual safety inspection. I had noticed a low head lamp out for a while and after reading the forum decided that I would have the mechanic fix the problem.

Upon opening the head headlamp he found it lying down against the assembly and in so doing so burned an area but worse it appears to have shorted out the lead wires. After coming here and going to the Captains FQ's and downloading the electrical guide (thank you very much sir!) I am hoping that this lamp would just ground out before heading back to break/short out somewhere back toward the command module or at the very least there would be an inline fuse that would have caught this before it would have done any severe damage.

Please help if you have any knowledge to pass along on this I certainly and my mechanic would thank you!

Sorry so wended but I did want to get the whole idea out and congratulate the forum for a great site!!

 

geewilicurs, from the sounds of things, if the interior part of the headlight is broken, then you are going to need a new headlight assembly. I know the VA annual inspections all too well (lived in Norfolk for 3 years). From the sounds of things, once you get the new headlight assembly in there, all your problems are going to be fixed since you mention all the wiring issues are inside the headlight assembly, not in the wiring harness.

If you need more info, let me know. If you aren't too far from Richmond, then I am a little bit of a drive from you and would be willing to help out where I can.

 

I am hopping with the ground being so close under the assembly that that would catch the problem but not sure. If in fact the short in the circuit is further along where do you think we should look?

The lead to the head lamp assembly is not showing power per his estimation.

Thank you sir! I am in NOVA

 

geewillicurs, I"m an hour south of DC on the MD penninsula (find California, MD on a map and that is where I am).

You seem to mention the inside of the headlight is loose and laying in the bottom of the assembly. This condition is a "common" problem with the headlights due to the supports for the reflectors breaking, allowing the reflectors to fall to the bottom of the headlight assembly. There is no simple fix for this, hence why I mention trying to find a replacement headlight. If the supports are good, then getting in and redoing some of the wiring shouldn't be all that difficult. The "hard" part will be pulling the front bumper cover off (20 minutes each way). If you want to come on over to my place, next weekend or some time later, let me know. I have all the stuff at my place to fix what you have going on.

 

That is a great offer thermo and I will/might take you up on that at a later date.

I think again I am having trouble getting across what I am explaining the BULB it self was laying down in the headlight assembly and has a burn piece of plastic on it. They put in a new bulb and are getting no power to it. Hence the problem of trying to find the short.

I am heading over there now But if you have any more thoughts would appreciate it! Thanks for trying to help!!

 

Gee, if only the bulb itself is loose, then all you need is a new bulb plug. THe headlights don't get sufficient air and it leads to overheating of the plastic that holds the clips for the headlight bulb. Look at the local auto parts store and you should be able to find a new connector for the bulb only (universal part). I was thinking you were saying the whole inside of the headlight assembly was loose, which is a different problem.

 

he seems to think it is a problem with the ballast?? could that be?