Hello fellow Jag owners...yes, I love drivin mine too! I've got a 2002 X-Type with a burnt out drivers side low beam bulb. Thank you officer, for 'only a warning'! I've only had my cat for about 9 months, so I haven't done much to it...yet. But I thought I'd check in...can anyone please provide advice on procedure to change my headlight bulbs? Is that battery box going to be a problem? I am going to replace them both with standard H1 bulbs and any advice or feedback would be helpful and potentially help me avoid stupid mistakes that could cost me time or money. I haven't started yet, but this is my first Jag and I have no experience working on them. I do have a great deal of experience working on, upgrading, and repairing every other car or truck I've owned, which is, I'm afraid to say (or is it proud)...20 or so vehicles. Thank you all for everything I've read on this forum. I peruse the site just to learn and I find it all interesting and informative.


Scotti

 

Scotti, before you get too wrapped up with buying a new bulb, are you sure you have halogen headlights? Our cars came with 2 headlight styles. You have halogen bulbs and then you have HIDs. Just checking to make sure. If you are not sure, open the driver's door and look down between the door hinges. If you have a 3x4" sticker there saying something to the effect of "This vehicle is equipped with High Intensity Discharge (HID) .....", then you will need the HID bulbs (D2S bulbs, 5000K, 35W).

As for replacing the bulbs, first and foremost, BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WITH THE INTERNALS OF THE HEADLIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!! We have found that the plastic that they made the headlights with becomes brittle with age and even a little jarring can break off the supports for the headlights and result in your headlights pointing extremely up and/or down. So, slower is better in this case.

As for accessing the headlight bulb, if you have small hands and feel confident, then you can simply reach in and go for it. Since this is your first time, I would recommend atleast removing the battery box and being able to see what you are doing and having the room to be a bit gentle.

Some may even recommend that you remove the bumper cover so you can remove the headlight housing from the car. While a little on the extreme side, I understand why they may say that. Removing the front bumper cover takes about 30 minutes to get off, but it will allow you to remove the headlight assembly and do things in a much more controlled manner. if you need info on how to remove the bumper cover, let me know. Not that difficult.

 

Scotti, not to ask a silly question, but have you checked the headlight fuses. We seem to be having a rash of them failing lately and it may save you some time replacing a bulb that is still good.