soo........first off let me say it is a nice car......
but WTF!!!! lol

2002 x type factory hid with auto leveling

changed the bulb...nada
changed ignighter...zip
kicked the bumper...my gf got mad

what voltage should come out of the wire harness into the ignighter?(and what wires mean what there are 3 of them)

where is the balast on the driver side?

the autoleveling is not working ...sounds like the motor is jammed....really this is the least of my worries...its been 3-4 weeks tryin to find parts that arent $300 a bulb, 300 ignighter and 300 labour....but its lookin like a good deal now that ive spent hours on this.

someone please give me some insight.

 

Mike, when dealing with the HIDs, do not attempt to measure the voltage at the bulb when the HID bulb is first turned on. You are looking at something in the neighborhood of 23,000 volts. Yes, 23,000 VOLTS!!!!!! This only lasts for a second or so, then the voltage will drop down to around 85 VDC. The 23,000 volts is enough that it will fry most multimeters. So, unless you feel like holding a small bomb in your hands, please don't measure this. As for the voltage going into the ignitor, you are looking at 12 VDC. The power for the HIDs is the green/black wire going into the headlight assembly.

As for the HID ignitor, it is located on the back side of the bulb. So, if you have accessed the bulb, you have touched the ignitor.

As for the auto leveling circuit, you should have orange/yellow wire (driver's side) and on the blue wire (driver's side). Both of these feed power to the servo in the headlight assembly. If you can hear the servo attempting to move pieces but the lights are not leveling, then you will probably end up having to replace the headlight assembly, which in short would fix your other issues too. May be an easier way to solve all your issues. Maybe not the cheapest, but what is pulling your hair out trying to figure this out worth?

 

The harness going into the ignighter had 3 wires...??
Is there a balast somewhere on this car or just ignighter?
If all I need is 12v into the ignighter technically I could just hook any 12v into the ignighter and the bulb will turn on right? I'm not gonna do that but maybe just to test parts

 

the ignitor as mentioned gets voltage into the 20's of thousands. the harness going into your ballast needs around 12v give or take.

you can get bulbs for $80 shipped off of ebay.

ballast with ignitors around $150 shipped

as for the auto leveling, cant help you there.

check your fuses first, then voltage, then ballast ( ballast wine upon startup)

if all those are good then check the bulbs

 

Mike the ballast is mounted inside the headlight assembly. Unfotunately, I don't have the wire color codes that go into the headlight assembly itself. This will probably require removing the headlight assembly to get a good look as I know the driver's side is a PITA to even get to the back access cover, let alone trying to see wire colors and getting your hand in there.

As for 3 wires coming off of the ignitor, I only see 2 in the drawings. So, what the 3rd one is, I don't know. If you can access the ballast, if you apply 12 VDC to the input wire, you will turn on the light. Just be aware that when you do that, you may see some sparks as the ballast is going to be pulling about 20 amps for just that one headlight (40 amps if you still have the harness connected as it will also attempt to light the other side too).

 

ok so i took out the battery and i found the balast.
its inder the daytime running light (closest headlight to the center of the car)
looks like the plug on it has 2 wires in and 3 out all built into 1 plug harness...so here is the testing i did...
1. tested wires from ignighter to the balast..tested all 3 for connection...check ok
2. tested for any voltage comming from the harness into the ignighter when plugged into the balast...nada
3. tested plug harness going into the balast for voltage...check ok..i think it was around 24volts or so.

so i came to the conclusion that my ignighter and my bulb is ok, the wires seem to have good connections, nothing melted visible...so i guess it must be the balast seeing that power is going in but not comming out.

so here is the question.
how do i get the balast out (looks like 3 screws hold it in)?
do i have to remove the bumper to get the headlight housing out?
isx there a way to do this without getting the housing out?

thanks all for the replies

oh btw my mulitmeter is about $500 ,its designed to handle high voltage.

 

You do have to remove the bumper (and by association the under-engine tray and the plastic wheel-well liners). As others have said, unless you are very sure of what you are doing, I wouldn't play too much with the ballasts, the voltages inside will kill you.

- Tim

 

MIke, while I hate to say this, but for what you are going to end up paying in getting a new factory ballast, you might as well spend the money on getting an aftermarket kit. That will give you 2 new ballasts and the color bulb that you want. I got my HID kit for $60 delivered to my house. 1 year down and no problems. If you go with one new factory HID ballast, you are looking at about $280 for the new unit (from a dealership in Cleveland Ohio). If you go with the new headlight assembly, you are looking at $400. While I am not one to purposely modify a vehicle, this is one of those cases where going with factory parts just doesn't make sense.

 

off topic: You are in Cleveland Ohio?

 

Jvegas, no, I do not live in Cleveland. My sister does though. I will be driving through Cleveland here the end of September on my way back to Toledo for a HS reunion. I only mention the Cleveland Jag dealership because I have used them and gotten great service from them. If it can help other members, then I will give my recommendations.

What, looking to meet up some time?

 

I went to DeVilbiss HS in Toledo a long time ago.

 

ROCK, I lived in a small town to the west of Toledo called Swanton. I graduated in 1989 and seem to recall being at Devilbiss high school like my senior year for a band competition (yes, I was one of the "band geeks"). So, if you are still in the area, some time when I make it back, I'll see what i can do about meeting up with you. I know when I drive around that area, you don't see many Jags or BMWs. So, when you drive one, people look at you funny. C'est la vie.

 

I was asking because I live in Cleveland, Born and raised. I have started to see a lot more jags around and I always wonder if the driver is someone from here. There is a great dealership here and at a different location, there is the world greatest mechanic... he is to Jag what bill gates is to Microsoft. He can figure out and fix any Jaguar issue for half the price of the dealer. Heck, the dealerships suggest him when you go there! It's a shame the Jaguar meet never happened. It would be fun.

 

jvegas, the next time I am in town to see my sister, I will make sure to give you a heads up that I am coming. If you see me, odds are it will be either on I-76 or I-80 as I am flying through town about 75. It will be easy to spot my Jag, just look at the back. My Jag is the only X-Type I know of with the painted trim above the license plate with the letters left in chrome.

 

hey guys...just a update..
i got a balast for $100 and put it in, took off the bumper and switched the bulbs to 6000k hid's...works perfect.
hopefully the other balast doesnt go...cus i never want to take the bumper off again..but if it does i will be switching the fogs to aftermarket hids at the same time.