I needed to hold the turn signal stalk back for high (main) beams, so I got a used unit and installed yesterday - same thing. Does the GEM have a relay or electrical 'latch' for the high beams or did I get another crappy dimmer switch? Need to get some input from experienced owners before I buy/try another switch. Thanks, from a new (2 weeks) X-type owner!

 

PreJag, first, try swapping out relay R9 and see if that helps your situation. Next, check fuses F1 and F67. If all that is good, then let me know and I will give you some checks that you have to do with a multimeter to see if things are getting to where they need to be.

As for the GEM being involved in the circuit, no it is not. In this case, there is a relay (R9), but the input to the relay is grounded when the switch is put into the headlight position. This causes the relay to switch states (powered from Fuse F67) and this applies the main power (via Fuse F1) to power the low (DIP) beams.

 

PreJag, I know this may sound like a stupid question, but are you pulling the stalk far enough back? If you just pull on it a little the lights will stay on as long as you hold that pressure. If you pull back farther it will lock the lights on. The reason I bring it up is that seems a bit unlikely that you replaced the "defective" unit with another and the second one works, but has the same issue.

 

Thanks for the replies, Thermo and Alfadude. Just to be clear all lighting works as it should, with the exception of the circuit to the R15 relay. The switch is not keeping the main beam circuit hot. When I pull the switch back (and yes Alfa, I yanked its crank, no joy) there is no definite click as with other cars, just kind of a mild, mushy resistance. However, you're right Thermo, it would be really bad luck to get two funky switches.
I went out and switched R9 and R1 (wiper relay/same schematic as R9). No change - the highs are on when I hold the stalk back (and fogs go off), but the switch isn't holding the circuit - release the stalk and the highs go off and fogs come back on. The lows (dips) stay on the whole time. I'll check the F1 & F67 tomorrow. I don't get home from work until around 6:15 and things are pretty dark - and really wet the past week!
I'll post results tomorrow evening. Thanks again.

 

OK. Checked the fuses - no problem there. Everything electrical is working fine. I received a full refund from the vendor I got the second switch from, so I'm trying one more switch - should be here in a couple of days. Meanwhile I'll just hold the stalk back when I need highs until I get this sorted. I'll post the results of 'Switch, Episode 3'!

 

Oh s**t...same thing with switch #3....no joy. I'm going to attack the problem with a mutimeter tomorrow. There's got to be a funky ground somewhere, or maybe a crappy relay. Sometimes electrical gremlins are a real pain to solve. This sucks because I was all primed to attack the t/c and diff this weekend with fresh fills of Amsoil.

 

PreJag, Try this, switch relays R9 and R15. Do your low beams still work? If no, then you have a bad relay for what was R15 (now R9). From this point on, if I mention anything, it is what is currently installed. So, don't try to go "I switched this earlier".

Remove relay R15 and insert a jumper wire between pins 3 and 5 inside the fuse box. Do the high beams come on now? If no, then you have a bad wire between the fuse box and the relay unless you have lost power to your seats, windows, etc (no mention of that). If you have lost those, then check fuse F7. Before replacing the wire/fuse box, check to make sure that fuses F85 and F86 are good.

If the did come on, remove the jumper and then turn the ignition switch to the RUN position (do not need to start the engine) and then connect up a multimeter to pin 2 and see if you get 12 VDC when you engage the high beams normally. If yes, then do a resistance check of pin 1 to ground. It should be a short (under 5 ohms). If you don't have a short, then the ground wire for the relay is bad. If you do have a short, then you have a terminal issue or a bad relay (which should have been found in the first step).

If you didn't get 12 VDC when you measured pin 2, you will need to access the GEM module. Now, place the turn signal stalk back to its normal position (ie, high beams off). Now, with the ignition switch still in the RUN position, insert a temporary wire between Pin 11 (black/white wire) and chassis ground. Do the lights come on now? If yes, you have a wiring issue between the GEM module and the turn signal stalk. If no, you have a problem with the GEM module or the wiring between the GEM module and relay R15 is dead. To prove the GEM good, remove the jumper wire to pin 11 and then engage your high beams normally and look for a 12 VDC signal on pin 13 of the GEM. If you have 12 VDC, then you have a wiring issue. If you don't have 12 VDC, you have a bad GEM.

Lets see if this will get you back on the road.

 

Finally found the source of the main beam problem. Since they worked fine with the 'flash' function (column switch) and with the key fob, there had to be an issue with the ground from the GEM back to the column switch (I had changed both the switch and the GEM so problems with them were kind of ruled out). So with that in mind I installed my set of critical eyeballs and pulled the column covers and switch one more time. I noticed that the wire loom had been wrapped with vinyl tape, not the standard cloth stuff (remember, I'm using the critical eyeball set - the regular set wouldn't have noticed!). Unwrapped the tape and found that someone (thieving repair shop maybe??) had cut the ground lead and wrapped the dirty deed with tape! I spliced the wire and now have working main beams.

 

Talking from experience.
I experienced the same problem with my 2003 2.5l Auto.

This is what I found. The wiring inside the high beam lamp has burnt insulation. The bare wire were touching and creating a short circuit. I temporarily repaired the wiring with insulation tape and replaced the High beam fuse on the passenger compartment side and everything worked fine. Check all the fuses for both the Left and Right High beam lights and the wiring inside the lamp. I hope this will assist.

 

Actually, everything was good - fuses, relays, etc. Someone had just cut the wiring (ground) at the steering column and taped it up.
Yeah. The plugs on the bulb end of the headlight wiring that Jag uses are nothing to write home about. I installed a set of HIDs this weekend on the low beams. The plugs were a bit crispy, so I used some needle-nosed pliers to judiciously bend the male ends of the HID wiring kit for a tighter fit in the plugs. I may need to get some heavy duty type plugs if they start burning out. But everything's cool now

 

I have a 2005 jag x-type. I had same problem. After a while of checking things out. I found fuse #29 was blown. It's a 20amp little yellow fuse. Under hood of car. By battery. Swapped it with a spare from same fuse box and horsy. Lights work again.

 

Hi
New member Jueala here, I have the exact same problem with my 2.5 manual 2001 x type. I will sift through all the procedures mentioned above tomorrow and will get back to you, hopefully with good news. anyway thanks for the suggestions.
Jueala

 

If you scroll down on this thread:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...s-sigh-102894/

You will see some pics and explanation I posted when I had a similar problem. I didn't read this entire thread, so pardon me if I am off base. In my case, soldering one broken wire fixed at least 2 light problems.