Hi all,

Looking for some advice regarding my 06 x-type: On a mini roadtrip to Albany, and my headlights decided to quit. I drove with my foglights and headlights on in the 'third' position on the lights switch near the steering column and dash. I thought it looked dimmer than usual and clicked the wheel in to turn off the foglights to have only the main beams-and all lights were off.

I checked every fuse and no blown. Ideas?

 

Proteus, open up the hood of your car and swap relay R11 and relay R5 (if you don't have relay R5, then use relay R6). Do your headlights work now? If yes, you have a bad relay, replace bad relay. If you don't have headlights still, let me know and I will step you through figuring everything out. It will also be helpful if I know whether you have standard halogen bulbs or HID bulbs. it does change things slightly.

 

Thanks for the response. I am unfamiliar with relays. Before I switch these could you tell me what the ones you mentioned actually do. And maybe provide a picture or diagram for which one you think might be the culprit? I just don't want to mess something up while I'm out of town. I have never replaced a relay and not sure what it entails. I do appreciate the help, though-and just want to understand a little more before I try it. Thanks so much!

 

Don't worry about messing things up as long as you just switch them as Thermo mentioned...simply keep track of which ones you swapped.

Relays are small black plastic boxes that pull-out and plug-in similar to fuses and can be found inside the plastic box under the hood that contains the fuses (and relays) that are under the hood and not inside the car in the fuse panel. They are numbered and when you see them, you'll know. Just look for the rectangular plastic box under the hood which you can remove the cover from. Inside there you'll see the relays and some more fuses.

I don't have my Jag here with me, my Wife took it today, so I can't tell you exactly what the relay he is telling you to put in the place of the headlamp relay controls, but I'm sure Thermo is probably swapping an important one such as your headlamps with one that is not as important. If the one that you swap makes the headlamps work, then you know that it's the relay causing your problem and you can take it to Autozone or a similar parts store and purchase a new one to then have ALL of your relays back in working order.

PS: I do beleive that the under the hood relay/fuse box is pictured in your Owner's Manual if you have it with you in the glove box. Just look under FUSES and it should show you the one inside the car and the one under the hood.

 

Proteus, look in the lid of your engine bay fuse box. The relays are pictured there and that will guide you to the correct relays. Like was mentioned above, they simply plug in and need to be pulled straight out. Nothing is holding them in place other than the friction of the clips on the spades to the relay.

As for what the relays do, R11 is the low beam relay. R5 is for the electric defroster heating elements in the dash. Not needed, but not all cars have this relay. R6 is for the windshield wipers. But, it is the least significant of the other relays there that has the same base as R11.

If you need me to be a bit more specific, please work with me here. I just got a new computer and am trying to get all my files and whatnot transferred over. Hopefully by Saturday afternoon I will have the stuff moved.

 

Thermo,

I tried the relays you mentioned, but there were no diagrams in the engine fuse box. So I didn't know which relay was for the headlights(low or main beams). The only relay that was compatible to swap with R11 was R4. I think I need to get a diagram for my model X-type, as they differ from other years'; as I'm unsure which relay is for the headlights. I have a 2006 regular 4-door sedan.

Any ideas or reactions? I know you are in the process of transferring computers and I definitely appreciate the help whenever you can input. Thanks.