My parts didn't take 3 weeks long. It was maybe a week to 10 days...tops. I was actually surprised at how quickly they ship.

 

Okay. Still get an error? Well atleast no blown fuses. I've moved from Oceanside, CA to Yokosuka, Japan. I haven't seen my Jag in 6 months. It's in storage for the next 3 years. But thinking back, the only time I ever got an error, is if I started the car by pressing the ignition button first, then pressing my foot on the brake. I never start the car that way though. That's just something that I came across through testing.

 

Did they send you a tracking number when they shipped?

 

 

Well, I'll be damned...the Simtek connectors arrived yesterday! Delivery in less than a week! Now that I've got all the parts assembled, I can start on the harnesses tonight. I've never done anything like this before, but I've done a lot of research over the past week and I'm pretty confident.

 

 

Yeah, I'm really enjoying learning soldering technique and how to read diagrams and all that.

After a slow start, I was able to finish most of the first harness last night. But I have a really amateur question: in the blow-up below of the relay on the diagram, am I to assume that the line connecting Point C and Point NC needs an actual connection or is that just part of the diagram "design" of the relay, like the squiggly line? And if no physical connection is needed, do I just leave Point NC open (ie no electrical tape or some other sort of covering)?

Edit: After doing more research, I'm fairly certain that there needn't be a connection between the "common" and "normally closed".

 

You are correct - the connection is internal to the relay. Just put a bit of heat shrink over the NC terminal to prevent it from touching anything.
Pro-tip: ensure you have a few inches extra on all your wires in case you make a mistake and need to re-terminate, and don't tape all your wires up into a harness until you've tested it as it makes it easier to trace the wires to check when you can see them all clearly.
Good luck, and don't forget you will need to change those two fuses in the central fuse box, and not to turn the ignition on with the full beam switch active to avoid AFS errors.

 

Thank you, XDave. I should be able to finish the first harness tonight.

 

Hi XDave,
I been wondering about this for a while. I purchased a set of the AFS led headlights from a shop in England about a year ago. They made already been modified to fit pre 2012 cars and were simply plug-n-play. All functions work, including the cornering lights, and have never had a warning light come on. My question is since the headlights do not appear to have been opened up, are all the required modifications done by rearranging the pins in the plug or is there something else involved.

 

There is a seller on eBay who does the modifications by opening and resealing the lamps. I wasn't able to do that with mine (the plastic started to deform before the sealant would release) but others have had more luck than I did. If you have access to a paint curing oven it should be fairly easy to dial in the required temperature.

The AFS warning on ignition with the full beam switch set to on and auto is not guaranteed. I had it for a while, then it disappeared without further action from. I suspected it came from the LED drivers drawing just enough extra current to cause the AFS module to brownout just as the JNC was checking it was ok because despite the warning lamp the system still functioned correctly. That may be why I haven't seen it now the XJ has become my daily driver as the battery is always kept fully charged.

 

Hi xdave. In dispare.Wondering if You could help me. I had a bump and had to change the drivers headlight. I bought one but it is the 12 pin connector from the new headlight. My car harness and old headlight had a 16 pin and wire connector. I bought some rd connectors but the only ones i could find were for the range rover. This is a 12 to 16 connector harness. I plugged them as tbey came to see what worked and what did not. The main beam low beam works as normal. Afs doesnt and the indicator doesnt. Also the orange warning appears. Are you able to advise if I can move the pins to build the correct harness and what diagram I need to follow if you have one available. I have a 2009 xj351 and the new headlight must be 2010.
thanks in advance.

 

Hi Manos,
AFAIK all X351 headlamps use the same 16 way connectors (albeit different pin combinations for the LED headlamps). Not all of the ways are populated with pins though.

Non-AFS vehicles also have less populated than AFS, but as far as I can tell without physically testing they should retrofit fine but the AFS obviously won't work.

I can't send you a PM as you are a new member with just 1 post. Can you ask a moderator if you can have PMs enabled so I can send you my email address? I'd like to see some photos of the headlamp you have bought, and the full VIN of your vehicle (but don't post the latter in a public forum).

(Alternatively if you can send a PM to me please send your email address and I'll reply with mine.)

 

I finally finished my first harness last night and tested the lights. Man, the stock xenons look like old yellow halogens in comparison to the new LEDs. I can't attest to the throw distance and such during actual driving yet, but they are MUCH brighter in the garage.

Unfortunately, I ruined one of the relays while making the second harness, so I've got to wait until the replacement arrives on Monday. Otherwise this project would've been wrapped up over the weekend.

 

Hi xdave. I created a gmail just for this purpose as i can't pm and had no reply yet. Email is manosfoti@gmail.com
manosfoti at gmail. Com
Thanks.

 

Mission Accomplished! I finished the harnesses, replaced the fuses, installed the lights and everything works perfectly. I was surprised to discover there was velco flap behind the armrest which allowed access to the fuses without dismantling the seats so that made things much easier.

I don't know if my stock HIDs were worn down or what but the LEDs are a huge improvement. The beam is strong and very wide, and the perfect pure white color everyone is always striving for with HIDs. And the AFS system is much better as well; the lamps swiveling is much more noticeable and really does light up your intended direction.

The look and design of the assemblies themselves really take the front of the car up a few notches. The car looks much more upscale and even a little meaner with all the blacked-out interior bits.

My one complaint is that the J Blades by themselves don't seem to be too bright in the daylight. They're barely noticeable. They glow much brighter with the low beams on. I'm not sure if there's a problem or if that's just how they are, but I seem to recall others on the road appearing brighter.

Anyways, thanks again to XDave and everyone else on this thread.

 

Correct. This is one problem that has not been fixed yet. The J-Blades are too dim for DRL's. Not sure why but it takes having the headlights on to brighten them up.

I have the same issue and am hoping a solution is found in the future!
Not a big deal and I think if we can ever solve how to bake the head lights open that conversion method will be the best way to go.
For now I am living with it as the positives outweigh this small downside.
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.
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I had mine converted by a shop in the U.K. and they were super bright even during the day. Not sure what they did, but the lights come plug and play. All mods are done inside the light. So the stock harness plugs directly into the new light with full functionality with afs

 

Was it from Whaleed in London? And you're right, the J-Blades are super bright, day or night.

 

I'm guessing those with dimmer J blades are not as shown in my video in the first post in this thread?
Looking for a common factor here -
1) If you have dim J blades are you using the adapter harness approach rather than modifying the lamps themselves?
2) If you have dim J blades are you using US-spec lamps (with the orange outer corner reflectors) or ROW spec (clear reflectors)?