Bubafatz , Yesterday 09:10 PM
HI I have an XJ 2012 and it has developed a stutter in the head lights. For no reason they suddenly flicker or just go out. there is never a fault showing. I've noticed if I tap the indicator stalk at the bottom they tend to come on again. Any one else have this issue and maanaged to sort it ?

 

It is likely to be a worn lighting/indicator stalk. It is a common problem where they wear and the contacts start to slip.

C2Z11721 is likely the part fitted to your 2012, but C2P20959 was fitted from vin V10285 and has been superseded by C2D51510. Any of those parts will fit.

Replacement is easy - just remove three screws holding the cover under the steering column/wheel and then IIRC two more holding the top cover on (from below). Then the switch just clips out.

 

Failure of the lighting switch on the binnacle was not uncommon on the previous X350/358 cars, I had to have one fitted myself, and the switch is the same albeit the stalk is different. These switches are easy to replace and not too expensive. Your saying if you tap the stalk the lights come on again, definitely indicates the switch is faulty.

 

I meant to add...
If buying used then it is a gamble as to whether you will get a replacement stalk that is also worn. I was finding every three I bought used would yield one good one.
If you don't mind the price then new from a dealer or parts dealer like SNG or David Manners (as in the UK) will likely resolve it for many years. Discounted price is around £150 inc. VAT, and from a dealer would have the standard parts warranty.
If you need to buy a used one then test before installing. You should have no wobble at all on the stalk either up/down or front/back. If it wobbles, send it back and source another.

 

Cheers for that. I've a few friendlies here so I'll opt for a new 1.
Chris

 

Cheers for the response.I'm on the hunt for a new switch.
Chris

 

If you are handy with a soldering iron, it is very easy to repair the stalk. There is a fairly detailed thread on the X350 forum describing the process. Basically, you remove the stalk, pop off the cover to the small black box at the base of the stalk, then you can see which wire(s) are broken. A few moments with a soldering iron and heat shrink will repair the damage, saving yourself a few hundred bucks for a replacement stalk. I repaired mine on an X350 a couple years ago, finding two broken wires, and it has worked perfectly ever since. The biggest challenge was popping the cover off the base of the stalk. The actual repair took 5 minutes.

The wires pass around a couple spring loaded levers in a rather confined space. Over time, a wire gets pinched and breaks. With a little more thought, they could have easily routed the wires a bit better. But the heat shrink on the repaired wires should prevent the problem from recurring.

 

Cheers for the input but I would probably set the car alight. I've got it booked in on Monday for a new stalk unit as it's safer for the car that way. 😁 Cheers.

 

I had this trouble on my XJ it turned out to be the earthing point bolts which are made from alloy and had corroded and fell apart when you touched them. had them all replaced with steel bolts and not had any trouble with the lights flickering or going out since.

 

It is dead easy to open to check if any of the wires have pinched - you just need a knife or screwdriver to release the clips, and you don't need to touch the circuit board as the connector easily lifts off. You need to go 9/10ths of the way there to swap them over anyway. You may get lucky.

On all three of my cars with these stalks it was the selector ring itself though, which is clipped on and hard to remove without scratching the upper section. That's why I mentioned to test for any play/wobble in the switch - on a good/new switch will be no play between any of the lighting positions (off/side/dipped/auto1/2/3). If you have any wobble it's worn and not electrical. If the switch indents are nice and firm then it is probably electrical.

It's not conclusive by any means, but I think the wear is caused by how you operate/cancel the indicator blinkers. Most people use their index or first two fingers to move the stalk up and down, and I noticed that I was causing the selector ring to rotate against the indent every time I moved the stalk. Now I've trained myself to touch the switch on the top fixed part so hopefully I won't need to replace again in 5 more years!

 

On the X350 that was a common problem (I expect most still on the road today will have replaced the two studs behind the RH headlamp at some point) but is that still an issue with the X351? I've not had any studs fail yet on mine... touch wood!

Do be careful using a normal steel bolt into the aluminium through as you will get galvanic corrosion (which is what caused the studs to fail the first time round - the wiring eyes wore through their plating and/or corroded with water wicking in and then you have an anode/cathode situation).
You can get replacement aluminium studs - it's not expensive to have a dealer or bodyshop fit one for you, it is 30 minutes labour and about £5 in parts.