Twice in the past week I've been in traffic and it's seemed like my headlights were flashing at the car in front of me. It's almost a "strobe" effect. It happens so quickly I can't tell if the lights are just moving/adapting or if they're actually switching off and on.

Has anyone else had this problem?

 

Geez, I hope this gen doesn't suffer from HID flickering sure to one reason or another. My 03 xk and 05 xj both gave me problems...the xk8 STILL flickers once in awhile, even after ground checks, new bulbs and new ballasts!

 

Let me save you some frustration.

This has been happening to me for months. At first I thought it was the light sensor, maybe not being able to tell when it was dark/light outside. Then, a week ago, the lights would just turn off at night. Scary!!

It happened again last night, and to test my theory, I tapped the light control stalk and they came right back on. Tested it twice.

It's the stalk that's defective.

I just dropped my XJ L off today at the dealer.

 

Thanks! I'm dropping my car off next week to have the side mirror replaced (thanks, aftermarket warranty), I'll be sure to have them check the light stalk as well.

 

I don't have an XJ, but my XKR had a defective stalk. I first noticed when my high beams would come on intermittently when I used the turn signal.

Seems like a quality problem!

 

I had this problem exactly as described on my X350, so it seems the lighting stalk is the same or similar. Cure is to replace the switch. I have had no trouble since and that was three years ago.

I also had the satnav display changing from Day to Night as well. All cured with the new switch,

 

No word from the dealer yet. I did have a long list of items to repair though...blown B&W speaker, roof rattle, refinishing wheels...so I expected them to have it a while. I'll keep putting miles on the Range Rover they gave me to drive...not a problem!

 

I just got my ride back today. They replaced the 'multi function switch' on the stalk. They couldn't reproduce the problem. I should know by weekend if things are better.

 

I've been busy and haven't brought mine in yet. I rarely drive at night, but have noticed it worsening when I do. Keep us all posted on if your fix worked. I can't replicate it by wiggling the stalk either, it doesn't seem to follow any sort of pattern that I can see.

 

So far so good. I'll do more driving this weekend.
When it started happening to me, it never did it at night. It was always in the day and I'm not sure how long it was happening because I really wasn't paying attention to the indicator light on the dash. At some point, the lights started turning off at night and when THAT started, it was happening frequently. The last time it happened, I tapped the stalk instead of jiggling it (at the tip, with an inward motion towards the steering column) and the lights immediately came back on.
Now I wish they would fix my roof rattle and the blown B&W speaker.

 

I drove for about 30 minutes last night, paying close attention to the lights and realized that it tends to happen when I'm turning left. The side light will come on when I turn the wheel and my headlights seem to get confused about whether they're supposed to be on or not. It's really odd.

 

Looks like replacing the light switch on the stalk fixed my issue.

 

I've had my right (passenger side) front speaker replaced twice because it was blown, and I suspect that it has blown yet again...I hear a lot of wheezing and vibration on it. I have the 1,200W B&W system, and I think that it just cannot handle the speaker volume when you exceed 40-45 and the low/bass levels are high.
I play Iron Maiden quite a lot in my car and need to send them the bill for wrecking my speakers!

 

I have the same system, and the same speaker is the one that's bad. Matter of fact, the driver's side went bad today.

 

That's interesting. Wonder if this is a common problem for owner's who have the 1,200W system.
Please let me know the outcome of the visit to your dealer and I will do the same when I visit them.


Cheers!

 

(sigh) Well, my lights are progressively getting worse...sometimes after making a turn (and using the turn signal), both headlights are going off for a few seconds. Looks like I'm going to start searching for the best price on a new lighting stalk.

 

Coincidentally, I just picked my car up from the dealer this morning, so I'll know fairly soon if the replacement stalk fixed it or not.

Thankfully my aftermarket warranty covered it and a replacement door mirror (Santander S-Guard, purchased by previous owner).

 

Any update on your speaker, mate? My right front ones have blown for the 3rd time!

 

Same thing happened to me. Starts off slow, then progressively gets worse until they started turning off at night.

My dealer is useless. They didn't even order the replacement. I had to drive up there yesterday and raise some hell.it's been 2 months!!

 

I drove in the dark quite a bit this weekend and the flicker problem appears to be resolved.