2005 XJ8L Occasionally headlights flicker on and off. Dash lights steady. Bad Switch?

 

Any codes ?

 

Hi,

Often the ground points behind the headlights can cause flickering lights, amongst other electrical problems. Check to see if they are corroded or even broken off. It may be something else but my car used to use a lot of headlight bulbs until I replaced my ground points which were causing other electrical gremlins.

Thanks,

Chris

 

+1 on checking ground points

 

I had a similar fault back in 2011. A replacement binnacle switch (lighting switch), cured it. You don't get codes for lighting faults

 

First thing I would check is the major ground point behind the right side headlight. To see these ground points, you need to remove the plastic shroud that covers the radiator. Be forewarned, the studs are Al, and welded to the chassis, and snap off very easily. If you do break the studs, you need to replace them with Al studs, else you will setup a galvanic corrosion problem.

 

Had the same problem 2-3 years back. Checked all grounds (ok). Checked wiring (ok). Ended up being turn signal/lights-on switch stalk on steering wheel column.
Found one in good condition at tomsforeign.com (tom's foreign auto parts). Good luck.

 

Going to resurrect this thread and hijack it. I have been searching and this is the closest thread for my problem.

While driving in full sunlight I notice the interior screen occasionally gets dark and I notice the headlights come on. They seem to flicker and it appears that I'm flashing my lights at everyone. I turn off the automatic headlight function and they go off and after a few days, I put it back on and everything is okay for a while.

The car sits in the garage most of it's life hooked up to a Battery Tender. I put in a new battery about 2 years ago.

Any ideas on what it could be?

 

I have seen random headlight issues (at night) associated with the stalk or use of indicators.
The only way to progress this diagnosis it is to play with the headlight/indicator stalk.

Yes the lights in Auto mode can "flicker" depending on random light changes. Personally I don't like the option because it is subject to driving under a bridge, passing a tree, whatever.
[for the doubters, these cars are quite capable of passing a tree]
The light sensor is on the facia. Maybe you stuck some documents on the facia and they are sliding around as you career around corners.

 

Your symptoms seem to match those on my first X350 of 2003. I would see the nav screen flicker to night time (dark). The headlights may well have flickered too, but in daylight you don't notice. At night they would flicker on/off sometimes. Finally, on a dark moonless night on a twisty road, the lights went out for about 5 seconds. It was then that I finally took action ! A new binnacle switch cured the problem. You can buy them used on eBay for a lot less, but if you do, make sure they are from late cars as I think improvements were made during the production run.

 

What is a binnacle switch?

 

Switches that are mounted on the plastic surround behind the steering wheel and cover the switch mounts (lights/indicator and screen wipers/washer) This is called a binnacle, don't ask me why. It was originally used for the housing of a ship's compass.

 

Plus one for binnacle switch
There are a couple if wires inside that fray and the strands touch occasionally causing the lights to flicker. An Ebay replacement fixed mine. I posted photos on this forum on how to take it off and repair some time ago. The repair lasted for a couple of years but a better job might've been more permanent. Apparently newer switches with a chrome button on the end are a direct replacement and don't suffer the same problem.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...errerid=115763

 

This problem has been around for hundreds of years.
Make sure the stove-pipe chimney is clean, which could extinguish the lamp.


Seriously, thanks to pics by PDMiller which shows various wire fraying in our cars.

 

I'll get around to taking it apart this weekend and see if the wires have frayed. Let's see if it's something obvious.

 

Check the switch stalk on the column