First time 'yanking' the cover off definitely inspires puckering in fear of being to rough w/ here.

 

Sorry to ask what may be a dumb question, but why would you need to replace an HID capsule and how would you know if one needs replacing?

 

JRP, though not as drastic or as quick as a halogen, the HID bulb will begin to dim and eventually fail. Their lifespan is estimated at an average of 10,000 hours, however, with all electrical components, some fail sooner, and others last longer, but output will weaken after much use.

The ballasts, however, are only expected to last 2,000 hours.

With modern cars, it is so easy to just select AUTO headlamps, or on ours 'select' daytime running lights. While DRLs are promoted for safety reasons, to me I see wasted hours of my HID bulbs and ballasts. They quickly can be used up if used in these conditions, DRLs especially.

I could tell mine needed replacing after I purchased her because one was bright, and one was noticeably dimmer. Also, the previous owner utilized the DRL function (it was still 'active') Side by side testing, my other jag had much brighter HIDs than this XJ, yet it was 2 years older in age.

 

They will also start to flicker when they begin to fail and accasionally go out for a minute and then come back on.

Stu

 

HID lights technically do not use bulbs, they use arc capsules.
Most headlight bulbs are still the same basic type as Edison's first light. A current passing through a filament causes the filament to heat and glow, thus emitting light. In sealed beam lights bits of the filament that burn off get deposited on the glass, making the light dim over time. Halogen lights replace the air in the bulb with an inert gas, usually halogen, which causes the burned elements to be redeposited on the filament, so halogen lights stay brighter until they finally burn out.

High Intensity Discharge lamps(HIDs) are not really bulbs. There is no filament. Instead, a high initial current from the ballasts, like 50,000 volts, cause an arc to jump between a pair of electrodes in a capsule. It is this arc which emits light, generally a very bright with excess energy throughout the spectrum, but especially in the blue range which is why the lights have a blueish tint. This is not the same as the "HID blue bulbs" on eBay, which are halogens painted blue. They look blue, but emit roughly 70% less light than standard halogens.

Basically, arc capsules are your headlight "bulbs" and you replace them when they fail.

 

This should be added to the HOW TO stickey. Very helpful!

 

HOLY CRAP THAT WAS EASY !!!!!

I can't believe someone went to the trouble of taking the entire front of their car off to change a light bulb !!!! Thanks Plant !!!!! When I started reading this thread, I almost a cried at the thought of doing all that. It took me 15-20 to do both HID lights.

 

Yes its EASY!!!
Photos of the procedure posted in my "Garage" back in 2012.

 

If I had done one or two replacements before and was sure I could do it in the car without breaking something I would. However, I've found over the years that most shortcuts either cost me money or time. Pulling the bumper cover and the light housings off took maybe an extra 15 minutes and another 15 or 20 to put back on. To me, that was worth not having to risk breaking a $100 bulb or a $1,200 headlight.

 

The same thought went through my mind about taking all of those parts off !!!! Lol !!!

 

Second the non bumper approach, couple of points:

1 - behind the starboard light, there is a large bundle of wires that bolts to the chassis. It is very much in the way, but the whole thing can be loosened and rotated 90 degrees out of the way.

2 - good quality replacements can be found for far less than $100 on Amazon.

 

Question - I just ordered a couple of HID bulbs. The workshop manual posted on this board says the bulb is D2S, which is what I ordered. But I see in the thread that people are using a D1s bulb. uh-oh. What's right?

 

D1S has the igniter directly connected:



I had some confusion as well when ordering, because Amazon listed the D1S as NOT compatible with our 2004 XJ. I went with my own eyes and instinct after having pulled off the inner light covers and seeing that igniter box setup for myself.

HTH

 

A lot of Auto Parts stores will incorrectly list the D2S Bulb as fitting the 2004 XJ8.

 

It looks to me that the bulb is D2S and the whole assembly with igniter is D1S? Hopefully I can install the bulb into the old igniter?

 

Different connections

 

^^^^Yes

Supposedly the bulbs you purchased can be shoehorned into the igniters but have no way of staying without a couple of sheetmetal screws. You still may not have the right bulbs to pull this off. You can hunt around online about this, but to me it's just not worth it. Hopefully you purchased from somewhere with a return/exchange policy. Stinks to have to wait to finish a project, but you'll get a better result.

 

So while we are on this subject of lights....are the fog lights HID or halogen? Now that I changed my HID low beams they don't match my fog lights. So I want them to match..... cause I'm a wiener like that. I'm pretty sure they are halogen, so I guess my question is can I find the matching color spectrum in halogen bulbs? Also, if they are halogen like I think, can they easily be converted to HID? I think I like the thought of that.

 

Nuts, that means another 2wk wait for the right set to arrive. Why the heck does the Jaguar service manual spec out the wrong bulb?

 

I replaced my HID low beams with a pair of 6000k for $53 on Ebay. We will see how long they last. I did it all without removing the bumper and only minor hand scrapes in less than 30 minutes both sides.