I have looked all over the engine bay and for the life of me cant find any underhood lamp at all. I figured I must have a bulb out somewhere but I cant locate any lamp in which I could replace a bulb in at all. Am I looking in the wrong place?

 

At least in my XK8 there is a clear plastic cover on the top of the headlight assembly. With the headlights on that is your engine light.

 

Wow, that aint right. My 99 Jeep Grand Cherokee even had a dedicated underhood lamp!

 

Yeah, tell me about it!

I spent over an hour yesterday googling variations of "hood", "bonnet", "engine compartment", "light", etc. trying to bring up an image to see if I had something missing on my '98 VDP.

Apparently Jaguar just didn't bother with one.
Probably too busy designing inoperative cupholders, "hand grenade" engines and transmissions, an idiot light disguised as a temperature gauge, "sealed for life" transmissions and differentials, Nicasil cylinder liners, etc. etc. ad nauseum.

I kinda figured the British designers might have gotten a clue in the years since I owned a couple MGA roadsters and a scad of '50s - '60s Triumph motorcycles. Nah, their weirdness just branched off into new and ever more expensive (for the customer) directions!
The last vehicle I had that came with no underhood light was a 1950 Chevrolet I sold a few months back. At least it had the excuse of being 65 years old!

OK .... rant over.
Retro

 

Jaguar owners are supposed to go to the dealer when something under the hood needs to be done. They didn't build the cars for us hands-on types.

 

True.
They had a different "hands-on" type in mind.
Hands-on your wallet!

 

Personally, I do my maintenance in daylight.


But, being serious, all the cars I have had that had an under bonnet/ hood light, it was no better than the ones without, WHEN you need it, all it does is light up your back as you are bent over the engine with a torch in hand.

 

Cant agree with that all. IF youre somewhere that its really dark and for some reason you need to check things underhood, a well placed light is invaluable. When I had bought my Jeep it was missing, but I liked to fiddle with it at night when I couldnt sleep. Once I replaced the lamp, it was bright as day under there. My LS430 is the same way. For a car as expensive as this was new, I cant see making any excuses for them not including one. Wouldnt you like to at least be able to check your oil or coolant level if you were stuck somewhere without light? I carry an LED flashlight in all of my cars as a safety thing, but in this car, its actually a necessity. Thats poor design

Hell, its got 2 in the trunk, lol. Id be happier if one of those was up front instead

 

I've had that in mind several times already.

Oh ..... wait.
You're talkin' about the British meaning of "torch".

My bad!

 

Im not even a week into my ownership of this one yet, but man your posts have me scared to death that I may have just made the biggest financial mistake this decade, lol

 

Nah .... don't be scared.
You don't want to pay too much attention to me, 'specially when I'm on a rant. (Come to think of it, that's most of the time!)
It's not that I'd actually lie to you, but I also don't let a little thing like the truth get in the way of a good story.

As for the financial aspect, as my wife is fond of pointing out .... "it's only paper".

Anyway, if you're anything like me, and you look back over your life to date, it seems like the things (cars, women, motorcycles ... you know, the important things) that you remember most fondly were always kind of a love/hate relationship.
That being said, I think I'm really gonna love this Jaguar!

 

Truer words have never been said, though my motorcycles fortunately have always been good to me. Because I only buy Japanese bikes, lol My current ride

 

In the past I never was much for taking photos, maybe slightly better since the digital age.
Anyway, here's some old (circa early '90s) pics of my '76 R90/6. I've owned it since 1981.




(And yes, if anyone was wondering, this thread has been officially hijacked! Land it in Cuba immediately, or else!)

 

Thought you were pointing out that BMW don't fit engine bay light either! lol

 

Cool bike. My favorite BMW is the BMW R1200s, my screenname should give some indication as to why. But even absent of that tie in, theyre just utterly gorgeous

 

Please tell us what you don't like!!!

 

It would take a lot less time to tell you what I do like about it ...!

It's a great looking car.
Hmmmm ..... lessee here.
It looks good.
Hmm, errr , (think, think, think) ....
Uh, did I mention the looks?

 

Muti007,
As you know, that BMW is the R1200c (we have the exact same bike - license tag = "BOND"). A great bike and compliments our '71 and '74 Nortons, '84 Ninja - and of course our '03 XJR. Love older vehicles.
Cheers,

 

Bloody brilliant! My Miata is currently wearing a "Muti007" plate, a plate Ive had for about 18 years and countless cars. My Jag now has my "KITT007" plate on it, and my motorcycle, simply "M 007" Any pics you can share with us of your R1200c?

 

I think they did away with the underhood lamp to be able to heat the rear
seats in the VDP- did you even know you had that- ? LOL