Hi
the above light isnt working on my 1998 XJ8 3.2. I`ve changed the bulb but to no avail. All other puddle lights on the car are working fine.
I note that when I open this door the interior courtesy lights dont come on either, and again all other doors are working fine. I guess it is something to do with a faulty switch, but before I attempt to dismantle the door does anyone have advice as to where the switch is located and how difficult a job it is to replace, also how to remove the door card.

Thanks
Jeff

 

Jeff, I wasn't ignoring your post. Just trying to figure out how to answer in the most efficient manner.
Door panels are not a big deal. Have had both of my fronts off a couple times. A trim panel tool set from Harbor Freight is almost a must($8). Screwdriver will do, but the tools make it a breeze. The best thing might be for you to pm me with an e-mail address, and I'll scan and send pages from manual for panel removal & latch removal. I am out of town until Monday, if you can wait. You might check the sticky or faq posts, there may be a JTIS manual here, I don't know about.
Puddle light, door switch...I'm guessing here. But there could be a micro swith located inside the latch assembly somewhere(makes sense). May be able to disassemble and find a switch locally. Doubtful Jag would sell just the switch. The latch assemblies are right and left hand specific, if you buy one, get the correct one. I located an entire latch assembly on e-bay for $120 and was glad to get it. Swapped it out in under an hour. My lock actuator had failed. Let me know if I can be of any further help.
Ralph

 

Same story here but only one of mine is working - passenger front. I've swapped bulbs but no luck. Could not locate a fuse for the lights. Is it really the microswitch in the door(s)?

 

From looking at the wiring diagram there is a "control unit" in the door where all the switches/lights etc appear to terminate. Does anyone have any experience of problems with these? are they a straight forward replacement, or do they need programming?
thanks
jeff

 

I confirmed that when I open the three doors with puddle lights not working, the interior lights do not turn on either. The front passenger door is the only one when opened turns on the interior lights (and the puddle light).

What gives? Could where the wiring terminate to the control unit be corroded or otherwise in need of cleaning? Where is this module?

 

module is fitted behind the door panel about half way down. I will be stripping my door down soon to investigate and will advise what I find. As all electrics are within the door, unless you have a really bad window seal there shouldn`t be any corrosion. I still think its either the switch within the door handle or the module. Hopefully shorting out the switch, if faulty, should activate the courtesy light/puddle light, failing that I will be checking there is voltage accross input terminals to the module. If there is then by illimination it must be the module, well thats my logic!!
will update when had time to strip door.

Jeff

 

Jeff, does your central locking work on the doors that don't light up? if they do you can leave the module, it'll be your initial thought of the switch.

 

I'm sorry to jump ahead of Jeff on this, but my central lock switch (on the dash) works on all doors. Are you saying that the individual door modules are to blame? Only one door on my car has a working puddle light and is the only one that operates the courtesy lights when opened.

Thanks all.

 

No bud, your door modules are fine, it'll be the switches in the door locks. If the central locking, and for that matter, the window lifts work, then it stands to reason the modules are working. They take commands from the body control processor, via switches, e.g. the dash lock switch signals the b.c.m. this signal goes to all the door modules, and they lock/unlock the doors. So you can forget about door modules being faulty if like you say all doors lock. I'd look at the door lock mechanisms, and the little micro switches that let the door modules know the door is open.

 

Hi Sean

The central locking works fine on the door, so guess it is the switch. Do you know if it is an easy change of the switch or will the entire lock mechanism need replacing?
Thanks
Jeff

 

Jeff,
I sent you an e-mail. The switch is accessible(sp). Could be dirty or loose(slamming doors, my bad habit). I woud have no idea where to find one to splice in though. Electrical parts are not my area of experitise. Don't clean with anything like CRC, will affect plastic. Would be nice if someone knew of a supplier for said switch.
Ralph

 

Does anyone have a description or image of the affected part we are talking about here? Is this part magnetically activated (reed switch) or mechanical like a plunger?

 

guys

thanks for the advice/tips. I will strip door soon and let you know what the fault is. May be a while as away for the weekend!

Will take a picture of switch, if it is faulty, and attempt to post on the site for your perusal.
Jeff

 

Did you tear the door down? I'm looking forward to knowing what you find.

 

Door panel came off easily with the benefit of the instructions provided to me (thanks for that Rae). I unplugged the multi plug that connects the door lock to to door module. I then shorted out the switch terminals on the module side of the plug and, hey presto, the puddle light and courtesy light came on, so it is obviously the switch. It is easy to work out which wire connected to the multiplug is from the switch as it has 2 wires, the other is for the door solenoid. taking the door lock out to get at the switch looks a little more difficult as it means removing the door handle also, so before doing this I have bought, off e bay, a replacement handle with switch (which I have been advised workd ok) when it arrives I can remove lock and replace.
will update once completed.
Jeff

 

new lock arrived today so I dove straight in. the micro switch is easily removable form the lock mechanism but is wired into a multi plug along with the solonoid connections. Instead of removing the entire lock mechanism (which works fine) I removed the solenoid from the lock already on the car which then gave access to the micro switch. Once I had removed this it was a matter of refixing the micro switch then soloniod to the lock in the car and connecting up. To get access to the lock you have to remove 3 lock fixing screws from the side of the door, disconnect the bar connecting the manual lock buttom situated on the top of the door to the lock and also the bar that connects the door handle to the lock. You will also need to remove the screw fixing the window track to the door to allow a little movement to manipulate the lock mechanism into a position where you can get access to it. its all a little fiddly but if you take your time its fine.
All working fine now with courteys light/puddle light working fine!!
have fun
Jeff

 

Jeff, Outstanding! Glad you got it fixed. Happy to have helped in some small way. Lord knows I've extracted a lot of information from this site. Good to have gived some back.
Ralph

 

hi, I got the same problem, I hope your remedy does the same for me.
You would not have any picks of what I have to order in the way of door handle etc. bye any chance?

 

I thought i'd put this out there for everyone to ponder. I had the same issue with my rear puddle light and through research and tearing into it and found the culprit. A miserable little micro-switch located in the latch assembly. Everyone told me to buy the whole latch assembly. Which by the way is the only "real" way to get one. It is a proprietary switch that i tried everything to find. My solution was to find a junkyard that let you pull your own parts and found a similar Jag and pulled two of the switches out of their mechanisms and clipped the wires. Spliced them into my wiring and they worked like a charm. Take a meter with you to test the ones you're buying. You can usually tell if they're any good just by listening to them. A good one will usually have a faint click when the lever is actuated. If you want to make a mint just start making these as they are junk and will continually fail. Oh yeah, total cost was $13.00 and an hour and a half time for two of them. Hope this helps.