Hello all,

I have a '93 XJ40 US-market model and I have a question regarding reversing lights. Instead of a white portion of taillight that usually lights when put in reverse, the XJ40, of course, has solid red taillamps. About a year ago, I wondered if these were functioning, but since it passed state inspection, the lights functioned. I went to another shop for the inspection, but as he does not specialize in European cars, he didn't think the lights were working. Despite research in the owner's manual, Haynes guide, and Internet searches, I can't seem to determine how the reverse lights function on a properly-working XJ40.

My belief is that the reverse lights are the lower corner outboard portion of the tail lamps.

Many thanks for your assistance.

 

Mine are solid black (smoke) not red and inside the lamps have amber, clear and red panelled sections which light respectively the turn, reverse, running and brake lights.

I can't be sure as it was years ago but when I re-did mine but I'm pretty sure the back up lights are not in the lower corner outboard portion of the tail lamps, but inboard (not sure if top or bottom), maybe you can figure it out from this thread where I changed my outer lenses ...

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ebuild-150800/

Larry

 

Hi eksjaysix,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums! It's great to have you with us.

If you can't find a helper to stand behind your car while you depress the brake pedal and put the gear selector lever in Reverse, simply park facing away from a store or office with large plate glass windows, depress the brake pedal and put the gear selector in Reverse and look in your rearview mirror. Should be a simple matter to determine in which area of your tail lamp housings the reverse lamps reside.

FYI, some XJ40s came with "Rose" colored tail lamp lenses (a pinkish red), and others came with "Smoke" colored lenses (dark gray). My recollection is that it had to do with the vehicle's trim level. Our '88 Sovereign came with the Rose lenses with no chrome trim surrounds, and our '93 Vanden Plas came with the Smoke lenses with chrome trim surrounds.

Please visit the New Member Area - Intro a MUST and post an introduction so we can learn something about you and your Jaguar and give you a proper welcome.

Cheers!

Don

 

Thank you Don and Larry for the quick responses. Much obliged!....(Thanks also for the introduction prod, Don...I missed that message in my haste, but I just completed it.)

Before your suggestion, Don, I had put the parking brake on and the car in reverse, and then looked, but nothing.....but then I stopped by a European vehicle specialist, explained the issue, and first he was the helper and said they worked, and then we switched and the white light appeared behind the rose colored lenses. The mechanic at my local garage who is knowledgeable and honest even admitted that he wasn't familiar with these cars, and that it could be functioning.

 

i know for a fact that non-UK markets have a different layout of the lamp pattern within the light cluster

( i know because i bought non uk ones and the lights didn't match my own )

as advised above, check in a reflective window or garage door , ensure emergency brake is on if engine is running etc, you can perform the test on ignition position #2 without the engine running, but this will deplete your battery after a while,

do you have picture of your back lights ?

this is the internal lens layout for a UK car, the reverse light is the 'white ' one, our turn signals are separate and the 'orange ' lenses, the upper ones are brake and side light red ,

this is with the outer lens removed, so from behind the light


and this is from the outside, as i said , UK version



reverse light signal is from a switch under the gear selector ski-slope

BB( my two beasts.....)

 

Thank you for the suggestions, brake_buster. From the outside, the lights look solid "rose" like your '89 in the photo. I need to try the mirror / window trick so I can see for myself. I'm not sure why I didn't think of that method because it is something I did years ago on another vehicle. I've been relying too long on dealerships for maintenance and my perhaps unjustified trust in modern vehicle systems / electrics.

I'm going to have someone looking at it tomorrow, and will have more information.

 

cool

the light control panel is really easy to remove in the boot ( trunk ), its just a couple of thumb screw winders that hold the lamp panel to the back of the lens cluster, and it will pop out on the wiring, and you will see the lamp layout and it will work out of the cluster to confirm lamp operation if you need

BB

 

Thank you, again, BB. My car passed inspection with an Import Car specialist and no issues, so I am thinking that there isn't an issue. Regardless, this is important information to know in case it does arise. It seems that the original garage just doesn't see any vehicles other than American or Asian vehicles to properly identify the lights. I watched the "Import Guy" reverse my vehicle into a parking space, and the reverse lights showed a very strong white. And you may be able to impart some of your XJ40 wisdom to the question in my next thread....

-Cheers, and again, thank you!