Hello to readers on the forum. I have recently acquired a nice 1990 XJ12 Series III Vanden Plas here in Ontario Canada. I'm sorting out a few lighting issues. The car has factory installed Lucas Daytime Running Lights (inside the outside headlights) as per Canadian spec. I would like to know where the fuse is. The fuse is not mentioned in the manual. It might be a Canada only spec. Thanks for any help.

 

First, your car is a V12 Vanden Plas, a model made for Canada only, not an "XJ12" (pedantic? Maybe; the XJ12 went out of production in 1982); the DRL system in your 1990 car was very quickly cobbled together by Lucas for Jaguar to meet the Canadian-mandated requirement. The system in the 1991 and 1992 Series III cars was fully integrated and more sophisticated. It was indeed a Canada-specific system.
In answer to your question, the components for the DRL system in the 1990 models are found in the driver's side (LHD) underscuttle (Jaguar-speak for the removable panel below the steering column). There is a normal fuse panel there but I think you will find an in-line fuse associated with the easily visible Lucas DRL components there.
The later cars had the in-line fuse for the DRL system in the engine compartment, on the Driver's side.

 

Hi SOV211, Thanks very much for your speedy reply. I shall have a look at the underscuttle and report back this weekend.

The name of the car is interesting as the owner's manual refers to it as a "Series III V12 Vanden Plas. The Heritage Certificate from the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust refers to it as a "Jaguar XJ12 Series 3 Vanden Plas". My insurance company refers to it as a "Jaguar XJ12 Vanden Plas". But I think you are right, the XJ12 name generally refers to the older models.

 

Hi SOV211, I just had a good look under the dash board on both sides. I opened up both fuse access panels as well as looking underneath the whole dashboard and I can't find anything that is labelled as part of the DRL system or even looking like it might be part of it.

Do you think they could have wired it such that the headlamp fuses protect the DRL as well? I have taken all of the fuses out of the headlamp fuse box to clean it up and clean the connections. I'll see if the DRL's work once I put new fuses in this week.

 

Odd...on the 1990 cars I have owned (several), there was always that Lucas unit in that position (obviously near the light switch) - BUT, it is just possible that your car may have been built late enough to have the much more sophisticated DRL system fitted. If that is the case, the fuse will be an in-line fuse found, as I wrote earlier) on the firewall/ bulkhead near the brake booster. By memory the wire is red with a tracer or another colour with a red tracer, but I think the former. Removing the fuse disables the DRL system but leaves the other functions of the light switch pretty much intact. In any case, the headlamp fuses in the engine compartment do not govern the DRL system.
When was your car built?

The heritage certificate and "XJ12":. Insurance companies always use that designation as a short form but as you have noted, your owner's manual describes the model correctly as a V12 Vanden Plas.
Now, let me complicate this a bit further for you: because this was a model made for Canada only from the mid-80's onward to the end of 1992, and because it was made in very small numbers (in some calendar years fewer than 80, yes, eighty, the largest calendar year of production being 1986 with 629 built - see below), these cars were taken directly from either the Sovereign V12 production or the Daimler Double Six production, and were badged as Jaguars, and fitted with certain extra items for Canada (a coolant preheater, bonnet-mounted washer jets -which were on no other Series III cars, mudflaps and so on). Your car (and every V12 VDP from 1988 to 1991 inclusive) was taken from the Sovereign V12 line. The interior differs from the normal Sovereign trim in that it has upgraded stitched leather door and console armests and map pockets instead of the Ambla normal to the Sovereigns, and VDP wood which is of a darker and more heavily figured burl walnut, and the dash gauges are inset into the wood of the dash rather than sitting proud of the wood. Your car differs from the pre-'88 and the 1992 cars also in the design of the seats - your car has Sovereign seats, not the Daimler seats (which, by the way, are far less comfortable but look more luxurious). I can send photos to illustrate these differences but I am not at my computer at the moment).
On the wall of my garage I have the Heritage Certificate from another 1990 V12 VDP (a Regency Red one). The car is listed as "Sovereign V12" and in brackets ("V12 Vanden Plas")...it is listed that way precisely because it (and yours) was taken from the Sovereign production and is listed as such in the factory build records. Similarly I also have on the wall the certificate from one of my 1992 cars; the certificate reads "Daimler Double Six" and the in brackets ("Jaguar V12 Vanden Plas") - because this car is indeed a fully-optioned Double Six (and kisted as such in the factory records) but badged for Canada as a Jaguar. Confused yet? more: Jaguar has NO separate record of the model known as the "V12 Vanden Plas"... ( and this is why you will not find it in any list of production numbers for the V12, nor will you find any reference to it in the authoritative Nigel Thorley books; he simply does not know that they exist). it can only trace these cars by the VIN. Further, and because of this lack of recording, it has no record of the number produced for any given model year; the only records they have relate to the number of V12 cars sold to Jaguar Canada in a given calendar year. And obviously, within a given calendar year there are two model years being produced. If your car was built in December 1989 it will be a 1990 model and if built in May 1990 it will also be a 1990 model but if built in November 1990 it will be a 1991 model year car. In truth, this makes little difference because these cars did not change from year to year, the only exception being the years it which the Daimler/Sovereign base changes (1988 and 1992).
i have no explanation for your certificate mentioning a model which went out of production 8 years earlier than its build date. A slip? A generic use?

 

Generic nomenclature seems a plausible explanation. Not many people understand the details of Jaguar model names, especially on the Series III V12 cars. It's tricky to all except those, such as yourself, who have taken deep dives into the subject. I find it plausible that some Jaguar and JDHT staffer themselves might not know the intricate details and default to generic terminology.

But, a slip-up seems equally plausible. I've seen some JDHT literature with a glaring mistakes, albeit not regularly.

And, some mistakes and misconceptions just seem to be difficult to correct. Even well versed Jaguar enthusiasts often believe (and sometime insist) that the Series III XJ6 production end in 1986 when, actually, ended in April 1987, with the last few months of production being for the North American market

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks DD for your input. I guess when manufacturers build certain models in very limited numbers, and only for certain markets, that the build records and details about the cars can get a little confusing over time.

It just makes the car that much more interesting!

Cheers,
Steve

 

Hi Gregory, first off, thanks so much for taking the time to send me all of this information. Some of it I knew, but most of it I did not. It's very interesting actually. One thing I learned after a VIN decode, is that my car seems to have an engine intended for the Daimler Double Six as the 5th digit is a D. It does say Jaguar on it though. Of course, the engines are all the same anyways.

With my lighting issues, I should probably start at the beginning. When i picked up the car last week, I discovered the the headlamps work fine on low beam. When high beam is selected, the right outer goes to high beam and the inner illuminates as one would expect. However, the left outer goes out completely and the left inner fails to illuminate. I thought I would start with replacing the bulbs and that made no difference. I then proceeded to inspect the headlamp fuse box and found it to be a bit of a mess. I removed the 5 fuses as they all looked pretty old and corroded. I cleaned the terminals with an emery board and will replace the 5 fuses this week, assuming I can find a place that is open during this pandemic, Hopefully that will solve my headlight issues.

So that brings me to the DRL's. When I had the Lucas H4 apart, I noticed the small 4W bulb in the housing. It does not work either. I assumed it was part of the DRL system. Upon an internet search, it appears this bulb might have another purpose and is not part of the DRL system.

Lastly, my car is fitted with 2 Lucas H4 headlamps, but one is flat and one is convex. I assume that the car should be fitted with the flat style as it has wiper blades. A previous owner must have replaced a flat unit with a convex unit.

Thanks again for any insight.

Cheers,
Steve

 

Steve:

Yes, the outer lamps should be flat to permit the wiper operation. The 5 watt bulb in the housing is what is called a "city light". This was usually not operational on the Candian cars with the DLR system but if the DLR fuse is removed, this bulb then illuminates on the first light switch position, that is the parking light position and this is what they look like (1992 V12 VDP):



This is what the full light operation (dipped beam) looks like:



And this is what the lights look like in the fog position:


To be clear, if the DLR fuse is operational the ALL the exterior lights (dipped headlamps) and dash lights are ON all the time. As a point of information the fog lamp positioon on the Canadian and US switch is enabled by removing a circlip/ C clip on the switch shaft. Here is a photo showing the already installed harness (red with yellow tracer) for the front fog lamps (this is from my 1990 car):





Finally, I promised to show the difference between the seats in your car taken from the Sovereign build line (this car is in Alpine Green with Doeskin leather):



and the seats in cars taken from the Daimler Double Six line ( up to 1987 and for the 1992 car - note the contrasting piping, only on the cars for this latter year):


And more finally: your VIN (from the engine compartment brace, not the windscreen tag) should read as follows: ( the 5th letter D does not refer to the engine). Your VIN should show this form: SAJJD.......this decodes as Jaguar manufacture (SAJ) vehicle marque (J ) and the 5th which indicates model range: D for Double Six - this is a trim indicator. But there are also variations in the VINs: the specific digit which refers to Canadian cars is the 6th: it will be either L ("Canada spec") or N ("Canada VDP spec").

Fun!


Gregory

 

Steve: look at this photo for the red / white tracer wire at the firewall (below the lower edge of air intake grille and in line with the manifold): this is the wire with in-line fuse for the DRL system (on later cars); if you cannot find the LUCAS unit in the driver's underscuttle, your car might have this later system.

 

Gregory, you are an encyclopedia on these cars. I am very grateful for this information, especially the photos. I never would have guessed that the small lights were "city lights". My car was built in March of 1990, so it probably has the earlier system. I have found a yellow box, about 2 inches square, immediately above the fuses in the driver's side underscuttle access panel. It is labelled Lucas, but has no DRL markings. I wonder if that is it. I would like the parking lights and city light functions to work, My car, unfortunately was not fitted with the fog lights. I guess in 1990, it was one of the few options.
I see you are in BC. My car was sold new by MCL Motor Cars in Vancouver and spent most of its life in the BC Lower Mainland. A fellow from Ontario bought it in 2018 and had it shipped to Ontario. He put about 1000km on it before deciding that he didn't like it. He put it up for sale last December when I bought it and stored it over the winter. We don't see many 30 year old cars in great shape here in Ontario.
Thanks again.
Steve

 

in-line fuse behind white collar on firewall with red wire exiting fuse and running forward. Note this red wire does not have a white fleck.

red wire with white fleck coming out of black Lucas relay, into a wire bundle.

Hi Gregory, please see the attached photos of my car. I do believe I found the fuse on the firewall. It was hidden behind a white wire collar and was difficult to see.

The photo of the Daimler back seat certainly does look luxurious and comfortable. You mentioned that the bench in the Sovereign based cars are more comfortable. That's a bit of a surprise.
Thanks again for all your help.

Steve

 

Steve:

That red wire/white tracer looks to be the right one. So if there is a fuse in that line, you have found it. The fog lamps were optional but can be retro-fitted; the wiring is already in place. The correct fog/driving lamps (they are different but have the same housing and are both enabled by the FOG position on the switch) are Cibié Airport 35 lamps. Instruction for fitting are in Jagcare III in the section under "Front End".

Seats: Jaguar has a fascinating way of distinguishing its various model lines.With regard to seating in the Series III cars The Vanden Plas/Daimler seats look like this (and always have looked like this); the contrasting piping was an extra-cost option (and all the 1992 V12 VDP cars had this, earlier models up to 1987 did not):


The XJ6 and the Sovereign seat design looked like this - and as I have written previously, the V12 VDP 1988-1991, taken from the Sovereign line, also had this style of seat (the first photo is from a 1990 car, in the very rare Magnolia colour)::



And another 1990, this time in Savile Grey (and note, it is not Seville as in the city in Spain, but SAVILE, as in Savile Row, London):


The XJ6 seats looked exactly the same - but they were NOT the same as the Sovereign seats. In an attempt to make the interior of the Sovereign appear more roomy, Jaguar shortened the base of the Sovereign seats (that is, front to rear measurement of the seat base) so that effectively there was about an inch more space front and rear compartments between the front edge of the seat and anything in front of it. The parts book identifies the difference between the XJ6 and the Sovereign seats by different part numbers even when the colour of the leather is the same. The shorter seat base means less support under the thighs, so...the comfort winner is: the XJ6! the seats in the XJ6 are the most comfortable of all 3 variants although the leather for the seat facings for the XJ6 is of a slightly lower quality than that on the Sovereigns, and several notches below the Autolux leather used on the (much-less-comfortable) Daimler-style VDP seats. The leather covers for the XJ6 and the Sovereign seat bases and foams are not interchangeable because of the different dimensions, although in appearance they are identical. Any more minutiae needed?

 

Gregory, to clarify, both the front and rear seats had this shortening treatment?

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks again Gregory. Your posts make for some interesting reading. I just might add the fog lights then as it sounds quite simple and I like the look.
I did read that not all Daimler Double Sixes had the traditional Daimler backseat. Apparently the Queen specified a rear bench seat (from the Sovereign?) for her 1991 Double Six so she could get out of it more easily in her formal wear as well as being able to move from side to side. Plus the Royal Corgis would have had more room of course!

Cheers,
Steve

 

Yes, both the front and rear seat bases are shorter on the Sovereigns than on the XJ6

 

It is true that a bench seat could be specified for the rear of the Daimler - but only as a special order, and HM clearly has the pull to make special orders. Her Jaguars/Daimlers (including her X-Type wagon) are always painted in a unique dark green colour (not BRG, not Jaguar Racing Green):

 

as if the front seats were not short already in the XJ-6, they made them SHORTER?

Leg Cramp City !

 

José:

To clarify: it is NOT the travel of the seat on the track that has been shortened on the Sovereigns, it is the seat base - that is the foam and the leather cover that have been shortened - it simply means that there is less support (in terms of length) under the thigh. The seat still moves through the entire range of the seat track. But visually there seems to be more room in both the front and rear compartments.

 

Gregory,
yes I understand it was the seat, not the track, that was shortened. That is why I said
"as if the seats were not short already", (the seat's thigh support in the XJ-6).

I've considered replacing the Series 3 front seats with XJ-40 seats which have longer thigh support.