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In reading the manual, it says to remove a single nut on a post that holds the whole light assembly as well as a couple panels, then to "firmly" pull the light away from the car. I try and do this pretty firmly, but it's still holding on quite tightly. I'm afraid to pull more firmly for fear of breaking something.
Yes, very difficult to do. I'd also make sure the car is warm to the touch before doing it since cold plastic is not forgiving. They used two plastic clips to hold the lamp to the body. The front corner is the most fragile. I was sweating pulling mine off so I replaced all the bulbs at the same time.
I keep googling around and there may be a second nut to remove. Will look at that in a few...
Definitely, there are two nuts to remove. One of the nuts is not easy to see or to reach. If you are not very careful, it is easy to break either the point at the front of the light assembly, or a mounting post attached to the rear of the light assembly. (I did the latter and ended up buying a new taillight assembly for the left side.)
As Cambo says, the 07 - 09 are held in by two nuts and one press stud. Looks like a ball on the end of a stick. I replaced my tail lights a couple of weeks ago and had to call my Jag tech to ask how to get the pointed end loose. The manual says there are two nuts, I removed the interior padding to be able to find them. The manual also says to remove the clip which is not done.
1 Remove the cargo light and lay it aside.
2 Remove the interior padding part way so you can get a wrench into the area behind the tail light. I used an 8mm 1/4 inch drive socket.
3 Remove both nuts.
4 Using a very thin plastic tool, break the foam seal across the top of the lamp housing. I used a flat plastic tool for removing interior panels.
5 With the nuts removed and the foam seal broken, you can pull the lamp housing outward from the large end. Be very careful, no further than 1/2 inch, any more can break the point off.
6 With two thin plastic panel tools, insert one on top and one on bottom of the lamp housing 1 1/2 inches from the point and carefully pry the pointed end of the housing outward until it releases from the ball.
7 After all the fun I just had, I replaced all the lamps on both sides.
Yes, There was a second nut up high inside there, hard to reach, couldn't see it only feel it. Getting a pliers on it was tough, and the third post was tight as you all had warned. Thanks a bunch, now I'm going to replace all four bulbs as also suggested to avoid doing this again in the future.
Thanks so much to Cee Jay for the illustrations and excellent graphics. Made it really easy for me to find the 3 (sort of) attachments. It is really two screw-on "nuts" and one body locator up front, which is tipped with sealant, apparently to prevent leakage into the "boot". But I still can't figure out why they need a two-filament bulb for a brake light, unless they needed the extra lumens to meet automotive lighting requirements. Thanks again.
Yes, There was a second nut up high inside there, hard to reach, couldn't see it only feel it. Getting a pliers on it was tough, and the third post was tight as you all had warned. Thanks a bunch, now I'm going to replace all four bulbs as also suggested to avoid doing this again in the future.
Scott
I too was trusting in the manual as to "the bolt" meaning there was only one on the left hand (driver's side U.S.) in my 2007 XK. So glad I looked on here to see if there was another, so thanks. I planned to replace all four bulbs, but the auto parts person gave me a bulb that the manual specifies as "silver version" in plain clear, and how the smaller lights actually come out of their housings wasn't apparent, and so I left them, as it was only a brake light that had burned out. One thing I would say is that a deep socket (I used 10mm) fits over the stud so you can use a ratchet to get the two nuts off, rather than pliers. Pulling back the liner around it definitely helped with access. Also, the manual advises taking the unit completely off the car, but the connection didn't want to come apart easily, and the wires were long enough that I could pull it over to rest on the trunk opening while I put in the new bulb, without disconnecting. I don't see a need to take the whole thing out if all you're doing is replacing the bulbs. The press stud didn't seem to be a problem, so the housing had probably been out before. I'm not super confident about how secure and weathertight the housing is with just the two little nuts holding it in, I guess the press stud is there too but I don't think it's doing much, given it wasn't that hard to get out.
You are right to not trust the seal on the tail lights; you should put some bulb grease in there now that you know how to remove it.
I'd been dealing with the dreaded "Rear Brake Light" failure for months and it turned out to be corroded contacts in the socket. I tried cleaning them but one of them was too far gone. I ended up replacing the entire assembly because of course they don't sell replacement sockets or wiring harnesses.
What's interesting is they use a two-filament bulb (#1157) instead of a one-filament one (#1156) for a one-filament application. I suppose because they wanted twice the amount of light, or whatever reason. I always like to needle the Brits for some of the strange things they do (e.g., the Titanic, and bad teeth), but I must give them high praise for their military weapons, such as the Supermarine Spitfire and the Avro Vulcan.
My guess is that the second filament is for the rear fog light, which is quite bright.
No, the rear fogs are LED, in the other housing in the trunk lid.
IIRC, the double filament lamp sockets are also bi-wired, so when I replaced the old lamp housings on my ‘07 with the newer LED housings, only one of those wires was needed.
I always like to needle the Brits for some of the strange things they do (e.g., the Titanic, and bad teeth), but I must give them high praise for their military weapons, such as the Supermarine Spitfire and the Avro Vulcan.
Made me chuckle
Point 1 - I thought that was the nut behind the wheel?
Point 2 - Agreed, I constantly get asked if mine are real...they are!
Agreed both fine aircraft the Vulcan especially so as have seen a few fly in my lifetime...sigh!
PS: I usually rib Americans about their friendly fire fatalities and US Special forces Vs UK SAS/SBS
On my 2007 XKR once the bolts were taken out I used a piece of thin string to wiggle behind the pointed end of the housing gently working the string towards the back of the car. Once half way down I found pulling the string gently wiggles the housing away from the body of the car, and will stop you breaking the pointy end! I am sure there is a better way but worked for me. Fortunately the Dynamic XKR has LEDS !
I too was trusting in the manual as to "the bolt" meaning there was only one on the left hand (driver's side U.S.) in my 2007 XK. So glad I looked on here to see if there was another, so thanks.
I too trusted the manual, which indeed uses singular for the left side...so once I had undone the bolt that's easy to reach, I started pulling...fairly hard. And I ended up breaking the point on the front end of the unit!!
It's only after checking here that I read about that 2nd (terribly placed) bolt. Then the unit came off easily. I managed to glue the bit back in place, but one can definitely see the repair (little white marks left by the glue).
Now, I'm wondering: I broke that bit because Jaguar's manual is erroneous and thus misleading. Is it not possible to contact Jaguar to claim another, replacement unit for free? It's their fault, after all...
My local Jaguar dealer does not work on Jaguars over 10 years old, there is no way they will give you a new light.
However for anyone else reading this, there is a better way to remove the light than what has been mentioned so far in this thread.
Remove the two nuts with a 7mm nut driver, then position the driver over the studs and gently tap it with a rubber mallet. I did not pull the light at all. I tapped for close to five minutes though (alternating studs) before it popped free and was caught by a person helping me. It did not pop out that much, but I did not want to chance damaging the light or the paint, I am glad I had someone there (with their fingers directly underneath the light) to catch it.
I have an 07. I think 07-09 have two nuts. I have read they went to 3 in later years.
In your case, before I replaced the light I would see if a red sharpie would hide the glue lines. But I feel your pain...I have replaced a number of interior parts that I have broken because I followed bad advice..
02-25-2018, 01:16 PM
2007 XK - How do I replace the brake light bulb?
