here Photo

 

Personal point of view is like a butthole - everyone has one and most stink! ESPECIALLY mine.

If you are having to replace the whole front end anyway then that certainly changes the cost/value ratio. At the end of the day, pontificate what would bring you the happiest experience and do that. My only point was that taking a good condidtion car and updating the front end actually decreases the monetary value and desirability to the car. Often times it becomes a slipery slope that leads to having sold the car and bought want you were trying to build would have been cheeper in the long run.

All that being said - It's your car and if you're like myself and several others on here then it may be more about having a project and something fun to build that is more unique than its state when aquired. There is no right answer - just some that are made with logic and some with emotion. Modding is emotion. Not one person here can justify logically a reason to mod an XK of any trim or year. That exhaust at WOT is pure emotion

 

Were you able to overcome the headlight wiring issue? Can you share what you had to do for the wiring?

 

Can you please tell us about the installation process.

 

I have a 2010 XKR and I've found a pair of 2014 headlights for just 100 pounds from a totaled car.

So, how can I implant them ?

 

Buy a 2012+ then smash the ones already on it. Then you can use the 2014 ones.
OR; Get on eBay to trade or sell-then-buy for the correct ones.

 

To use those 2014 headlights on a 2010 car you will have to replace, the front fenders and the bumper off a 2012 to 2015 plus new grills . no need to replace the hood.

 

Is there any electrical modification for the headlight.

 

Yes.
Haven't seen any postings from anyone that has had 100% success at enabling all functionality, yet (maybe you'll be the first?).

 

Hi,
When the trend mention that there are no success at enabling all functionality. Do you mean no DLR only?

 

Hi Jtomac,
Do you mind to provide me all the part number and supplier contact for changing to the 2012 headlights. I do know we need to change the bumper & fender too. Help appreciate

 

My Emerald Fire 2008 XK seems to become invisible to some other road users under grey skies, particularly in Poole where many roads become single lane traffic between cars parked on both sides. I decided that because I had no DRLs they thought i was parked and not moving; so I wanted to fit DRLs as most cars have them now. I saw a thread on here about fitting Vinstar LED DRLs in place of the fog lights. The lights are cheap and very effective. They include LED foglights operated from the usual switch and neat circular DRLs controlled by a module that is part of the kit. The lights directly replace the old foglights very easily, and fitting the module to the fuse board under the bonnet is not difficult. I am delighted with the mod. If anyone is interested I will get out of my chair and dig out details and take photos.

 

So turn the headlights on. Problem solved.
Daytime running lights, at least in the states, cause major problems because they throw just enough light out front that clueless drivers never turn their ACTUAL headlights on and drive along happily with no tail lights.
Also, you can turn on DRLs inside SDD, but I'm not sure if your 2008 has that option. The later cars do though.

Edit: Wow, guess I didn't read that last post very well, my bad.

 

Got a set of those still in a box in the basement. Had them for quite a few years, just doesn’t get up there on my todo list. Only for the 4.2L XK, not the XKR or later years.
Post some pictures, might motivate me.

 

Each to his own, Cee Jay. That doesn't solve my problem. I like keeping my headlights on Auto, partly because it means my rear sidelights are always turned on when it gets dark or I enter a tunnel; that would solve your problem, presumably? But remembering to turn my headlights on on a bright sunny morning I find difficult. So now, the DRLs come on automatically when I start the engine, then when it gets dark my head and sidelights turn on automatically, and the DRLs turn off. All automatic. Brilliant! And If I turn sidelights on but not headlights, then turn on foglights, I get what it says on the tin. Mind you, even when we used to get peasoupers in the smog of London in the 1960s, I never found foglights significantly better than headlights.

And it seems to pay off; now when I pull into a gap between parked cars and pull straight out, drivers doing the same manoevre in the other direction can log me as a moving vehicle.

kj07xk, I'll take some photos; your halfway there, my experience would be to sugest you should finish the job.

By the way, more of us should report the following facts: My car has done 110,000 miles, had an oil and filter change every year, has never failed it's MOT, is driven probably 5 days a week and always far enough to get up to full running temperature, and has never faltered or let me down. Reading the posts on here, one can form a false impression that these beautiful cars of ours are unreliable; in my experience, they are not.

Happy motoring!
John

 

Actually... Canada has had the DRL rule for more than 2 decades. Being that most of my cars were brought in from the US, I learned that enabling the DRL is a software configuration in all of these cars... from 2004, on.

Moreover, to each their own... I don't use "Auto" anything. I want to be in charge of all settings. And no, I am not seeking therapy.

As for the numptys (Humpty Dumpty play on words) that drive around without the lights switched on at night,. and there is a dummy light on the dash that "they" can't seem to notice... why don't we get the police force focusing on ticketing those people?? Uh-oh... don't get me going! It's too early in the day to choose that road...

 

Guy, as I suspected the Swedes were the first to require DRLs or other lights on when driving. I felt it was well back into the last century when I as a young driver began to notice that Volvos drove around with their lights on all the time, so I asked my AI and it said:
"Yes — Sweden was the first country in the world to mandate daytime running lights for all drivers, with the requirement taking effect 1 October 1977.However, there’s a subtle but important nuance:

🇫🇮 The nuance: Finland technically acted earlier, but not universally

Finland introduced a seasonal and location‑specific requirement in 1972, but only for rural, snowy roads during winter, not for all vehicles or all conditions.

🇸🇪 Sweden’s 1977 rule was the first universal national mandate

Sweden’s 1977 law required all vehicles to use DRLs or low‑beam headlights at all times during daylight, nationwide. This is why Sweden is widely cited as the first country to mandate DRLs in the modern, universal sense.

If you’d like, I can also map how the Nordic countries followed (Norway 1986, Iceland 1988, Denmark 1990) and how this eventually led to the EU-wide DRL requirement in 2011."

Fascinating tools, these AIs, so long as you realise that they try to say what you want to hear, and will invent facts to convince you,

 

It is good tooling... or a minimum wage assistant... what's fun is chastising it, when it is wrong.

Cheers @Jaunty !

 

The 2012 FSJB (Front Smart Junction Box) is upgraded from earlier models to accommodate the upgraded headlights.
If you change the FSJB, it must be reprogrammed to match the vehicle VIN.
However, SDD resolves software using engineering part numbers.
If you are using off-line SDD with complete VDF, the 2012 software for the part will be available.
But, the software resolution process within SDD may or may not allow the newer part number and, thus software, for use in the earlier VIN.
Also, the 2007 wiring harness almost certainly requires some minor modification to match the 2012 headlight.
If you have the 2012 FSJB, you could modify the harness as necessary and give it a try.
If the software fails to resolve, it is possible to add the part number to your VIN in SDD but that is another story.
It is also possible, but unlikely, that the FSJB will work with the wrong VIN, plug and play?

Finally, just study the wiring diagrams for 2007 and 2012 and make the headlight functional.
Without the 2012 FSJB, the wiring mods will not control the headlights as described in the owner's manual but may be adequate to pass inspection.

Note: the above assumes XK non-AFS headlights. XKR AFS add additional complexity (and control module).
Upgrading from non-AFS to AFS for the same model year, while complex, is likely easier that upgrading from 2007 to 2012, even for non-AFS.

Keep us posted on your success.

Bill

 

[img alt="DRLs turned on in full sunlight; they are BRIGHT! No other lights on.
"]https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jaguarforums.com-vbulletin/320x240/img_0198_39452e82a7e81125c0b225f1283812cbaef6c11a. jpg[/img]
DRLs turned on in full sunlight; they are BRIGHT! No other lights on.



Fog lights on, with side lights



Headlights and sidelights on

I now leave my headlights on auto, so I always have them on in tunnels, under trees and in the gloaming; when they come on the DRLs (the outer LEDs of the new lamps, in a circle) go off. Whenever the engine is on and the auto headlights are not, then the DRLs come on. And when I want fog lights, as usual I must turn the sidelights on, then turn on the fog light switch and the inner LEDs (in a block) are lit. Gives a lot of peace of mind, including that I won't park and leave my lights on to flatten my battery.

I rate them as excellent, and good value for money.