My 2007 XK is complaining about a right brake light failure. My usual instinct is to bring it to the shop and dish out the money. However, i’m trying to get better at doing little repairs myself. Is this something a repair noob can solve? How to go about it? Thank you in advance!

 

Just got the same message last month and replaced the left side bulb on my 08 XK, easy!
Got the bulb from Advanced Auto (can't remember the number but possibly 7528??)
There is a 3 minute YouTube video that will walk you right through it.

 

Details for the bulb replacement are in your owners manual.

 

Thank you both! Never would have thought this to be easy in a car that doesn’t allow you to exchange the wipers without a specialized tool.

 

I've changed my wipers many times without a tool, other than the cloth rag I put on the windscreen to avoid any possible shattering mishaps.

 

Lucky me, changed the wipers this afternoon in about 60 seconds without a tool and thought by myself, that the change is so easy, other brands could use this simple system. ;-)

 

When changing bulbs, it seems necessary to fit replacements with resistance or impedance or both within quite tight limits, or the bulb-failure-detector tells you there is a failed bulb, when there isn't.

See my comment in:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...cement-281371/

 

Somehow, my reply above seems to have added itself to the thread BEFORE the one I intended to add it to; maybe through my ineptitude. Sorry. Will try to be better.
JT

 

Only if you don't use quality tit-for-tat bulbs. I've never had the need.

 

Just keep in mind when fixing the "rear light" warning problem that it is sometimes not the bulb but can be the contact strips that connect to the bulb. Just take your volt meter and see if you are getting power from the harness or socket base. If you are and your bulb is still good just try bending the brass contact strip a bit to ensure that it hits the bulb well. Obviously you can just trade the bulbs side to side to see if, in fact, it is the bulb that is the culprit. Other than that an easy fix if you have the 07-09 models.

 

The warning has since come off and then on again. This makes me think it could indeed be a contact issue like you are describing. I’ll get around to it now that I have a couple of days off.

Thank you everyone for your help!