So I just recently purchased a 2000 XKR and had some questions regarding the headlights. I've noticed that they are projector lenses, which I typically associate with HID style lights (though I know you can put a standard type bulb in), but they just don't seem very bright. I've also noticed they don't have the typical warmup time that I've seen with HID systems, so would I be incorrect in assuming these are just standard bulbs in a projector housing? If so I'd really like to look into upgrading them to an HID system like I've done in one of my other cars (a 67 Dodge Dart). What sort of bulb do these cars take and where have people mounted the ballast resistor? It looks like space is fairly limited under the hood, so I'd love to see some pictures of upgrades if anyone out there has done this.

 

A halogen headlight reflector is not designed to properly focus the light output of an HID bulb which results in a lot of unfocused light glare, blinding other drivers and pedestrians. If you do want to swich, the proper/legal alternative is to replace the entire headlamp unit.

 

You'll find the Jag's projector is very well focused for HID lamps, provided they are manufactured correctly (bulb orientation on its base.) However, there is no method of auto-leveling the beam nor clearing the lens which pretty much prevents a conversion from being legal in many parts of the world. I have installed HID bulbs in my car, thsy have an excellent beam cut-off and considering the nature of the car (not a pick-up truck, prone to overloading and resultant beam pitch change) I haven't observed the lack of self-leveling to be an issue.

 

Could you get HID lights as an option from the factory or was that only in later years? I never even heard about auto leveling lights until I just saw mention of them yesterday and heard you talk about it. I can understand the usefulness of auto leveling with somewhat brighter lights like HIDs, but I would think if normal lights haven't been self leveled for years that it wouldn't be a huge deal if newer ones still aren't. My dad had a 350Z with HIDs and I don't think they self leveled, but as you mentioned, low slung sports cars probably don't see the kind of situations that would need that much pitch change.

Where did you end up mounting the ballast in your car? I haven't had a chance to look around too much on mine yet, but since I drive on a country highway to work at the butt crack of dawn every morning I'm definitely leaning toward a light upgrade. Mine just seem really dim for some reason. They're pretty nice with the fog lights on as well, but I don't want to have to use them all the time to feel comfortable driving in the dark.

 

Anyone know how to adjust self leveling HID/Xenon's the right side cut off on mine is just too low to drive safely over about 50mph.

I drove with the fog lights on all the way home last night.

cheers,

jj

 

I don't recall where I tucked the ballasts. The new 'slim' ballasts are small and light and be placed most anywhere as long as they don't rattle or are exposed to significant heat/weather.

 

So I ended up biting the bullet and buying a retrofit set of HIDs to replace my crap stock halogens that look like flashlights taped to the fenders, but I ran into an interesting issue I was wondering if any of you have seen. With the new kit installed my wipers pretty much don't function any more with the headlights on. I noticed this driving to work this morning as I was trying to wipe the dew off the windshield with no luck. The wipers moved about 2 inches, then just stopped. I tried all the different wiper switch position to no avail, but then realized that the only thing I've changed recently was the new lights. Sure enough, when I got to work and turned off my lights the wipers worked fine. Has anyone else seen had this problem of have an idea for a solution? Some people suggest a headlight relay kit, but I kind of thought that Jag had a factory relay already installed for the headlights. Being able to see better in the dark isn't necessarily better than being able to see in the rain, lol.

 

Can you post how you connected it up (what color wires what connected to the HID system)?

 

JJ,

Appears to be a hex bolt adjuster..............

HID Adjustment.pdf

Did you get the dip direction converted yet?

GGG

 

Thanks Graham!

Funny instructions though....it is not very clear where that Hex nut, in the diagram (which won't cut and paste here), is located.

Does normal unladen weight mean without anyone in the car?

Headlamp Adjustment Vehicles With: High Intensity Discharge Headlamps
1. Start and run the engine.
2. NOTE: The headlamps must be switched ON for 30 seconds before carrying out this procedure to allow the headlamp bulb to warm up.
Switch on the low beam.
3. Prepare the vehicle for headlamp adjustment. • Place the vehicle on a level surface.
• Before adjusting the headlamps, check them for faulty lenses, reflectors and blackened bulbs, and install new components as necessary. • Make sure that the tires are inflated to the correct pressure. <<204-04>> • The vehicle must be at normal unladen weight.
• Normalize the suspension.
4. Adjust the headlamps.


A quick look didn't reveal any Hex nuts....is there a panel I have to remove first?

No I haven't switched the dip yet am hoping I will be able to get Avos to show me how to reverse the backing plate for the lights.

Thanks again, cheers,

jj

 

JJ,

Unladen weight is taken as no one in the car but with a Gross Vehicle Weight of 4829 lbs you must have seriously over indulged at Christmas if you need to worry about this detail

The headlamp trim panel has to be removed to access the levelling motor adjustment screw. I'll send procedure PDF to your eMail account.

GGG

 

3G;

Thanks for the PDF.

I think you ate a lot more over the holidays than I did cause my car is only 3867lbs..... with the top down.

Good luck at the gym .....knocking off that extra half a ton.
cheers,

jj

 

I don't remember the colors off of the factory harness for sure, but I do remember which wires I hooked up to what. I hooked the wire that was normally on the "tab" of the original halogen light to the red wire of my HID kit. This was the wire that had a plastic shroud over the connector. The wire that formerly went to metal base that the old halogen bulb plugged into got plugged into the black wire on my new HID kit. I did some research where some cars had reported a similar issues (mainly Audi's) because the headlights and wiper motor had a similar ground. I checked it out on the wiring diagram and that seems to be a similar setup on the Jag, so I tried disconnecting the grounds and moving them around to see if it made a difference. So far is seems to have worked to move one of the grounds to a different bolt, but the weird thing is that with what I thought was the headlight ground unplugged the lights still worked...

 

They are on a commmon branch circuit. It definitely could be ground related. Also double check the heavy power cable bolted to the engine compartment fusebox (under the rubber cover) is clean and tight. You should disconnect the battery first before working on that 'hot' bolt.

 

I think you're on the right path, separate ground should fix that issue. Don't rely on the 'unplugged' ground wire and a functioning headlight to go unrewarded.

 

Haha, yeah, I just ran what I'm pretty sure is the headlight ground wires to a different bolt and so far so good. Just surprised me that they worked at all with the wire not on the ground lug. The wipers didn't want to work with the ground disconnected, so at least I got one right, lol.

 

GGG - would you have a PDF on adjusting headlamps on my 2005 XKR? The cutoff is waaay too high and if I want to look at tall buildings at night, they're great. But if I want to see the road in front of me ...

Tom Murphy
tfmurphy3@yahoo.com

 

first poprivit, check your auto leveling 'arms' that are on your driver side control arms, both front and rear. Its a little arm-type switch on a swivel that has a ball on one end that gets snapped into the socket on the control arm. Those together determine if the car's *** is up or down. Looks like this

 

I had the same problem with my 2005 XKR HDI headlamps,
I had a lot of "friends" coming from the opposite direction , flashing their headlights. Mine appeared far to high.
Following your instructions, screwing out the white plastic 6mm hex bolt, solved the problem.
The 6mm hex screw will adjust the high and the low HDI beam simultaneously.
It was a 5 minute job !
Thanks again for your post, great !
2005 xkrjag