I am getting an intermittent Rear Bulb Failure message even though my rear lights are working. Does anyone have an idea what may be causing this?

The problem may be connected with the left, rear side marker socket needing replacement. I am not certain it is, though, because the side marker socket and light have been out for a long time and I just started getting the Rear Bulb Failure message recently. I will be replacing the side marker socket and light this weekend, but I suspect this will not solve the mystery of my intermittent Rear Bulb Failure warning.

Sometimes I get the warning immediately when I start the car. Sometimes it only first comes on when I apply the brake. Sometimes it only first comes on when I put on the left blinker.

I have changed the left blinker bulb and the brake light bulb, but those actions did not solve the problem.

Anyone have an idea what may be behind this?

 

The symptoms you describe, other than getting the error at first switch-on, almost certainly point to a bad earth on the left rear lamp cluster. Adding a separate earth wire should solve your problem. Probably worth fitting one to each side.

Check this link on a resolution:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...esolved-35083/

I doubt the side marker is an issue; they are not monitored for bulb failure.


HTH,
Mike

 

Does your cruise control work? If not could be a flaky brake switch (the one under the brake pedal).

Doug

 

The cruise control does work.

Michaelh, I will try your solution.

Thank you both for your thoughts!

 

Clean and burnish the bulb sockets. That can sometimes solve the issue if the bulb is known to be good (and the right spec)....

 

Check the battery. Recently the battery in my xkr decided to up and quite on me. First it told me rear lamp was out and it was blinking weird at the dash....All lights worked when checked. Started it up next day that went away. Then my cruise wasn't working...Then lights again...Then my trunk was open....Then .....Anyway...Just get your battery checked regardless. These cars drive me batty.....Same thing happened with my xkr last year as well.

 

deleted

 

[QUOTE=Jersey City Jaguar;1168933]I am getting an intermittent Rear Bulb Failure message even though my rear lights are working. Does anyone have an idea what may be causing this?


I know that this is no help, but I had the same problem with a 1999 BMW 329ic convertible which preceded the Jag. My solution was to swear at it, tell the car that there was nothing wrong with the brake lights, and then ignore the message until it went away. Quickest way to banish the message was to stop and restart the car.
David

 

Hi
This very similar to an issuer I had with the Infamous XJ40,
When I depressed the brake & only when turning right I would get “Blub Failure”
And after a number of blubs and cleaning the holder, the fault was traced to a faulty ABS wheel sensor


Regards


Redpoptop

 

I had this issue, and was fortunate enough that after cleaning it with electrical contact spray cleaner (AutoZone, CDC brand?) on the control panels where the bulbs mount into (and making sure the bulb contacts were also clean), the message forevermore went away.

 

I want to thank everyone for their posts. I was able to solve the problem through clearning the contact points.

The Bulb Failure warning has disappeared.

 

+1

 

Got the same issues at the moment. After reading this thread (and the linked ones), I had a look at my rear clusters. Found the earth pins were badly corroded/burnt:







Having cleaned the pins up, the problem with spurious bulb failures has gone away. But tomorrow's job will be to add new earth wires and thereby ground the clusters properly.

Question is, why does this happen?

Gotta love this forum, though...

Best wishes, Colin

 

I think I had a similar problem with an Audi I had back in the 1980s. There was always one pin that got corroded or crudded up, similar to the photos in the previous poster. I could never figured out why this happened but routinely had to clean up the pin.

Doug

 

Simples. The connectors aren't up to the job.

Each contact except the earth/ground feeds 1 bulb only.
Imagine a foggy night; you're turning left, so your fog, side, brake and turn lamps are all busy. The return path for all of these is - the single earth/ground contact.

Fast forward several years:- the pads on the lamp module get dirty, the contact springs weaken so contact isn't quite so good as it was when new. Arcing happens, burning the contact which makes it worse and... you have seen the result.
To be fair, it's not just Jaguar. How many cars have you followed where the driver brakes and the rear end lights up like a Christmas tree?

Economics. $5 less spent on connectors = around $450,000 saved over the production run.

And agreed, the contribution this forum makes to us all is invaluable.


Best,
Mike

 

I did all the short term fixes. New bulbs. Contact cleaning. Prayer. Adding a new ground to each assembly fixed it permanently. There is a very good write up with photos up there in the stickies.

 

Had another 'bulb failure' message this morning. Actually was a blown bulb rather than a dud message....

Best wishes, Colin

 

 

Yeah, I wonder who thought of this improvement? We should call it "the [last name] mod".

I remember there was 1 like that on XJ6. Someone discovered you could put an on off switch in line with a certain wire. Flip the switch and climate control opened up outside vents without any fans. Gave a nice air flow while driving. Think it was called the Kelly mod, but too long ago to recall for sure.

John

 

"Brutal's mod" (sounds kinder than "the Brutal mod")

...think he was the first to suggest it on the forum:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...83/#post189211