switched to LED headlights - what a dramatic change for $37!!!!

Amazon

Amazon

1st pic - led on passenger and halogen on driver's side; next 2 both led

 

Looks great Steve.

Now you can replace those inner warm colored bulbs with these cooler LED versions too.

 

thanks - ordered!!! will work on tail lights next (already went led on reverse lights)

 

Steve,
Major difference! I am spoiled with the Xenon lights on my car, but will definitely check LEDs out for my wife's car. Its headlights seem terribly dim.

 

What all was required to go to led?

 

Looks great--are these a problem for oncoming cars at all?

 

People with these don't care about on coming traffic! Lol 😁

 

Good question

 

Most of the 2003 and up XK8*'s & XKR's came with HID Low Beams and Halogen High Beams! Now yours's may be different! I've heard that some of the Guy's Have Halogens in both Lights....but most are set-up with the Halogen High Beams...I'm sure this was to keep those that don't know how to 'Dim" their High Beams from getting in trouble.....But out on the Country Road, as you would have to admit. That's not real good on a Dark Night!...That's the way "Sugar" came from the Factory...…I don't remember which Lighting system came on my 2000 XKR but I remember "squinting" a lot at Night. So, when I got the 2005 and it had the HID/ Halogen setup I changed-out the High Beams to LED's, which are pretty Bright and they really light up the Road....and yes! you have to be polite to on-coming Cars and hit the dimer but a nice Guy like you would do that anyway! Now wouldn't you? But for about a $100.00 Bucks, you can solve that "Dim Light Problem"!

Now, Sklimil….If you have a 2003 or above you can change out several Bulbs in your Tail Lights: The English Fog Light and the Back-up Lights can be changed without triggering the "Bulb Out" light on your Dash, but the Blinker and Outside Rear Light/Stop-Light have to be dumbed-down with Resistors or the Warning Light will come on and stay-on.....Lumen makes a couple LED Bulbs that have resistors built-in, but they are not strong enough to solve the Jaguar CANBus problem.without some additional Resistors being soldered in! Maybe someone knows where and how many Resistors to use and will jump in and enlighten us on how this is done!

Billy Clyde

 

Timeisrelative - installation was pretty much plug/play. These have an H1 shaped base that you remove from the assembly and install in place of the normal H1 bulb - it's a bit of a tight fit in the clip but otherwise easy. The bulb/fan assembly then is just pushed into this base and connect the 2 leads and done!

EnjoyEverySandwich - When I drove the other night - it was just a short trip around the neighborhood so no oncoming traffic. This morning was the first full drive/real test driving into work at 5AM - no one flashed me or gave an appearance that these bothered them - so I don't think there will be any issues

Billy - mine is a 2000 and came with halogens for both low/high/fog. I was having to use the low beam and the fogs all the time to gain decent visibility at night. With these, fogs stayed off this morning and I will look at replacing all with LED. As for the rear - I changed out the reverse to LED and have been looking at replacing the others - like you trying to find one that is true plug/play without having to add additional circuitry.

 

Wondering whether these are street legal conversions in the US, regardless if there is actually a tecnical improvement or not.
Here in Europe you need to have official approvals from the authorities, provided by the product manufacturer and depending on what it is additional a compliance declaration from the car manufacturer.

Non approved conversions will cause a loss of operating permit.

Regards, Fritz

 

It's the same in Spain - I think these might not pass the annual inspection. It sounds like they are easy enough to switch out for the originals for the inspection though and then back to the LEDs afterwards.

The standard bulbs are terrible, so in my opinion the LEDs look like they are much safer, even if they aren't certified.

 

Mr. Fritz and dibbit,

Guys, I don't know what your Laws are in your Areas, but all the New Cars are coming out with these new LED Bulbs....I'm sure the Laws will be changing to comply with this sooner than later...……...

Billy Clyde

 

The issue here in Spain is that you can't just freely modify your car, it has to meet the same standards the brand new car met to get type approval. So if the new car didn't ship with LED headlights, it might be a problem to add LED headlights (if the tester notices when the car goes in for its annual inspection). This applies to pretty much everything from tyre sizes to window tints - even a new towbar needs to come with a certificate and be inspected. How strictly these rules are enforced vary from country to country in Europe, in the same way that different states in the US have different annual inspection regimes from strict to non existent.

 

Mine just came in. You access these through the wheel well, correct? Is it obvious where the positive and negative wires connect?

 

I really don't want to sound like a party pooper but, while manufacturers continue to update and improve the lighting systems on our cars year after year they are not simply fitting improved light sources to existing lens assemblies.
There is literally millions of dollars spent on headlight design/research to get it right for both the driver and the other road users to avoid light scatter and blinding beams of light. There is a good reason most of this stuff is labeled "for offroad use only"
If your headlights are not bright enough either fit an improved output bulb of the original type or update the complete assembly.

 

Sklimii and I dont have to worry much about regulation where we are. Between the battered roads we deal with and the trucks that blind everyone, it is small fry compared to most.

Not to mention, our XKs are projector, not reflector, so as long as he hasn't aimed his assemblies 5099degrees north hes not blinding anyone. My vdp is reflector and I have them aimed low enough to not be a problem.

Sklimii, if you decide to led the fogs, you may want to do a compare against halogen on a dark wet road. LEDs dont penetrate water as well and I've found halogens for the fogs on both my cars to help substantially with this issue. It's a perfect blend

 

Scott - yes access through wheel well - but I found the driver's side I had to remove the wheel to gain better access while passenger side I could install with no issues. red is + and black -

p-Rock nice to know regarding water/LED and will take that into consideration.

Other than the front end drop due to installing lowering springs front/rear, I haven't adjusted/aimed the lights in any way since I've had the car - so shouldn't be an issue

 

After too many attempts, I'm throwing in the flag for LEDs with the X100. It is just not enough. The X308 is perfect but it's also reflector based (and aimed so low no one can complain)

I'm going to try these Xentec H1 6000k HIDs. Anything other than a halogen is a pain to put into these housings, but I've done it both on a lift and on the ground with the wheel still on. Just have to scream and walk away 20 times during.

If they work out I'll post back. I've had it with the LEDs in these projector low beams. Seems a lot of people have gone well with the HIDs in an X100

 

I bought, and love, the LEDs Steve recommends in the leading post with the link to Amazon.

Since it took me a while to figure out how to install these, maybe it'll help someone out if I post it.

The bulb assembly comes out of the box looking like it is a single piece. It is actually 2 pieces, you will need to separate them to properly install the bulb.

The part with the circular flange pulls off the LED assembly. I'll call this the mounting flange.

Pull the mounting flange off.

Unclip the fastener and remove the old bulb from the car. I had the wheel well liner out, it's so easy to do your crazy not to.

As you remove the bulb, note the orientation. Its mounting flange has one edge cut into a straight line. Note its position for new bulb orientation.

The clip that holds the bulb pivots on 2 connections at the bottom. One for the left side, one for the right. Each side is a simple circular receptacle for the straight leg of the clip to slip into.

Take the mounting flange for the new LED bulb and put it in place in proper orientation. There are 2 raised dimples and the one cut side mentioned above to help you. When you get it in position it is a solid fit, no rocking or instability.

If you can now swing the cars securing clip up over the flange and lock it in place, do so. As I recall it doesn't fit that easily, but not a big deal. Detach one of the clip's connectors at the bottom (it just slips out), bend the clip to fit around the new flange, once you get it over the flange, reattach the bottom connection, then move to top and hook the top of the retaining clip in place.

Now the mounting flange is securely in place, just insert the LED bulb (slides securely into flange from behind).

Attach wires, weather seal cup, and job's done.

John