Jaguar XE Forum banner

Brake lights out?

33K views 32 replies 23 participants last post by  chrisjp 
#1 ·
Nice fella pulled alongside yesterday to say my brake light was out on the nearside.
Got home and yes, both bulbs out which was a bit strange.
Popped off to Hellfords this am and bought a two pack of Bosch replacements as manual says to replace both.
Once I had managed to wrestle the rear light unit out (a real fiddly pain) I undid the holders and had a look.
Bulbs are W16W push fit types.
Bulbs seemed ok.
Both seemed to be sitting a bit proud so pushed them back in.
Connected the mutiplug and both were now working again.
Don't know why but undid the holders again and they both could be popped firmer in again.
Did another test and they were off again.
:roll:
Thought **** it and put the new Bosch ones in and they clicked firmly home and worked perfectly.
Had a look at the indicator, reversing light and side light bulbs and all could be pushed back in a bit but all were working ok.
I don't know if it's vibration or what but the existing bulbs (Toshiba) didn't sit as frimly in the holders as the Bosh replacements.
 
See less See more
#3 ·
I had the same problem on both of my XEs, changing both bulbs on the side that was out wouldn't fix the problem. Jaguar Assist came out, inspected the unit, sprayed some electrical connectors cleaner on the bulb holders and untwisted some of the wiring to the light cluster. Needless to say, it wasn't the bulbs but most likely the tightly twisted wiring.
 
#4 ·
Having been kindly told that my nearside brake light was not working, and being inept with anything requiring practical skills, I would normally use the local garage to replace the bulbs. However, as I will be in the vicinity of the main dealer tomorrow, I rang them to enquire whether they could do it on the spot for me.

Lucky I did, because lo and behold, they have informed that there is a known issue and the whole back light unit needs to be replaced under warranty; so I am now booked in Wednesday week for the job to be done while I wait.

Nothing on Topix for my vehicle in relation to this issue, so whether it's hot off the press I know not but given mine is a 2016 model with only 12K on the clock, it seems unlikely. DIYers be aware.
 
#6 ·
Yeh I've seen a few also. Will keep an eye on mine
 
#8 ·
Bulbs were fine but, as PhilB said, not a very good fit so will get some new Bosch ones.

Closed the bulb holder contacts a bit, cleaned the contacts with contact cleaner and all working again. No twisted wiring in sight.

Removing the offside cluster is fun due to the fuse box and a few other bits in the way.

Bob
 
#9 ·
Hi All

Mine Offside brake light not working for a couple of days. Got the warning triangle on the dash, Not fun to replace offside as a Fuse box is in the way. I assume that the Cluster has to be unscrewed and pulled away.? Need to get to Halfords and get Bosh bulbs. How on earth do you get a 10mm spanner in there . Oh well wish me luck..
 
#10 ·
Britannia said:
Hi All

Mine Offside brake light not working for a couple of days. Got the warning triangle on the dash, Not fun to replace offside as a Fuse box is in the way. I assume that the Cluster has to be unscrewed and pulled away.? Need to get to Halfords and get Bosh bulbs. How on earth do you get a 10mm spanner in there . Oh well wish me luck..
Not sure you need a spanner?
On my previous it had a big plastic "wingnut" type thing which you loosened and tightened by hand.
Yes, apparently the offside is a pig due to the fusebox.
Once the "nut" thing is undone you should be able to lift the rear cluster out and get access to the bulbs.
Make sure it's snug and tight when you do it back up to stop any moisture ingress.
 
#11 ·
Britannia said:
Hi All

Mine Offside brake light not working for a couple of days. Got the warning triangle on the dash.
:!: :?: :shock: :? I thought there was no warnings for bulbs. This was confirmed by jag assist guy and by this forum!

I did this job yesterday, awkward but do able. No need for a spanner, kneel down on the floor and get your hand up through the fuse box hole. Feel for the nut and turn till it comes out.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the info. I will be tackling this next. Is this just one single plastic wing nut so the tail light cluster eases out wars and can the nut disappear down the side of the panel or is it a captive one ? From what i can see these bulb contacts are just like 'Christmas tree' ones and ones that are sometimes dash bulb ones...
Thanks.
 
#13 ·
Britannia said:
Thanks for the info. I will be tackling this next. Is this just one single plastic wing nut so the tail light cluster eases out wars and can the nut disappear down the side of the panel or is it a captive one ? From what i can see these bulb contacts are just like 'Christmas tree' ones and ones that are sometimes dash bulb ones...
Thanks.
Its a big old plug, you shouldnt have trouble not dropping it. Once unscrewed, you might need to push it back in the hole to get the light to come free.

Bulbs:

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-blades-batteries/car-bulbs/bosch-955-w16w-car-bulbs-x-2?cm_mmc=Google+PLA-_-Bulbs,+Blades+and+Batteries-_-Car+Bulbs-_-114862&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istItemId=ipprirrii&istBid=tzil&_$ja=tsid:94971|cid:965153641|agid:50698249427|tid:pla-405272562412|crid:228860892217|nw:g|rnd:10430629583381791916|dvc:m|adp:1o1|mt:|loc:9044948&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkd3VBRDzARIsAAdGzMAupXZrafu9gkn2L7U-gj6t8N6ihgSA_9FX5xMPhTx9dOYWaP4BFwUaAoP-EALw_wcB

Once the cluster is out, the little bulb covers require a quarter turn to be released.
 
#14 ·
Hi Big Cat Owners. Decided to have a g oat my Right hand rear outer Brake light issue. The single retaining Plastic wing nut is a bit difficult with the fuse box in the way but its easy to brake your wrist then bingo you can feel the wing nut and undo it. Its spring loaded and after removal i redid all the connections checked the bulbs and sprayed wd40 on the contacts then refitted it. I got the Wife to let me know if all was Ok. I pressed the brake pedal and start button and the wife said the brake lightsworked then even with my foot on the brake and when the engine started the right hand light went out. Its now going in to the Main dealer to have a look at and also the issue of the Non start i had a couple of weeks ago when i had the Jaguar breakdown visit to show me the work around to get it started, Its a Brake switch issue and some sort of vacuum circuit in the starting circuitry. New switch me thinks? The start stop has not worked for weeks. but gather there is so many parameters that can stop it. Temperature being one and load on the battery, How about having a 85aph batter of better?
 
#15 ·
Britannia said:
....... after removal i redid all the connections checked the bulbs and sprayed wd40 on the contacts then refitted it.
Not a good idea to spray electrical connections with ordinary WD40 as it's a lubricant and flammable !
The tin says, Caution: Keep away from sparks and any other sources of ignition and to disconnect any electrical source before spraying.
If you want to clean contacts the Halfords electrical contact cleaner is best.
 
#17 ·
Just had the "offside brakelight replacement" experience myself. What a faff. I mean, I got there in the end, but talk about making simple jobs difficult in order to encourage people to think "f*** it, off to the dealer to change a £3 bulb".

Wasn't so much the undoing of the wingnut, as it's quite chunky and easy to turn, it's the putting-it-back that made it a Crystal Maze performance.

When I bought the car, I didn't think that within a month I'd be lying in the foetal position in the boot of it, but that's how I found myself able to line the wingnut back up into its slot.

....bulbs work though.

For those coming across this issue and debating whether to try and replace it, you don't need any tools, but plan on being quite left-hand-flexible to screw the wingnut back in, and trying to find the slot behind the fusebox completely blind.
 
#18 ·
So glad I found this thread to realise I'm not alone.

Wife informed me that brake lights on the passenger side were not working, so nipped into Halfords and ordered one bulb having not looked at the car first.

Come to do the job and realise there's 2 bulbs, surely can't both be blown?

I replaced the one closest to the number plate. And got my daughter to press the brakes. It flicked on then went out. Hmm blown fuse?

The old bulb looked ok so I swapped that with the outer bulb which also looked ok!

Brake light and both bulbs now on???

I shall be keeping a close eye on this!
 
#19 ·
Has anyone had any more experience with this issue?

I was informed the other day that the brake lights were out only on one side of my 2015 XE.
When I took off the light cluster and inspected the two brake light bulbs they were both OK.
The turn indicator, reverse and rear lights still work and so I suspected a contact issue.
As the car was going on for wheel alignment I asked the dealer to check…

They phoned me stating that the whole light cluster needs to be changed and asking for 250 Euro!
I declined as I considered it was an abusive price for a faulty brake light and would investigate the bad connection myself.
The dealer still charged me 45 minutes labour at 76 Euro inc. VAT for checking.

Later at home I tracked the problem down to a pcb (circuit board) inside the light cluster that only feeds the brake lights.
So now I understand why the dealer wanted to replace the complete light cluster!
However, elsewhere I have read that Jaguar were changing light cluster's under warranty (mine is not covered) but it is not clear what the problem is.

Does anyone have an idea about the faulty pcb in the rear light cluster?
 
#20 ·
Picked my XE up on Friday, the dealer did the MOT for me. Sunday no brake lights except the top strip. Back to dealer on Monday, brake lights work on start up so system is working but then no longer work on subsequent brake application. Norwich Inchcape knew exactly what to do, fixed in 20mins. I enquired about the fix and was told when 1 build isn't seated correctly all the lights dont work but work on start up. They had seen it many times, know the fix but dont understand the problem.
Any auto electricians on her with any ideas, just want to know why.

Noticed the auto stop/start is also not working, back to dealer on Wednesday, hopefully just a software update and that this isn't a sign of things to come
 
#21 ·
FishyMcGee said:
Just had the "offside brakelight replacement" experience myself. What a faff. I mean, I got there in the end, but talk about making simple jobs difficult in order to encourage people to think "f*** it, off to the dealer to change a £3 bulb".
Yes I remember the days when you didn't need a forum to find out how to change a bulb on a car, and I don't think I'm even that old.

I remember a couple of LEDs going out on my A4 rear cluster last year and the only way to fix them was to replace the entire light cluster :lol:
 
#22 ·
billvega said:
Britannia said:
Hi All

Mine Offside brake light not working for a couple of days. Got the warning triangle on the dash.
:!: :?: :shock: :? I thought there was no warnings for bulbs. This was confirmed by jag assist guy and by this forum!
If that's true it's pretty disappointing. I think my 1997 BMW told me when a brake light or headlamp was out..... Indicators just flashed more quickly than usual but enough to alert you.
 
#23 ·
JAGDH said:
billvega said:
Britannia said:
Hi All

Mine Offside brake light not working for a couple of days. Got the warning triangle on the dash.
:!: :?: :shock: :? I thought there was no warnings for bulbs. This was confirmed by jag assist guy and by this forum!
If that's true it's pretty disappointing. I think my 1997 BMW told me when a brake light or headlamp was out..... Indicators just flashed more quickly than usual but enough to alert you.
JAGDH said:
FishyMcGee said:
Just had the "offside brakelight replacement" experience myself. What a faff. I mean, I got there in the end, but talk about making simple jobs difficult in order to encourage people to think "f*** it, off to the dealer to change a £3 bulb".
Yes I remember the days when you didn't need a forum to find out how to change a bulb on a car, and I don't think I'm even that old.

I remember a couple of LEDs going out on my A4 rear cluster last year and the only way to fix them was to replace the entire light cluster :lol:
I trust you realise you are quoting posts from 2 years ago so you may not get any reply ?
:D
 
#24 ·
Hi Guy's

I have had this problem and many many more unfortunately.
I hope i have this correct....When I looked at it, it would appear that the bulb spring contacts are either dirty or in my case simple do not have enough "spring" to firmly hold the bulb in place under vibrating conditions. (fix just bend contacts).
However Jaguar have nicely added monitoring software to this circuit and upon it detecting an intermittent or lost contact the computer turns off BOTH brake light bulbs on the affected side. But then if you do a restart the fault is reset and the brake lights will work again until you lose contact again upon which the computer turns off the brake lights on that side!!!
So in my case every time i started the car and checked the brake lights they worked fine, i then drive off and the vibration causes one of the bulb not to illuminate and the software turns off the brake lights until the journey is complete.
Also there is a fault code generated but no dashboard warning.
 
#25 ·
I've just had the misfortune to have my car serviced by Pentland Perth. They have merged the Jaguar franchise in to the nearby Land Rover faculty. After picking up my freshly serviced car, my wife is driving behind me and calls me to tell me my nearside brake light isn't working. At first I thought it was just a blown bulb, but then I noticed that the bulb is working on engine start, but not on subsequent brake pedal activations. I return to the dealer to ask how they managed to miss this during the service. "It was working when we tested it" is their answer.

To fix the problem they tell me I need a new LED Assembly at a cost of £201, including fitting (not sure if that included VAT). I tell them that the brake light uses bulbs, and so they change tack and say that the LED board controls the brake bulbs and that it's this PCB that has failed. Replacement of the entire nearside lamp assembly is the only remedy.

Something didn't smell right, and I had a vague memory of reading this thread a few months ago, so I left the dealers without any work being done. It was slightly nervous driving home in case I happened to brake in front of any police cars. I got home safely and read Phil's advice at the start of this thread. Low and behold, both brake bulbs on the nearside were "insufficiently seated". Once I pushed both in to the holder, and reassembled the car, to nobody's amazement, the brake lights were working correctly (and legally) again.

So thank you Phil for your Public Service, and for saving me £201. I owe you a pint at least.

Finally, it was mentioned above that at least one dealership knows of this problem and how to fix it. Is this common knowledge amongst all dealers? Does Jaguar notify all the facilities when a single dealer manages to solve a problem?
 
#26 ·
They probably do all know about it but think that us Joe Public are all thick and they can make a few quid by charging us for work that they won't actually do, they'll just mess around with the contacts like is advised on here!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top