Jaguar XJ-S. Manual - part 160

 
 

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Gordon Clefton made a less radical fix than simply removing the green lenses.  “I removed each green lens (two 
screws), drilled five holes into the plastic, cleaned the plastic, and then replaced the green lens.  The pattern was one 
hole at the end and four holes around the side.  I am pleased with the results; the panel still has the Jaguar green glow, 
but all the instruments are very readable.” 

Yet another idea would be to remove the green lenses and install green bulbs.  Green bulbs are commonly available in 
auto parts stores, which often have an entire aisle dedicated to dressing up cars with various colored lights.  You can 
also visit an arts-and-crafts store and purchase some of the goop they offer to make stained glass designs -- pretty much 
whatever color you want -- and apply it directly to the bulbs. 

Another method for making lights brighter would be to improve reflectivity.  White paint helps, Liquid Paper works 
well, or you can apply small pieces of aluminum tape.  For the illumination of the big gauges, there is an easy 
reflectivity improvement that can be made.  The cowling around these two gauges, just outside the face itself as you’re 
looking at it, is a single piece of white plastic that has been painted a dark grey on the surfaces that show.  The reason 
they didn’t just make it out of dark grey plastic is because the back side of this part that doesn’t show is supposed to be 
white to reflect the light from the green-lensed illumination bulbs.  Unfortunately, someone in the paint shop must not 
have understood this too well, because large areas of the back side of this part may be painted dark grey as well.  So, 
take a piece of sandpaper and remove the dark grey paint from the back side, especially on the bevelled section 
surrounding the gauge.  Or, if it’s easier, you could just paint over it with white paint. 

Keith Morris says, “If you will notice there is a cutout on the back plane of the large gauges that can accept another 
green lens and bulb setup.  I obtained these extra lamps at my local Jaguar dealer and added them.  They simply plug in 
- the electrical connections are present in the circuit sheet.  The gauges are now brighter.”  This author’s ’83 has no 
such openings for additional bulbs, but Bob Gallivan says his ’84 “has 3 extra holes for the lights.” 

Walter Acker IV went to further extremes and installed 900-series wedge bulbs:  “The new bulb is #921, but you will 
be able to install the new bulb from the front only.  The new bulb is too big to insert from the back, but can be installed 
from the front if you make sure to hold the sockets from the back with your finger to keep the bulb socket from pushing 
out the back. 

“I found that the sockets pull on the copper part of the plastic board.  When you have the plastic off of the back half of 
the dash cluster, if you chamfer the ends of the holes where the socket goes in very carefully you can reduce the pulling 
effect on the copper part of the plastic circuit board.” 

 

THIRD BRAKE LIGHT BULB REPLACEMENT:  It may not be obvious at first, so John Himes sends this 
description for getting to the bulbs:  “Feel or look on the underside of the cover; there are 2 black indentations on each 
side of the cover.  Place your fingers on each of these, or you can also do one at a time.  Press up on the indentation 
which is a sprung black square button that keeps the cover from rattling off.  After your remove the cover, you have 
access to the bulbs.  They are in gray plastic holders that you turn 1/2 turn to release.” 

 

THIRD BRAKE LIGHT RE-INSTALLATION:  Apparently the things fall off.  And apparently most glues don’t work 
very well for putting it back on.  Ray Schmitt says, “"GOOP" worked for me in that application.  It's clear like silicon 
but stickier and sets up firmer.  I had "Marine GOOP" on hand but I think the other types are much the same.  Available 
at most hardware stores.” 

John Kjallberg says, “Try some window stop leak, silicone windshield and glass seal; this is flowable so look out for 
drips.  You will have to support it for a day.  I had no luck with other fixes.” 

 

INDICATOR LIGHT BULBS:  The tiny bulbs used in the row of indicator lights at the top of the dashboard are 
“miniature capless”, similar to capless but a bunch smaller.  14V versions are available at auto parts stores in the US in 
several different wattages: 

 
 

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 NUMBER WATTAGE 

 18  0.56W 

 73  1.12W 

 37  1.26W 

 74  1.4W 

 70  2.1W 

Since the Jaguar bulb chart calls for a 1.2W, numbers 37 or 74 should make good substitutes -- but you also might 
consider varying the wattage bulb for your own preferences, like making the oil warning light real bright, less important 
lights dimmer, and the turn signals real bright so you can see them at all! 

To get these bulbs in and out, it helps to have a pair of hemostats (a “roach clip” to you 70’s potheads) with electrical 
tape wrapped around the jaws. 

If you don’t like the little pictures that are lit up by the indicator bulbs, Walter Acker IV points out that lots of cars use 
very similar rectangular colored panels for their indicators.  So, you can pick up some panels at a junkyard, cut them to 
size, and install them in the Jaguar dash to change the way the indicators look.  Acker’s pet peeve is the turn signals, 
and he found that the indicator panels from a 1986 Isuzu Trooper II or a 1983/84 Mazda B2000 pickup truck were more 
to his liking.  You can use this same idea to actually change what an indicator means; for example, you could do away 
with that trailer indicator and put in an indicator that the A bank of your Marelli ignition system has failed (see page 
160), and put a red “Check Engine” panel on it with a really bright light bulb behind it. 

 

TRIP COMPUTER SCREEN ILLUMINATION BULB:  Robert Weiss-Malik found a replacement for the tiny light 
bulb that lights up the indicator screen on the trip computer:  “I am happy to report that the bulb that I found at Radio 
Shack works just fine (so far anyways).  The Radio Shack bulb is called a "bi-pin lamp".  It is rated at 12 volts and 
55mA.  The part number is 272-1154.” 

 

 

Headlights

 

 

BRIGHTNESS: Jon Jackson and others point out that dim headlights may be the result of bad grounds.  “On my ’87 
there is a ground under the hood to the left side of the radiator.  There are several ground wires that go to this same 
point.  Cleaned it up a bit and all is great.” 

 

HEADLIGHT TYPES:  There were at least five distinct headlight schemes used on the Jaguar XJ-S over the course of 
its production life -- not including the fact that there were both LHD and RHD versions of many of these, if not all.  In 
the US, four round headlights were used up through 1991, and oblong Carello headlights with plastic lenses were used 
from 1992 on.  In Europe and most other markets, the XJ-S has been fitted with oblong headlights since its introduction 
-- but there were three different versions:  Cibies with glass lenses and two bulbs per unit on the early models, Cibies 
with glass lenses and a single bulb per unit throughout the 80’s, and finally switching to an E-code Carellos with plastic 
lenses at the same time the US cars switched to DOT-approved Carellos for 1992. 

If you need to replace a headlight bulb, the Jaguar repair manual and the Haynes manual are both worthless; their bulb 
charts are all screwed up on headlights.  In the sections on each type of headlight beginning on page 646, this book will 
tell you not only what type replacement bulbs are called for but also what substitutions and upgrades you might wish to 
consider. 

 

 
 

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HEADLIGHT REPLACEMENT:  If you have the four round sealed beam headlights, obviously you are supposed to 
remove the faulty unit and replace it in entirety.  In all four of the oblong headlight designs, however, correcting a burnt 
bulb means replacing a relatively small globe plugged into the back side of the reflector.  On the pre-90’s non-US cars 
with Cibie units this was a real pain because the entire headlight assembly had to be yanked out of the car in order to 
get to the bulbs.  However, according to John Goodman, Jaguar addressed this sometime in the early 90’s:  “I just 
changed the front aluminium splash guards in the wheel arch behind the headlights.  The part has been modified from 
the original one, it now has a removable access panel (which can be removed with the splash guard installed) to enable 
easy change of the headlight bulbs.” 

If you want easier access to the back of your Cibies, you can order the updated panels; “I just ordered one for a '89 XJ-
S.  I thought the parts guy had goofed, but he assured me this supersedes the old type.”  Unfortunately, this might not 
get you anywhere, since there is a stiffening panel behind the headlight and ahead of this wheelwell panel, and you 
might have to cut a hole in it to get to the bulb from behind.  Goodman elaborates:  “There is another "panel" behind the 
headlight, but this must be revised as well on later cars!  It has a hand-sized hole stamped in it with turned over edge, 
either for strength or to avoid cutting one’s wrist while removing the bulb holder.  It is quite easy to fumble about and 
change the bulb if the wheel is turned in.” 

 

HEADLIGHTS USING REPLACEABLE BULBS:  Whether your car takes H1’s, H4’s, or 9004’s, keep your grimy 
paws off those little halogen bulbs.  The oil from your fingers on the surface of the quartz capsule insulates it and 
prevents it from dissipating heat as it should.  The result is that the bulb burns out very quickly, whereas normally these 
halogen bulbs will last considerably longer than a conventional sealed beam.  If you accidentally finger the glass, clean 
the surface with some alcohol before installing.  

There is one significant concern of headlight assemblies with replaceable bulbs: the owner may simply replace the bulb 
whenever it burns out, and neglect to notice when the housing itself is deteriorating, the reflector gets all rusty, or the 
lens gets broken.  Since the reflector and the lens are critical to proper illumination, the conscientious owner will 
replace the housings whenever the performance is adversely affected. 

 

PILOT LIGHTS:  “Pilot” is UK-speak for the small bulbs within the headlight assemblies that are used to make the 
headlights glow when the headlights are not on.  In the US, old VW Beetles used to have them, and many cars with the 
new composite headlamps have something similar.  Daniel Stern says, “In most of the world, they're called "city lights". 
 In the UK, they're referred to as "sidelights" (which is confusing, because they face front, not to the side.)  This is the 
European equivalent of the US "parking" lamp.  European-specs vehicles do not use amber parking lamps, but rather 
use white city lights.” 

The Jaguar repair manual variously describes their pilot bulbs as no. 15602, 4 watt, Osram miniature bayonet, or 223, 
or 233, depending on whose misprint you believe.  This sounds the same as the side marker bulbs 233 (see page 631), 
but I haven’t seen them personally and don’t trust any of this literature any more, check the actual bulb itself before 
buying. 

Vince Chrzanowski (who is using the Euro-spec Cibie headlights in North America) says “The pilot lamps I use are 
#1893.  I use them in all my radio 12-volt applications because of their long-life rating.” 

Daniel Stern:  “Note that city lights are a legal form of parking lamp in the USA and Canada.  Parking lamps can be 
amber or white, and they are permitted to be nested with the headlamps.  The latest XJ sedans use city lights rather than 
amber parking lamps.” 

Stern offers several advantages of city lights over the US-style parking lights:  “If a headlamp ever malfunctions, 
oncoming traffic still sees you as a double-track vehicle.  Plus, it makes your front turn signals much clearer because 
they now go "bright-off-bright-off" instead of "bright-dim-bright-dim" when the lights are on.  Yep, another aspect of 
lighting that the Europeans got right and we didn't.  City lights are especially useful if you have fog lamps.  On foggy 
days, you can put on the city lights which will show other drivers very clearly where your car is, and switch on the fog 
lamps so you can see.”  Stern is presuming here that your fog lights are wired to be on with the headlights off, the only 

 
 

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way fog lights are of any use, but this is technically illegal in most states; you’re required by law to have the headlights 
on in fog so you can’t see. 

 

PROTECTING HEADLIGHT LENSES:  If you have the Cibie glass headlights and don’t like the idea of paying 
Jaguar for new ones, Griot’s Garage (page 708) offers a way to protect them.  It’s a clear layer of vinyl that you peel-
and-stick to the front of the lens and then trim around the edges.  This is likely to be very effective, since even the 
slightest cushioning is likely to prevent most stones and the like from damaging the glass. 

Griot’s also sells a thinner version for fog lights and turn signal lenses, but claims the product is not for use on 
polycarbonate lenses.  That leaves owners of the Carello lights out in the cold. 

 

HEADLIGHT WIRING:  The headlight and fog light wiring diagram on page 86-11 in the ©1982 Supplement contains 
just enough miscues to make it really difficult to follow.  Mark the following to make it a little better: 

•  On the key, items 20 and 21 are the fog lamps at the front, and items 22 and 23 are the rear fog guard lamps.  They 

could have been drawn more clearly, too, either showing the lamps or not rather than showing some and showing 
arrows to others.  20 and 21 should look like a matched pair, and so should 22 and 23. 

•  On the pre-1992 US-spec car, there are two LH main beams and two RH main beams, so items 8 and 10 should be 

doubled.  This is not true for cars with oblong headlamps, however. 

•  There should be a capacitor shown wired between terminals 31b and 81a on the headlamp relay, item 4. 
•  On the US-spec car, the rear fog guard lamps, items 22 and 23, don’t exist. 
•  On the author’s 1983 US-spec car, the fog lamp switch, item 18, doesn’t exist. 

Note that the lack of a fog lamp switch makes it impossible to operate the front fog lights.  Also, putting the headlamp 
switch into the #3 position (see below) activates the inhibit relay and therefore locks the headlights on low beam, but 
the power sent to the rear fog lights does nothing -- they don’t exist.  Sorry to report, this is not just an error in the 
schematics; this author’s car was actually wired that way, and although it had front fog lamps from the factory there 
was no way to turn them on.  It is, however, a fairly simple matter to move the RY wire from fuse #1 to fuse #6 to get 
the front fog lights to work when the headlamp switch is put into the #3 position.  Be sure to leave the existing RU wire 
on fuse 6 to operate the dash indicator. 

For owners of the US-spec car, Figure 36 is a replacement for the diagram, based on the author’s 1983 H.E.