XF eating light bulbs

[Newro]

Just wondering if anybody else is having the same problem?

Roughly every 4 - 8 months I have to get a new bulb for one of the low beam lights. Alternating driver/passenger side. On my way to work there is a Halfords, so I usually get it there and and let them fit it. I wonder if I should try to get some other ones?

Not expensive, but annoying. And usually dim light lasts for years, so quite odd to have to change them so often on this car.

[stevejh]

I remember having the same issue on my 58 plate XF. I was becoming quite an expert at changing the bulbs which was quite a job as the whole headlight assembly had to be moved forward to get the bulb in the back. It was usually the passenger side if I remember correctly.

[V88Dicky]

Three 10mm bolts, slide the headLamp forward slightly, disconnect the electrics connector and remove the headlamp. Take it indoors in the warm, and using nitrile gloves, change the bulb.

It's a lot easier than an x-type!

[Newro]

Had a quick chat with the guy at Halfords, and he told me that he knows about this behaviour mainly from French cars. The problem, as explained to me, is that both bulbs are on the same circuit so if one fails, the other gets too much current, drastically shortening the life time of the good bulb.

I now got both bulbs exchanged, and used long life ones rather than the standard ones. Lets see if that breaks the spell.

I kept the good bulb anyway, if nothing else I know have a spare when driving through France.

[a8hex]

OK not on a Jag but LadyB8's last E-Class used to blow brake lights. If I replaced them with Bosch or Halfords' ones they'd last a week. If I bought the ones from MB they were no more expensive and would last a year or more. Weird, but then all the electrics on it were. How they engineered the electrics so it could recognise where I bought light bulbs is a mystery to me.
We'd got fed up with it eating bulbs on a weekly basis and spoke to the service guys and they said they'd seen it before and to try their own bulbs, they also didn't know why bulbs that worked fine in other cars kept blow in these ones.