QuestionHi Howard,
This question may fall outside your specific area of expertise as this car is not yet antique but here's my question anyway....
I recently purchased a 1994 Jaguar XJS 4.0L from a seller in Pittsburgh. Bringing the car into Canada it needs to have daytime running lights to meet Canadian Highway Code before I can get a license plate for it.
This requires that the front low beams be on at all times when the engine is running. Can you provide any information as to what is required to convert the car to meet Canadian standards?
I've heard everything from major electrical harness rewiring work to simple re-programming of the "on-board lighting module"?
This is something that I have to have done and I just feel a little vulnerable not knowing whether this will require major work by the dealership or if the car is already DRL enabled and the feature can be activated at the flip of a switch.....any help would be appreciated.
Cheers!
Tony Gorjan
AnswerHi Tony,
This car is outside my expertise, however, if you can either acquire a wiring diagram or ask the dealer if an electric control unit operates the headlights. You can decide if a small relay could be added to turn on the low beams with just "ignition on position". This is an easy thing to do on my cars (up to 87 Jags) but more complexed if an ECU is used. Even if an ECU is used it most likely will just trigger a relay to operate the lights anyway. In this case it would be posible to add a small relay to trigger the lights in the "ignition on position" with possibly a diode on the ECU side to prevent any unwanted feed back into the ECU with just "ignitiion on position".
I think any good mechanic with the wiring diagram and a little electronic knowledge can do this. As a "do it yourselfer" without a diagram and knowledge of how relays and diodes operate, I would not attempt it as it is easy to melt down a car with incorrect wiring.
Sorry I could not be much help as these cars are completely different than any earlier Jag.
Howard
