To anyone who has replaced a burnt bulb from behind the main instrument cluster (ie: speedo, tach, etc.), was it necessary to unplug the battery in order to do this fix?

The instructions I've found to replace such a bulb say to disconnect the battery. Of course, these are the same instructions which also say to remove the steering wheel and column just to get to the little bulbs. This step, I've found, was said to be absolutely unnecessary. Just want to know whether disconnecting the battery is also unnecessary.

Let's assume, ahem..., I've accidentally misplaced my radio manual which contain the codes required to restart the radio. Accordingly, I rather not disconnect the battery just yet. No other bulb on the car, apparently, requires such a disconnection of the battery. And I rather not spend $250 at the dealership just to replace one or two bulbs (yes! that's how much I was quoted!).

Thanks!

 

When you remove the left and right multi-pin connnectors from the cluster you'll create havoc with the gauges when they separate if the battery is connected. Probably not an issue, but to be safe disconnect it.

Also, don't buy expensive Jaguar bulbs, I replaced mine with $2.00 Farm and Fleet bulbs. The glass part will pull out of the white carrier recvealing a standard bulb...

 

Anyone know the wattage for the instrument bulbs (the slightly larger ones on the top row that light up the speedo & tach)?

I got the bulbs out and went to Pep Boys to get replacements. They had several bulbs of the same size with same voltage (14V), but different wattages. I literally stood in the aisle for 15 minutes searching the internet on my mobile for the correct wattage, but was unsuccessful. And the parts guy ran a query which also turned up nothing.

I ended up purchasing the 3.4W bulbs (part #158) as it was the only one with the same filament design as the stock bulbs I pulled out of the XK8.

The other wattages that were available ranged from 2.8 to 4.9.

I would like to confirm the wattage before I put the instrument cluster back together into the car.

Thanks!

 

Did some more checking, looks like it's the part #194 bulbs I need to use.

 

194s are so common, thought they were going to be smaller than that. The ones behind my auxilliary control buttons were. Did dealer show you what they looked like?

 

I pulled the bulbs out and had them with me for comparison at Pep Boys.

The instrument clusters has two rows of lights: the top row lights up the speedo, tach, and fuel; the bottom row lights up the warning info.

The top row uses the 194 sized bulbs and the bottom row uses smaller bulbs as the white plastic sockets are smaller.

 

Aha, explains it then. All this trouble for a couple bulbs huh...might as well replace them all while your in there...at least the 194s, right? After all, the 'intensity' may be different from new filaments to the older ones.

 

Yeop, I'm switching out all four with Long Life Sylvania 194 bulbs. I figured I get the Long Lifes so I won't need to change the bulbs again for a while. Even though they're supposed to be a bit dimmer than regular bulbs, ultimate brightness is not necessarily required for the instrument cluster (unlike bulbs for turn signals or at the corners).

 

Hi Borris,

How I replaced my bulbs were based on these two threads and a lot of patience.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=9339

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=6575

Based on my recollection:
1. Extend out and lower the steering column as much as possible.

2. Remove the wide cover below the steering column. There are two bolts at the bottom, near the pedals. Once those are removed, you can pull the cover out towards you. The top part of the cover is held in place by two inserts that go into individual holes in the dash. The valet button and wire will still be connected to this cover. You can let the cover dangle in the footwell, although you should place something underneath, like a thick telephone book, so it won't dangle freely.

3. Removing this cover reveals two screw at the bottom of the wood veneer. Unscrew these two screws. The top part of the veneer are held in by two vertical plastic tabs that insert upwards into the dash. Gently and slowly pull down the veneer panel.

4. With the wood veneer removed, the tripmeter buttons will still be attached. Disconnect the black wire from the buttons; I believe it's done by squeezing side tabs. Once the wire is disconnected, you set the veneer aside.

5. Disconnect your battery. Instructions to do so is in the owner's manual. Apparently, if you still have power to the cluster when you remove it from the car, it may adversely affect the gauges.

6. With the wood veneer panel gone, you'll see the cluster unit, there's no need to remove the black plastic part/clear plastic windows in front of the cluster. I did this and realized it wasn't necessary. There are four screws at each corner and two electrical connectors at the bottom (I believe it was black on right, yellow on left).

7. Disconnect the two electrical connectors. Each is held down by a plastic handle. Flip that handle and the connector will come right out.

8. Unscrew the screws at the four corners. Pull out the cluster gently, but with effort. You may have to wiggle it out in different angles because the steering wheel does get in the way a bit. DO NOT at any time flip the cluster unit upside down.

9. Once you get the cluster out (it's a white plastic body), you'll see two horizontal rows of light sockets, four sockets in each row. The top row are for the larger bulbs (#194) that light the tach, speedo, fuel, and temp. The bottom row are for the small bulbs that light up the warning icons. I'm not certain what size the small bulbs are as I did not change these. I went with the long-life bulbs, even though they're not as bright, brightness is not absolutely necessary for this application, and it avoids changing the bulbs as often. The sockets are white turn-&-pull out tabs which you'll need to turn just a quarter turn to get out. I found turning a quarter turn took too much effort with the fingertips so I grasp each tab with a pair of pliers. Quick quarter turn, and then came out. Since you have the cluster out, you may as well replace all the bulbs.

10. Take out the bulb from each white socket. Then replace the sockets back into the cluster unit.

11. To re-install, just reverse the above instructions.

For each screw and bolt I replaced, I put a dab of loc-tite before screwing them back in place.

Hope this helps!

(On another note, while I had the cluster out, I wished there was an aftermarket speedo/tach pattern/font available for the XK8. The OEM sheet is just too FORD.)

 

Hi,
I've been following the advice in this forum to replace my burned out dash board lights on a 1999 xk8. My problem is that its not clear to me how to remove the two electrical connections from the 'ford' instrument cluster. I've read something about pushing in a tab and rotating a strap, but I do not see anything on either connector that looks like this. I'd appreciate any advice.
Steve

 

Hmmm... my car is a 2003, so I don't know if the connectors on my car are the same as on yours. Here's a video I made of the bulb R&R procedure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af3YRj60Yro

On my car the two big connectors on the instrument cluster have a lever that releases them. The lever is locked in place with a little tab. The tab is right on top of the connector. You push on the tab and then you can lift up the lever. As you raise the lever the plug disengages from the socket.

 

Thanks, Turns out my connectors are a bit different (perhaps thats why sometimes my dashboard lights blink sporadically). I needed to pinch the upper and lower part of the connector at the same time and it eventually did disengage. As you know there is not alot of room to fiddle with the thing.

I've replaced the bulbs and reassembled. Now every thing works fine. I wanted to thank you for the video. It was the factor that led me to beleive I could fix the bulb in the first place. Also I appreciate your timely responses.
Steve