Today was one of those days nothing worked, and I ended up with a problem.

I removed the center console HVAC-display to change one of the buttons which had lost its paint.
Should be an easy job, and it worked all fine until the re-install.
I had to pull the headunit a bit out to re-install the HVAC part, and had some problems to slid the headunit back in afterwards.
Wiggled for a couple of minutes, then it fell into place.

However, a couple of minutes later the green radio display back-lighting started to flicker (radio off - contact off), then it continued ON ever since.
It does not matter if the radio is ON or OFF (the only difference is the text in the display), and pulling the multi plug does nothing as well; the display comes back ON the moment I reconnect the plug.

I tried to check if I stripped some wires during the wiggling, but can't see anything wrong.
I stopped working for today, but really wonder what the heck happened.
Any suggestions before I dig any further? Thanks!

E.

 

Try and hard reset of the battery.

 

+1 to this. Sounds like a stray command floating around somewhere...quieting the electrical bus and components down and starting fresh (to let everything sync up) sometimes is the best answer.

 

It is funny how a 'hard reset' seems to solve at least half of our x308 problems...

It seems to have been the solution for this problem as well.
Will later today do a 2nd attempt at installing things properly.

Thanks guys!

 

My AC display(where you see the cabin temp.) has lost half it's lighting, does anyone know if the bulb is a huge labor intensive deal to replace.

Thanks

 

If nothing strange, I guess you can do it in 1/2 hour, let say 1 hr max.

Lighting are the same 1/4 turn ones as in many other locations, and green capped for the display if I remember well.

If you plan to do it your self (very do-able), I can give you some details if
needed, and check on the bulb as I still have a spare AC display on my desk.

E.

 

Do tell sir.

 

I presume you are proficient in working on your Jag, so I will not going into details of 'bolts and nuts'.

I can also advise to protect your cup holder (if you have one) with a layer of carton and some rugs, as you might lean on the armrest from time to time, and don't want to break it in the process.
Also have sufficient rugs ready to protect your leather if you pull the radio.

Finally, check IN ADVANCE which lights / leds are working, and which not, so you know the positions of the bulbs you are tracing.

To get the AC display out, put your shifter in DRIVE, then remove:

- Gear-knob and nut.

- Gear surround, and disconnect the switches for CC and Sport from the back.

- Remove the black ground-plate (2 bolts and 2 nuts).

- Carefully lift the wooden ski-slope at the rear, be careful to pass it along the 2 studs remaining.
After that, the top of the ski-slope has a lip, which comes out of the leather if you slowly further lift rear of the slope.

- Remove the 3 screws holding the radio and AC panel (one each side, one on top).
Be very careful, they are short, and will drop, never to be seen, as they are very hard to grip.
A good magnetic tool does wonders.

- Then protect the front of your black J-gate shifter cover (the one with PRND). I used several layers of painters tape and an extra rug.

- Now you can carefully pull the radio up and out, but be careful, the plastic brackets are easy to (partially) break and/or damage your leather surround.
Disconnect the wires from the back, remove the antenna-wire, and you can remove it completely,

- That brings you to the AC panel.
There are 2 wire-looms going to the back of the panel.
The left loom (while looking at it) has an connector on the left of the shifter (blue connector).
Needs a bit of wiggling as it is tight, but disconnect it, and give it some slack.
The panel is held by 2 guide-pins on top.
Carefully wiggle and pull, again, be careful not to damage your leather, or break the plastic brackets.

Once pulled, you can disconnect the other wire loom, and you got the panel in your hands, allowing the rest of the surgery to be done on the dinning table.

Opening up is a relative straight forward process by removing some screws and some pushing, then carefully removing the back cover (the 3 internal wire looms can be disconnected one by one from the circuit board).
You can then see the back of the various bulbs, and replace them where needed.

I just opened up my old panel to collect the bulbs as spares, it was a mixture of types, and perhaps watts.
Most are blue capped, the display is green capped, the emergency button is white.

I tried to locate some of those bulbs before (door switch-pack and some switches use the same), but failed, then sold one of my kidneys and bought some at the Jaguar dealer. Might be easier in the US though.

Finally, installing is, ... , well, the reverse process ...

Good luck.

E.

 

Found OEM bulbs on E-Bay for $5 w/ free shipping so while I have things broken down replacing instrument cluster bulbs, I will go ahead & tackle this.

 

Take it slowly, many things to scratch or break, but then u will be fine.

 

Nice write up Eric. The only thing I would add is make sure you know your radio code prior to disconnecting the radio.

 

Try contacting a dealership !.... They have a website called JLREXT.COM that keeps all VINs with the associated components and serial numbers associated with the factory installed components.

Essentially.. a complete Jaguar car database that they use when they sell a new or used car.

One of the items on the list for my VIN was: SDAR - Satellite Digital Audio Radio ... with the serial number to use for the SiriusXM connection.

That's how I retrieved my 'missing' Radio ID. Removing your driver seat for that info sounds crazy

Problem solved

 

Yeah, that might work for a 2010 XF, however I am not sure it will for an X308

 

I posted in the wrong thread but forgot to remove the post (or comment) . XF owners are resorting to removing the driver seat to get that ID. (why does it disappear in the first place probably a stupid software bug)

The ID strangely disappears on the radios... but when you activate the service with the proper ID... it 'magically' reappears on your old Sat Radio screen and 'voila' ... service is back.

 

Yeah, the SDAR was not designed quite right. The static memory
should have been designed to retain the device ID. However, it
could have been a feature designed to prompt more revenue for
the dealerships. So many things seem to point to that.