I have a 1995 XJ-S 6.0 V12 which I have just purchased. Although externally all lights (head, direction, brake, etc) are operative, none of the 20 dashboard lights are working?
Looking at a wiring diagram I found online, it seems that there is a 7.5 amp fuse located in the main fuse panel (LHD driver's side panel). Could this be the problem?
any other ideas, thoughts or suggestions would be really appreciated as I'm concerned that without check engine lights working..who knows?

 

Hi ChrisTX

No lights on the dashboard could be caused by the Rotary Rheostat Dimming Switch, underneath the dashboard

Twist it in either direction a number of times and then you may find that all the dash lights come on

This worked for me on my 1989 V12 last year

 

Many thanks for your suggestion. I'
ll be back to the XJ-S next Sunday and with fingers crossed, will indeed twist the rheostat a few times and hopefully....Voila!

 

Chris
Do you mean no instrument illumination lights, or no warning light, and no gauges working ?

 

You can also bypass the rheostat by moving one connector to the multiple connectors on the other pole. Who is getting blinded by the radiance of their dash here?

 

Greg...currently no warning lights or instrument illumination but all gauges are working as are all external lights. I'll have a closer look nest weekend anddo a more thorough work-through to diagnose the problem and let you know the result. Thanks for your reply.
chris

 

I'm not sure if this reply will be seen by all (Greg, Orangeblossom, JigJag etc) but having revisited the illumination issue, I feel a little stupid. It turns out that all the dash illumination was working HOWEVER, it was not until it became dark in the evening that the dash lights became visible. The dash lights are SO DIM that in daylight, they are not visible other than on start-up. Once the engine is running, all "status" lights extinguish BUT, when it became dark I was not able to see the direction indicators flashing. At night, no problem. The dimmer rheostat works fine (at night). Do I need to fit LED lights or just grin and bear it?
Just seems odd to me that these indicator lights are visible on start-up but, when extinguished, are just way too dim?

 

I changed most of my warning lights and all of the instrument lights.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/...acement-bulbs/

 

Ronald..this seems a great idea however, the superbrightleds site was not entirely helpful. Could you please elaborate on how you went about this conversion and what products were used? Thanks
chris

 

I will get the bulb information I used for the top row warning lights. I matched the color of the warning lights with a colored LED.

 

Thanks Ronald,...also I seem to have read somewhere that LED replacement bulbs don't just pop into the old incandescent socket as they require a different resistance?
I still think there is a connection somewhere that is dimming the lights unless the headlights are selected. I'll chase that one down.
Chris

 

The bulbs I used in the warning light strip are B8.5D-A for standard brightness and B8.5D-AHP for high brightness. I used amber, yellow, green and white. For the instrument lights I used a 195 in place of the 194. you will need to purchase five 194/195 bulb holders because the lights you will remove are a one piece bulb and base. I did not use LED in the 195's. Purchased those and the bases at an auto parts store.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/...pe,B8.5D,1,28:

 

Thanks for the info and link. Before moving to LED's I need to figure out why the current incandescent bulbs are dim, also, why the radio/Cd is not working?