Instrument cluster
 

Hi all. Hope your driving experience is going well.

I'm hoping someone on this forum has a bit of knowledge on the electrical side.

My 2009 XK has had a fault with the instrument cluster since I bought it last year where the centre display is very dim and under bright sunshine almost unreadable. At night it's fine and the problem has been diagnosed as a faulty voltage regulator. The auto sparky is going to find a donor cluster and have a specialist swap out my faulty one. He seems to be very particular about getting the exact same donor with same year and vin number range as my car. Due to this the available options are limited and all seem to be around the $1200 plus range. I have seen some for as little as $200 albeit not the exact year as mine.

My question being would a voltage regulator from different years or vin ranges be any different?

Thanks in advance for any wisdom out there.

I would take it to a nerd who repairs electronic stuff and get them to fix it, if it is just a voltage regulator.

Swapping instrument clusters is not a small job, both keys need to be unpaired from the original cluster, and programmed to the new one, as well as the cluster being programmed to the car.

There is also the issue of the VIN being stored in the cluster (dealers diagnostic tool doesn't overwrite this), and the odometer needs to be corrected too, both things not easy to solve.

Thank you very much for replying to my post. Yes, that is what I plan on doing again. The first time I had it looked at the guy said I would need to get a donor cluster to salvage the voltage regulator. I thought it was kind of strange that the part couldn't be bought or found as is online. It's really hard here in NZ as there aren't many options to source parts except getting them from overseas.Thanks again.

If you do need bits and pieces give Shane Clinch a call on 03-377 9520. When I saw him on Saturday he mentioned that he had just stripped an XK for parts but didn't mention what model year so I don't know if it was an X100 or X150.

He does have quite a few spares so may be able to help anyway. He also has trade contacts so may be able to source parts if he doesn't have them himself.

https://www.clinchautomotive.co.nz/

Thanks for that! I'll call him tomorrow. It's really nice to have people who take the time to help someone out. This fault has been driving me nuts.

My center display was also very dim. I found out on this forum...thanks to Ranchero50, the screen is the same on an XF. I found a new one from China on eBay. Disassembly was a bit tedious, but not too difficult. The screen is plug and play...thanks for advice from Cambo...with much assistance from this forum, total cost was $35.00 and 3 hours of my time.

Wow! I wish mine was so simple to fix. Unfortunately I'm no good at fixing techo stuff so will have to send it away to see if they can repair it. Thanks for replying to my post.

You can do this. The hardest part is popping the front cover off. Then it's just two plugs and a bunch of screws to get the cluster out which you'll need to do regardless as the car won't move without the cluster installed. Actually once it's out it's a couple screws hold the layers together and the center display pops right out and has a simple ribbon harness connection. Figure an hour to get it out and apart the first time you do it. I have pictures in my build thread (I swapped the silver XF gauge faces into mine).

As said above, the display was on Aliexpress a while ago for little money and should be easily sourced. I wouldn't do a junker as the lamp (not the voltage regulator) probably has about the same life left as your old one did.

You can do it! I followed the pics and instructions on Ranchero50’s build thread. Take your time and it will go well. Here’s a link to the part on eBay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/LQ038Q5DR02...item4b51862fc7

$30 + $10 shipping

Here’s the instructions if the pdf is attached

That's really nice of you to spend the time helping me. The guy who pulled my cluster apart said it is the voltage regulator causing my display to appear dim. The part needed is not available and has to be removed from a donor according to him.

Thanks for that. There are some really nice folk on this forum and it is very much appreciated.

Does you car have one of those aftermarket dash covers? On one of the cars I test drove the instrument panel was very dim. I thought there was a problem, but then I realized the dash cover was covering the light sensor on the dash. Once I moved it the instrument panel lights came on at full brightness.

Hi there, Thanks for your help. I just checked and there is nothing covering the sensor unfortunately. I wish it were that simple. Best regards, Brian.

Hi Brian, I also live in Hamilton have a similar problem. Did you manage to get yours working OK?
Paul
Ph 07 843 7309
Hamilton
New Zealand

Dude, don't put your phone number on a public forum!!!