I recently took possession of a 2007 XK. I purchased the car long distance by only seeing a ton of high resolution pics and long conversations with the owner. I know, you really should see the car in person. I went against my better judgement and bought it. The car is in great condition, but it does have a few issues.

The most unusual problem is in the center of the dash. When the dash is lite up, it looks mostly normal, but a little blurry. I'm not even sure how to describe it in words, so here are a few pics.

Thoughts and suggestions are very welcome!!

Ken

 

It looks like someone sprayed it with something trying to clean it. It MAY be possible to flatten, then polish it smooth. Probably need to take it out to do so, however.

 

Was it like that when you saw the pictures and did the previous owner tell you that the screen was bad. From the bubbles it appears that the screen is bad and you would have to replace the unit.

 

No, it wasn't in the pics and the owner didn't disclose. It doesn't appear to be the screen. It looks like it's inside and not on the top screen. When you say replace the unit, do you just replace the center unit or the whole dash?

Ken

 

It doesn't look like it's on the cover plastic. It looks like it's inside.

Ken

 

Your car is NO GOOD. Give it to me.

 

You'd have to look at a parts catalog but my bet is you need to pull the gauge set and replace the information screen .

 

Yeah, looks like the black plastic cover got overheated for some dumb reason. I don't think there's any real way to repair it because it looks like the damage came through from the back. Sanding / refinishing would be pointless. Maybe pull the lens / cover off a broken LCD and apply it either over the damaged section or replace it. Either way the cluster is coming out of the dash.

It may be one of those things you just ignore until you can't. I don't think the display module will be cheap enough to justify replacing it for an invisible (when in use) blemish in the lens / cover.

 

Parts are very cheap at the junk yard to fix it and cluster is easy to remove. Not sure what recourse you have with the seller but it won’t cost an arm and leg to fix it.
You can get a whole cluster for less than $80. I paid $20 for mine. I only needed the Tiny speaker. Take the new cluster apart and swap out the bad parts.

 

Just thinking...If you swap out the center section, what happens to the odometer reading?

Ken

 

I'm not 100% sure but I am pretty sure the cluster is married to the PCM at birth. So depending on how the cluster is constructed you may be able to swap a good face plate onto your electronics, or not. You'd need to pop the needles off.

For @ $75 I'd consider getting this and see what happens. My gut feeling is the center display crapped out though so who knows if it would be an improvement. Take it apart and see if you can swap the 'lens'...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/07-14-JAGUA...RX1c35&vxp=mtr

 

I'm pretty sure you can buy just the LCD display in the center and not the gauge cluster.

 

Nope, you can't. The cluster is a $2100 part, too.

To the OP: if you buy that cluster Ranchero linked you to, I'd like to dissect your old cluster to see if the screen can be replaced by some generic screen. If it can, we all learn a little something and get to see their guts, and I'll fix it for whatever the parts cost and send it back to you so you can put it back in your car and sell the other one. If it's not repairable, I can either chuck it or send it back to you, and we still all learn a little something and get to see what's inside them.

 

This guy did.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...jaguar-186718/

But I don't see a separate part number for it. OP, if you buy the cluster off eBay heed this:

If a new instrument cluster is being installed, all smart keys must be cleared from the passive anti-theft system (PATS), using the Jaguar approved diagnostic equipment prior to the instrument cluster removal.

 

Well then. Chalk that up to a learning experience. I checked a couple parts fiches and both only showed the complete cluster.

I stand corrected.

 

I just spoke to the service department at my local Jag Dealer. They said that they can't replace just the LCD. They can only replace the whole Instrument Cluster at a cost of $3,000+.

I did order that Instrument Cluster that was on eBay, but even if it can be taken apart and mechanically it's possible to swap out the LCD's, it still sounds like the LCD section maintains the odometer. Even if I have an independent Jag shop replace just the LCD, I wonder whether they can legally adjust the odometer.

Ken

 

I couldn't find a standalone LCD either and the OP of that link I posted really didn't go into detail. I think the important thing for khsjsilver is to make sure the smart keys were cleared but even that may not be an issue if the LCD display is just swappable.

I'm watching this thread with idle curiosity.

 

Ken, generally speaking, any single component in just about any piece of electronics is replaceable. It just depends on the surgeons skill and mettle, and if a suitable replacement is available.

If you really dug into the guts of these things, I'm fairly certain that you could extract JUST the LCD from the donor and install it in your defective cluster without affecting the programming, keys, mileage readout or anything else. In layman's terms, all you'd be doing would be plugging your computer into a different monitor; it will not change the data stored in the memory or change the accessibility at all.

That all having been said, I've yet to peek under the skirt of one of these clusters, so things may very well change once that point is reached. At the very least, once the replacement cluster arrives, would you mind posting pictures of the circuit board and how the LCD is attached to it? I'm very curious.

 

Will do. Thanks!!

Ken

 

Took my spare cluster apart this morning. It is very easy to do. Release 4 plastic clips to remove the cluster glass. Remove the two gauge needles and release four more plastic clips to open up the back. The center LED panel is held on by 4 tabs that are pressed and that released the panel from the circuit board. Then simply remove the wire ribbon from the board. Not sure what will happen to the mileage, it could be fed from the PCM to the dash - not sure but the LED panel is easy to change out. I have to believe that if you did the hardware change over that jaguar could them do any programming that is needed.