Hoe can you illuminate the dash speedometer and gauges in the daylight cant see them , its fine at night with lights on.

 

Welcome to the forums alansjag,

It's likely one or more of the Instrument Pack bulbs have failed. IP has to come out to change them so it's worth replacing them all.

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some information about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

I’ve never had your problem, as I’m in a very sunny climate in Bahrain.

You’re aware the dimmer dial under the steering wheel only works with the lights on. Try just one click onto parking lights and then the dash lights are at your command

 

I have a very difficult time seeing my gauges depending on the direction of the Sun. All of my bulbs have been changed, and the dimmer is set to its highest setting. I had even once tried mounting some little spotlights on top of the column pointing at my gauges. They ended up not being bright enough but it was a novel attempt at fixing something that I think is a flaw in the way it was designed.

The most appealing solution to me, is having white faces with black lettering. The closest I've seen is more like an off-white face.

 

The off white that Lockwood offers would probably be as bright as you would want considering that you also need to use it at night.

I believe that they can do custom colors - for an extra fee.

I would imagine that they could omit the "Supercharged" word easily enough for an XK8.

https://www.lockwoodinternational.co...t-no-8246.html

 

Alan,

Since I don't know anything about you or how long you have had your Jag.....I would try the basics if I were you...….First during the day, turn the Headlights to OFF....not Automatic, then turn the little knob down by the Steering Wheel Adjuster so the Dash Lights are on Bright.....If this doesn't do the job....You probably have some Dash Lights burned-out.....

Billy Clyde in Houston

 

i have noticed if the light is just wrong i cannot see the guages well....especially top down, so i don't worry about the once in a while, always coming back to them when light improves....known design flaw and or normal for many.

 

I added one of these to the dashboard - it plugs in to the OBD port and can display speed as well as engine temp, voltage etc. I usually have mine setup to show speed (in KMH) as the large digits, with engine temp and volts as the two smaller digits. In the image it is showing engine temp as the main display.



Its an Autool X50 and available for €/$/£40 or so on Amazon etc.

 

I bought the same one, an X50. Keep getting the “Failure to Connect” message. Any suggestions before I send it back?

 

Have any of you folks installed one of those Lockwood white dial faces ? The idea white/off white dials with dark symbols is very appealing to me but I would be nervous about damaging my instrument cluster during installation.

Also ...I guess you would have to paint the sweep hands red or black to be able to see them

 

This is the only pic I can remember of a new face installed. Probably not hard to do just tedious work.

 

In the Stickies, there’s a Youtube video on how to remove the Dash Instrument Cluster

 

Thanks, but I know how to get the cluster out. I installed a Real Gauge kit and changed the cluster bulbs before this. My concern with fitting new dial faces would be :1/ getting the sweep hands off without causing damage and then putting them back on again in the right position and with no damage.

 

I believe that Lockwood will do the installation for a fee. Perhaps this is a good project when the car is in for hibernation this winter.

 

Didn't Prettybluefin author a few threads on replacement dashboard lights (LEDs?) a few years ago before she passed away?

My memory tells me that the specific bulbs she found cured this issue. Heck. I've even got a bunch of them on the shelf - never got around to it and forgot all about them.

Could be a cheap simple fix for you.

John

 

Mine just works after plugging it in - sometimes it needs to be reset by unplugging/plugging in. Is there a menu option to force it use the ISO 9141-2 protocol, rather than scanning everything?

 

@ Rothwell : Thanks for the tip on Lockwood doing the installation I may indeed check it out

 

FWIW, I had the same issue on one of my other cars ( SSR). I changed to a white face gauge overlay, and painted the needles bright orange. Helped a little, but overall not a dramatic improvement. For that vehicle I now use an old smart phone and the Torque Pro app, along with an ELM327 bluetooth adapter . No issues at all seeing the instruments on the smart phone mounted to the dash. On my XK8, I have an X60 ( similar to the X50 shown above). It's OK, but the readout is a little dim for me- even the big number on top takes a little focusing in some light to see.

One member on the SSR site posted about using a strip of LED lights around the perimeter of the gauges for improved lighting. Something to think about...