Diddion, Sorry to hear this.
A company that allegedly specialises in this type of repair should be acutely aware of the issues and nuances described by Steve and Ken.That's why manufacturers go to the trouble of part numbers...

I would seek redress from the company and the return of the original unit as the one they have supplied is demonstrably incorrect and not fit for purpose.

You could possibly try the s/h XKR one while you source a proper repair/replacement, although that may bring its own issues.

FWIW, what is the part # on the repaired unit?

 

Lots of valuable thoughts and highly appreciated moral support - thanks. There is a range of issues, here, which are relevant to the IC and to the company, Autotronics - who I chose because of their positive reviews. Huh!!

I agreed a price of £176 for the repair, plus any additional components to be charged extra, and by prior agreement. If the unit was unrepairable, I understood it would be returned to me, subject to a very reasonable £15 carriage charge. I was told that the unit needed a new board, and that one would be sent from Germany - additional cost: £60. OK, it seemed a good, albeit expensive, solution.

Yesterday the unit arrived. I noticed that it was much older than my car, and it seemed not to be a repair at all, but I felt that if it was ok I would just accept that.

However, it is not the right unit, as we all agree. Furthermore, I have paid £176 for a repair that was not done, when I should, I believe, have been charged a smaller fee (say, £50? £75?) to move over the odometer readings - which is all that they have done. So I feel seriously misled, overcharged, and supplied with a wrong part.

I have decided not to even try to fix the lights, but will reject the part altogether. I will accept a proper replacement, if that replacement is a 2003-2005 XKR IC unit, but nothing else. I shall also challenge their fee.

I shall be contacting our free UK advice service - Citizen's Advice - to discuss with them the best way forward, and also to check my exact legal rights. It seems reasonable for me to give the company the opportunity to put things right. If not, I believe I can take low-cost legal action. Here in the UK we have what are known as Small Claims Courts, and they are designed for disputes about goods and services. They cost very little (a few tens to a few hundreds of pounds in larger small claims) and, if you win, you can add the cost to the bill. You cannot claim, or be charged, for legal fees - so the are designed for individuals to pursue their claims in the knowledge that they won't be paying someone else's expensive attorney.

 

Good for you David because, I agree, anything less is a dud compromise. We have similar Small Claims Tribunal here in NSW. Only used it once (left rad for quote; returned to find it all unsoldered, in bits, and a bill for $200). No lawyers allowed, but Court insisted both parties share all relevant facts to see if some negotiated settlement was possible. If similar, this suggests you may have to put your claim, in writing, to company first. I did so by Stat Dec; company waived bill; I went elsewhere for repair. Local Chamber Magistrate gave us great advice as to process.

Best wishes mate,

Ken

 

I took the steering wheel off to repair leather, when I put the instruments back I got all lights flashing. I unplugged the unit, and replugged the black and yellow connectors very very carefully to make sure they were located correctly and pushed them well home. Then flicked the latches on. All faults went away. It would seem that the latches can go across, but it doesn't draw the connectors into the socket like you would expect. Hope this helps.

 

Have you actually been in touch with the company that "repaired" your unit and explained the problems?

 

Yes, because obviously it would be best if they can just sort it. They responded by asking me to return the item to be checked out I have said no, because it would mean being immobile for an indefinite period, and the IC they provided is not only sub-standard, but is the wrong one.

So I have asked for their proposals for rectification of this issue - I'll post what they say.

 

Mike - thanks for the idea, but it was definiely the IC at fault here.

 

OK, folks, we have a resolution - at least I am mobile. It is not perfect, but at least I can drive the car using their IC (albeit without dashboard lights!). The company agrees that their service was unsatisfactory, and offered to return my broken IC and I send them back their nearly-working XK8 IC. In other words, we unwind the whole thing so, fair enough. That would, of course, mean that I would be immobile once more. They also offered a better deal, in my view, and it is one I have accepted. I get to keep the XK8 cluster, they return my original one, and give me a reasonable refund. Additionally, when I do source a Supercharged IC (with adaptive cruise control circuitry - what a headache!) they'll do the necessary software work re anti-theft and mileage at no further cost to me.

Obviously, I would have preferred them to have been a little more on the ball as regards the replacement, and they were certainly not clear about their charging. However, I think their proposal is satisfactory and in view of their proposal I think it right not to judge them too harshly - so it would not be fair now for me to rubbish them. I actually believe it important to judge an organisation not by what goes wrong, but by their actions when it has gone wrong - so they have come out ok on that score.

So I am now in the process of trying to find an XKR IC with adaptive cruise control - no easy task, and that now belongs in another thread (though if you you happen to come across one for an XKR or even XK8 any time in the future, etc etc....). Thank you everyone for your enormous support and advice - I know you understand how difficult and distressing this all is.

A final point: I have discovered now what I believe caused all this, because it nearly happened again - so a word of warning, here! I had detached the earth cable, and thought I was safe messing around with the IC. However, I did not tuck the cable out of the way, and it simply moved back to the battery terminal, and touched it, re-establishing a connection.

Moderator - might be worth adding 'Resolved' to the title, since the problem has been identified and I am once again flooring the throttle.

 

How very true . . . and not just confined to auto industry, eh?
Actually, I rate far higher any firm who works hard to resolve such problems, although in this case, first response was less than favourable.

Best wishes mate,

Ken

 

Well, it turned out that this wasn't finally resolved, as I had a further aircon problem, also associated with the IC. Pleased to say that this is now sorted, but you might like to have a look at this thread, showing the subsequent problem and resolution:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-ideas-187748/

 

That small black harness connector your mentioning that connects to the instrument panel, that doesn't look like the one that plugs into the left socket with the red arrow you have pointing to it, or does it plug there? I removed my instrument cluster recently and don't recall seeing that small black connector other then the front two connectors that lock in with hinged bracket. Please clarify what part the small black harness connector it is that your mentioning regarding the instrument cluster/connections. That small black connector doesn't plug into the back of the instrument cluster does it?