Speedo needle

[ronw43]

The speedo needle light on my 2013 Sportbrake flickers on/off at random.
Just been serviced at main dealers who quoted in excess of £1000.00 for replacement instrument cluster (apparently these units are "not repairable"!!
Used units are available but presumably would need to be reprogrammed to the car.
Any advice would be appreciated.

[SwissJaguar]

My 2010 3.0dS has the same problem. I can live with it ... Such a high amount of money is it not worth to change the Speedo Cluster...

[haydnwh751]

My 2009 3.0d S has just developed the same problem. I'm tempted to have a go at replacing the LED on the pcb.
Has anyone tried this? Or got any tips? Know the spec for the LED?
I've watched a couple of YouTube clips showing this being done on another make but nothing specific on the XF.
Any info would be appreciated.
Haydn

[speakmanaj449]

Yes just got the same problem. Suppose i'll just have to live with it. Can't see anything at night now anyway with all these bright lights about! Tony

[haydnwh751]

Having decided that living with an invisible speedo needle in the dark was not acceptable my investigations revealed three options:
1. Have a Jaguar dealer relieve you of approx. £1000 to replace the PCB (printed circuit board) in it's entirety
2. Spend approx. £250 to have a repair carried out. (there are a number of 'auto 'instrument cluster' repairers advertising on the internet)
3. Strip the PCB out yourself, remove the offending LED (light emitting diode - the item which is supposed to light up the needle ) and fit a new one.

I chose the third option - what could go wrong?
I'm a retired mechanical engineer with no PCB experience at all so quite a bit of learning was required.
1. YouTube videos are wonderful. There are plenty of 'how to' examples of removing SMD (surface mounted devices) from a PCB and the kit required to do so. A basic soldering kit was obtained from Amazon for £17 and SMD removal solder and flux from EBAY for £10. I considered it too risky to dive straight into the job at hand considering it prudent to buy a small £7 SMD practice board and components which included some LED's. again from EBAY. I wouldn't recommend missing this step as it took probably a dozen or so components before I got the hang of it and was confident to tackle the speedo LED. I found a link giving the ref of the LED and purchased these online for £8 (that was for 20 inc. postage)
2. Removal of the instrument cluster is only complicated by two screws either side of the plastic surround at the bottom hidden by the trim. Having lowered the steering wheel as far as it will go disconnect the battery. On the underside of the surround at the top is a triangular cover which can be carefully prised out. this reveals a single screw which need to be removed. Loosen the trim either side of the surround at the bottom and remove the the screws, one each side, securing tabs on the surround. the surround can then be pulled forward releasing two push in clips at the sides roughly half way up the surround. The instrument cluster can then be released by removing the 4 visible screws and tipping it forward (put a soft cloth over the steering column to prevent damage to the face). Thee are two connectors to be released on the back of the cluster which are a bit fiddly. Once released the cluster can be removed from the car. (If you'd decided on option 2. for the fix you'd then ship it to your repair shop)
3. Funnily enough that was the most arduous task as carrying out the repair was quite straight forward. The only little niggle being removal of the speedo and rev counter needles. The face of the cluster (the clear bit covering the face) can be unclipped and the needles very gently prised off. Don't rotate the spindles as I'm not sure if these recalibrate when they hit the stop on start up). The rear cover then unclips and you're left with the PCB. Ensure you keep the orientation correct so you replace the correct LED. The enjoyable bit is actually putting into practice the training and replacing the LED which only takes a few minutes at most.
4. The next step is to rebuild the cluster and re fit in the car which is simply a reverse of the disassembly. (the needles just push back onto the spindles) Once everything is complete reconnect the battery. (you will probably have to re-set the handbrake which simply involves a sequence of applying and releasing the hand brake and pumping the brake pedal three times while in the 'on' position - full details are in the user handbook.
5. The final job is to fire the lights up to hopefully see a brightly lit speedo needle.

So, was it worth it? I love learning new things and a challenge, so for me, yes. There's not anything terribly difficult about it apart from the time involved unless you are an experienced electronics engineer (or know someone who is). The messiest part is removing the cluster but some of the repair companies will complete the whole job while you wait which for most is probably the best option.

Hope that helps
Haydn

[eddie_delaine826]

Well done! And thanks for the excellent write up.

[speakmanaj449]

That's the best news i've seen for a long time. So! does anyone know any wizz operator that could do option 2 on a ' while you wait' basis in the Thames Valley area or Berks, Bucks, Oxen area and save me the £1000. Much as i've always loved pulling things apart it was always on pre millennium cars and now 78 myself getting a bit nervous on current cars. Regards to all Tony 2013 Sportbrake.

[jBlackwell]

Hi Haydn,
that is a great read and you have possibly a small queue of flickering speedo needle XF owners to help

I dont suppose you have any pictures? This would make a great article for the XF model section in the magazine.

James