Instrument Panel illumination

[2319tony2671]

To say the least my i/p illumination is virtually non-existant.
An article in the Feb2010 XJS forum by Mark Boundy gave me some hope.His before and after pictures look to be just what I want. However he refers to"replacing those little green filters" I have tried Jaguar and David manners during a recent UK visit, so far said items elusive.Will Mark Boundy please come forward and advise me. Or has someone else out there knowledge of such parts. I do not want to 'dig in' until I have parts and an insight into what I am getting into.

[Telsmoneypit]

I also read the piece by Mr Boundney in the JEC magazine but I remain unconvinced that this is a desirable solution to the 'age old' problem of XJ-S poor panel illumination. Yes, removal of the green filters WILL improve the panel lighting but the soft green glow will be replaced by fierce white light which I personally do not want!

My own cure still involves dismantling the instrument pod (as does Mr Boundneys) but provides a permanent solution to this annoying little fault and although not as cheap a fix as simply removing clouded filters, once done, stays done!

1/ log on to ebay and search for 'Green 501 replacement LED'. I have just found a pack of four for £4.99 + postage. You will need to buy 2 packs.
Order LEDs and wait for the postman.

2/ Once the postman has delivered, remove instrument pod from car. You'll find it easier if you drop the steering column to its lowest position and if you also have reach adjustment, fully out.

3/ working on workbench/kitchen table, remove the screws holding the front panel to the main pod and carefully remove front panel.
On the back of the pod (PCB side) there are 10 (IIRC) large cheese head screws. These hold Speedo head, rev counter, oil, water, petrol and batt cond gauges in position and connect to the PCB.
Carefully remove said instruments noting their positions within the pod.

4/ By now you will be able to see the offending 'green filters' (or more likely, blackened green filters). Using a small phillips head driver, remove these nasty tacky pieces of cheap plastic and throw them, along with the fixing screws in the bin (sorry, recycling).

5/ Where the filters USED to be, you will now see the tops of the panel illumination bulbs poking their heads out from the back of the pod. Turn the pod over and pull the bulb carriers complete with bulbs away from the PCB. BE CAREFUL NOT TO DAMAGE THE PCB WHEN DOING THIS!
Remove the bulbs from the carriers and recycle them along with the green filters. Do NOT recycle the little black bulb carriers. You need to keep these.

6/ On removal of the bulbs you will have noticed that the carriers plug into a rectangular hole. You will probably find that the LEDs that you bought off ebay will not fit through this hole (round peg, square hole?) but do not worry, there is a solution!
Refit the empty bulb carriers onto their holes on the back of the pod and fit the LEDs from the FRONT side.

DO NOT REFIT INSTRUMENTS YET.

7/ take the shell of the instrument pod back to your car and plug it in. Switch on the sidelights and gently curse me under your breath.
Only some of the LEDs if any are working . Am I right?
Stay calm. LEDs, unlike ordinary bulbs, need to be connected the right way round before they will work. Turn off sidelights, reach into pod and turn any LEDs that are not lit round 180 degrees. Switch sidelights back on to confirm that all is well, turn off sidelights unplug pod and return to kitchen table.

8/ Refit instruments and front panel to pod then replace unit in car.

9/ You will also find that your dimmer rheostat no longer works. There is a fix for this but I never bothered with it. If I wanted dim panel illumination I wouldn't have bothered fitting the LEDs!!

10/ I had a couple of spare LEDs left over so I decided to change the bulb in the clock. DON'T BOTHER. The green filter in the clock is not removable and the bulb fitment is different to that in the instrument panel. I managed to adapt it but it really isn't worth the hassle. After all, poor clock illumination has never been an issue with the XJ-S.

I hope this information is of use to you.

Tel

[ptjs1]

I've received a number of queries from owners asking where they can source the replacemnet new green filters that Mark fitted. As many of you have realised, they are not sold separately by Jaguar.

I managed to speak to Mark today and he has advised me that he found an external supplier of the green filters. He is going to look up the information (he did the job some time ago) and let me know where members can buy these filters. I'll paste the response here on the BB.

So, fingers crossed, we may have the answer very soon.

Paul

[J44EAG]

Just an idea Chaps,

In the dim and distant past, I was a theatre lighting designer. My stock in trade was light and colour management in concert halls and theatres.

The lighting units we used were fitted with coloured filters which we could change at will. Every colour under the sun. It used to be supplied on great rolls which we used to chop up to fit lantern filter holders.

I imagine that your local theatre might easily be able to supply you a few square inches of appropriately coloured Cinimoid material for just a few pence. It is heat resistant and retains its colour fast properties almost indefinately.

You can chop out the filter sizes with ease using a Stanley knife.

Just a thought. Hope this might help.

Mike Kennedy.

[iain1980]

Personally the dimmer on my car is always set to min, but I changed mine to blue on my 3.6 to match the stereo.

I got mine from JDO instruments, they sell the little domed green covers. They were less than a pound each.

Sorry I cant remember thier part no. but they are well used to jags(and all sorts of other classics)

01535672135 or http://www.jdo1.com

[Telsmoneypit]

I've received a number of queries from owners asking where they can source the replacemnet new green filters that Mark fitted. As many of you have realised, they are not sold separately by Jaguar.

I managed to speak to Mark today and he has advised me that he found an external supplier of the green filters. He is going to look up the information (he did the job some time ago) and let me know where members can buy these filters. I'll paste the response here on the BB.

So, fingers crossed, we may have the answer very soon.

Paul

Paul, I am sorry. I misread Marks piece in the magazine. I was under the impression that he had REMOVED the filters. My mistake. Replacement filters will obviously improve matters when using standard bulbs BUT eventually they will darken due to heat and you will find yourselves back at square one.
However, using my method of replacement LEDs you will NEVER have this problem again. LED's last a lot longer,create less heat and are less of a current drain than standard bulbs.
I am at a loss to as why anyone would want to bother sourcing a supply of horrible green blisters when a 21st century PERMANENT solution is at hand in replacement green LEDs?

Tel

[ptjs1]

Tel,

Tks for the response - No apology necessary at all. And tks for the comprehensive suggestion on how to replace with LEDs. It's good to hear a detailed alternative suggestion.

I think for those of us who have the technical capability, LED is fast becoming the best way to go in upgrading illumination lighting generally in the car. I suspect you've seen the post from 540itouring on the blue LED upgrades that he's done in his car. Looks good in the photos.

Cheers

Paul

[2319tony2671]

Thanks to you all for you responses.
I have a friend who is a radio ham and therefore knows his way around electronic spares availability. I have already asked his advice about LED's a as this is my favored direction to resolve the problem.
Thanks again for your help, I will report results when achieved.

Regards

Tony Waterloo Ontario, Canada

[Patfallon]

Thanks Tel. A cracking answer and something I will look into doing

[Telsmoneypit]

Thanks Tel. A cracking answer and something I will look into doing

Please let us know how you get on with it.

The LED's are about the only thing that works properly on my XJ-S.......

[afrodizzyact]

Good morning folks, it is I, Mr Mark Boundey! (Finally, a working computer!

Indeed, I changed my old/burnt green lamps covers for some rather splendid new green ones!

I considered upgrading to LEDs, however, caution to the wind.

A: They're directional! And as with many things in life, including car maintenance, if there's a 50% chance of s*ds law getting in the way & some LED's ending up inserted backwards ... Whilst this wouldn't damage the cars electrics or the LED itself, it's just rather annoying ...

B: The light source is directional too! Which is fine for pocket torches/things needing straight beams of light etc, but no good for spreading the light around an instrument cluster.

C: Cost. LED's vs standard filiment lamps?

On the plus side, LED life! They last for well over 50,000 hours in most cases, with no significant loss of light. They also give off no heat (Standard 3mm & 5mm up to 1200uCDs). Lastly, very low power consuption.

Give it a go by all means, for me, the results were disapointing.

Anyhow, have kept you in suspence long enough.

Contact JDO Instrument Engineers, 34 Spring Avenue, Keithley, West Yorkshire, Tel: 01535 672125 or www.JDO1.com

They were a quid each.

Many thanks are due to Colin Slacks, for his article on the item in July 2008's edition of our fablulous magazine, in-which Colin supplied the above company details.

Good luck folks,

Mark

[540itouring]

Hi , just a short youtube video link of my XJS 94 with my completed LED DASH


What do you think ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wdPOekfm9w

[poprivet]

Worth revisiting these ideas as LEDs have moved on somewhat over the years.

I don't use the XJS a lot at night but when I did a while ago I realised I could no longer read the speedo at all so something had to be done.

Thanks to Tel's detailed writeup I replaced the backlights with LEDs. The picture below shows the holder, the original bulb and the new green LED which fits through the hole.



The tacho and speedo needed removing in order to remove the plastic screens which are no longer required, a couple of minutes after taking the photo below they were in the bin. You can see how blackened and distorted with heat they had become.



The next picture gives a comparison between old and new before putting everything back together again.



Its quite a revelation how much better it is, obviously the dimmer switch can't be used any more, not that it ever was, but the lighting is the right brightness, not intrusive but showing the instruments clearly.

I really can't understand why anyone would want to use original bulbs when these LEDs are so cheap now. They also come in many different colours should you really want to.

While I was at it I also found a LED suitable for the Fibre Optic source under the ski-slope shown on the right of the next picture. It has brightened the heating controls a bit but mine arn't that good anyway due to a couple of the optical leads being sliced in two when I changed the radio many years ago. The main reason I changed the bulb was they run cool, the original bulb created quite a bit of heat under there.

[poprivet]

It's a bit difficult to photo accurately, but here's an idea of the final result. In reality the dials are far more evenly lit, it's the exposure of the camera which makes some areas brighter then others.

[manold99]

Hi guys I would like some help in purchasing the LED's for my 1990 XJS instrument panel. The details on the internet mystifies me. Any details would be a great help.Thanks