Hi , After my dash and switches conversion to LEDs I was very
pleased with the results so the next stage was to look into
converting the row of warning lamps to brighter LEDs . The main
problem I had with the warning bulbs was that they were so dim that
i could not see that a left indicator was still on with driving and
also could not see the hand brake was left on !. I removed all the
warning lamps and replaced them with bright leds of green , yellow
and red and one blue to keep all standard colours. The leds and
resistors were refitted in the standard blub holders once the old
lamps were removed. These were then soldered all in the holder and
the battery and seatbelt lamps shunted with a extra resistor to
enable the alternator to kick in and the seat belt warning not to
light dim when it should be out. This cured these problems and the
lights are much brighter as the wide angle leds are projecting the
light straight at the front unlike bulbs that send light back that
is not used. I will post a picture of them working as soon as I
can. that has then completed the dash warning and back lighting to
led and has been well worth the work.â
97 BMW 540iT 95 XJR6 94 XJS 6.0 coupe 99 Ford
Croydon , SURREY, United Kingdom
âPosted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]â
In reply to a message from 540itouring sent Thu 29 Apr 2010:
I too have done the same, and the big improvement is that the
plastic in my dash has ââyellowedââ over the years, so I
soldered the LED and resistor in so that the LED is hard up
against the inside of the coloured plastic which compensates
for the ââyellowingââ
just DO NOT replace the alternator warning bulb - it needs to
be a old fashioned resistor/bulb to work properly.â
1985 XJS V12 HE TWR (Black Betty) - www.bryansplace.net
Gold Coast Qld, Australia
âPosted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]â
âSupport Jag-lovers - Donate at http://www.jag-lovers.org/donate04.php â
In reply to a message from Bryan Burgess sent Fri 30 Apr 2010:
I used bright wide angle LEDs and work very well . I have replaced
the alternator bulb with a LED and also added a 270 ohm resistor in
parallel and works perfectâ
The original message included these comments:
just DO NOT replace the alternator warning bulb - it needs to
It might pay to look at the wiring diagrams as the ones I have for 80s
vintage Jags show that they already have a resistor in parallel to the
warning light. I always assumed (heh heh) that it was to provide enough
resistance to excite the alternator in the event of a bulb failure.
Just thought Iâd throw it out there. The face lift cars might be different.
Cheers
Doug Dwyer
Longview Washington USA
1995 XJR
Phooey. Canât you replace it with an LED with a resistor in
parallel?
// please trim quoted text to context onlyFrom: âKirbertâ palmk@nettally.com
In reply to a message from Doug Dwyer sent Fri 30 Apr 2010:
The led I used has a 470 ohm in series as normal for 12 volt
opperation but the alternater did take a longer time to kick in so
also added a 270 ohm in parallel with the origanal bulb holder
contacts as the led current is much lower that the standard bulb
current. The extra resistor increses current flow to match the
standard bulb current.â
The original message included these comments:
Phooey. Canât you replace it with an LED with a resistor in
parallel?
I used very bright leds of assorted sizes with resistors and custom made each one by soldering them into the holders. The speedo and other clocks were very involved job but pleased with the results .All leds came from ebay uk
by the way, Iâm working with the dash (cluster) still connected to the wiring harness. From what I see there are two plugs in the back (which I think consists of all that holds it in). How do those connectors release, canât seem to get them out?
Thereâs a release tab at one end. Helps to have small hands:grinning:
BTW, be very careful here. The flex circuit is often delaminated, sometimes where these connectors plug in. They can sometimes be repaired with a tiny drop of superglue, but if it spills over onto the contact side you might make matters worse.
how hard is it to get to the dash bulbsâŚmine all work and I donât think I want to unbolt the clusterâŚIf you have to take the dash apartâŚIs it really worth the effort? I guess I would rather spend time driving then modifyingâŚunless I had to do something thereâŚAgain how do you reach bulbs???
Kirbert
(Author of the Book, former owner of an '83 XJ-S H.E.)
14
Itâs pretty easy to take the cluster out. There are little snap-on covers at the top corners, pop those off and undo a Pozidriv screw underneath and youâre halfway done. Itâs a bit harder on pre-H.E. cars because you have to disconnect a speedo cable; the later cars have electronic speedos so itâs just part of the electrical connections.
If youâve never had it out, you might want to take it out if for no other reason than to clean off (or remove!) the green plastic domes that give the dash lighting its green tint. They seem to get dark with age.
You can replace the tiny lamps across the top of the cluster without removing the cluster. First remove the screws at the ends ant pull out the long, narrow frame across the top. Then get a small needle-nosed pliers and slip tiny plastic tubes over the tips. Then grasp the lamp and wiggle/pull it gently out. However, if you have to somehow modify the plastic receptacle, youâll have to remove the cluster.
As I said before, removing the cluster is not without risk. The flex circuit is old and likely to be delaminated in places, including where things plug into it. IOW, itâs easy to make matters worse.
As you might guess from the photos below, I have a spare cluster. If you want to play around with some sockets and lamps just see what you can replace them with, Iâd be glad to send you a few.
BTW, I donât see the need for changing the lamps at all. For me, the only thing that was hard to see was the turn signals. Years ago someone on the mail J-L list explained how to replace the lens of these with something thatâs green and translucent. You will not see an arrow, but you will have no trouble noticing the turn signal is on.
