Information on light dimmer xj6 87
#1
#2
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Pacific Northwest USA
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#3
#4
Chris,
it is a rheostat (dimmer), like a volume pot in the radio. It dims or brightens all the dash gauge lights and a little of the fiber optic lights.
is yours not working?
try turning it fully clockwise and counter clockwise many times to see if it starts "dimming" again. They get oxidated inside for lack of use, they rarely go bad.
however, it is known the Jaguar gauge lights are not very bright, (this happens in all Jaguars since the 1940s), and many people put higher wattage bulbs behind each gauge, melting the green color overlay inside the gauges. If you want brighter gauge lights, you might try LEDs, however, I don't know if you can dim LEDs like you can incandescent bulbs.
myself I would like RED lights in all gauges.
it is a rheostat (dimmer), like a volume pot in the radio. It dims or brightens all the dash gauge lights and a little of the fiber optic lights.
is yours not working?
try turning it fully clockwise and counter clockwise many times to see if it starts "dimming" again. They get oxidated inside for lack of use, they rarely go bad.
however, it is known the Jaguar gauge lights are not very bright, (this happens in all Jaguars since the 1940s), and many people put higher wattage bulbs behind each gauge, melting the green color overlay inside the gauges. If you want brighter gauge lights, you might try LEDs, however, I don't know if you can dim LEDs like you can incandescent bulbs.
myself I would like RED lights in all gauges.
Last edited by Jose; 08-12-2018 at 05:49 PM.
#5
@jose
not sure. The lights work but to be honest only tried the dimmer yesterday but didnt see much if any change.
I was also thinking, as you mentioned, of putting in LED's. Is this a big jobby?
my friend did his truck and it looks ace. Also they are much brighter. Just want to keep the same green tone though. But red sounds kinda hot too hahah
not sure. The lights work but to be honest only tried the dimmer yesterday but didnt see much if any change.
I was also thinking, as you mentioned, of putting in LED's. Is this a big jobby?
my friend did his truck and it looks ace. Also they are much brighter. Just want to keep the same green tone though. But red sounds kinda hot too hahah
#6
#7
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@jose
not sure. The lights work but to be honest only tried the dimmer yesterday but didnt see much if any change.
I was also thinking, as you mentioned, of putting in LED's. Is this a big jobby?
my friend did his truck and it looks ace. Also they are much brighter. Just want to keep the same green tone though. But red sounds kinda hot too hahah
not sure. The lights work but to be honest only tried the dimmer yesterday but didnt see much if any change.
I was also thinking, as you mentioned, of putting in LED's. Is this a big jobby?
my friend did his truck and it looks ace. Also they are much brighter. Just want to keep the same green tone though. But red sounds kinda hot too hahah
It's a PITA on a Series III
No problem finding brighter bulbs, no problem finding bulbs that fit (you'll need 3 different styles). The problem is getting all the gauges equally bright. I had to do lots of experimenting and (eventually) wire-in a different socket for the tach light before getting the right combination.
An easy way to increase the brightness is to simply bypass the rheostat entirely. That'll give a decent improvement in most cases.
Cheers
DD
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#8
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Walnut Creek, California
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#9
I bypassed mine years ago - just shorted out the rheostat. A tiny bit of improvement maybe, but you'll never get a decent amount of illumination with the stock setup.
#10
It's a PITA on a Series III
No problem finding brighter bulbs, no problem finding bulbs that fit (you'll need 3 different styles). The problem is getting all the gauges equally bright. I had to do lots of experimenting and (eventually) wire-in a different socket for the tach light before getting the right combination.
An easy way to increase the brightness is to simply bypass the rheostat entirely. That'll give a decent improvement in most cases.
Cheers
DD
No problem finding brighter bulbs, no problem finding bulbs that fit (you'll need 3 different styles). The problem is getting all the gauges equally bright. I had to do lots of experimenting and (eventually) wire-in a different socket for the tach light before getting the right combination.
An easy way to increase the brightness is to simply bypass the rheostat entirely. That'll give a decent improvement in most cases.
Cheers
DD
is there a post with details on how to do this?
Many thanks!
#11
#12
@Jose
Thanks Jose. Its not like its underly bright. But i am a stickler for having everything work as it should.As in when it was like new. More of a personal vendetta rather than a daily necessity.
Has someone already done the LED upgrade on this model? I will do a quick search but would love to see how it all went.
Thanks Jose
Thanks Jose. Its not like its underly bright. But i am a stickler for having everything work as it should.As in when it was like new. More of a personal vendetta rather than a daily necessity.
Has someone already done the LED upgrade on this model? I will do a quick search but would love to see how it all went.
Thanks Jose
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