Hi all, so a lot of posts about the dash lights and how to change them but I couldn't really find the basics.... which light do I need to order?
One bulb of the 3 gauge cluster isn't working. Does someone know which bulb to order to match the original? No led, just "as stock". Or does anyone know the ford part number (guess it is a ford part) as I have no jaguar dealer close but there is a ford service centre close. Or the jag part number, perhaps ebay has something...
Thnx & brgds, HD

 

I have found the dash light bulbs to be either T3 (the smaller bulbs) or 37 (the larger bulbs). My local NAPA store usually has both of them in stock....

 

Jaguar supply a replacement bulb complete with the holder so the part number LJA 4390 BA is probably not going to help:




Graham

 

Solved, the 3 gauge cluster holds 2 x 12v - 5w - T10 wedgebase bulbs. At the local diy store for €2,50

 

Bought 10 LED bulbs for my 2006 XK8. I was going to replace the dash and marker lights myself. The wife took the car to our shop for an oil change and took the bulbs thinking they could do it faster. They told her no way. The LED bulbs will really mess up the electronics. Is this true?

 

Speedo Bulbs are easy to buy but hard to get in place...You have to take the Speedo out!!! Lots of Fun! It will keep you busy for and Hour or Two...That's for sure!

The Bulbs that you want and you want to replace every one of them because you will not want to do this again...….are: 4 Sylvania 2825 Longlife for the large Bulbs on the top tier and 4 Sylvania 37 Longlife for the Bottom row....These are NOT LEDs so you don't have to worry about the Polarization.....Just put them in a forget it.....They will last longer than the Car.....so you want have to do it again...…."Did I say That?"

Now, if you want to have the beauty of the LED Bulbs, you can have that also, but you will have to spend a little extra time due to LED Bulbs being Polarized. This means they have to be put in correctly as one contact has to meet the like contact in the socket....If you don't get it right, it will not light-up...….so before you put them in....You have to find out which contact should go in the socket which way......If you look at the contacts on the Bulb, you will see that one is longer than the other.....All you have to do now is plug that contact into the right plug.....Now, finding the right plug is the problem...one way it will work but not the other way...so it's 50/50.....which of course means that if you don't score on the first round, you have to do it again...If you want to try this you will need to buy some LED Bulbs, so go down to the Parts Store and check out their LED Bulbs...such as: Sylvania LED 2825's or Sylvania LED 37....They look like little Light Bulbs......If you want to get fancy, you can order 194-CWHP5 (The Large Bulb for the top row) or 74-WHP (The Small Bulb for the bottom row). These LED Bulbs are often called T-5 (smaller Bulb) or T-10 (The Larger Bulb) They are nice looking and bright....and they will last forever but I couldn't get a guarantee on that! I got my LED bulbs from superbrightleds.com....They sure are pretty.....

You would think that by now someone would have figured out a way to determine Polarity in the Speed-o's sockets, so you wouldn't have to plug-in and then have to go back and re-plug....surely there's a better way? If you know, please let us know!
Anyway, while you are in there, you should install one of those RealGauges from The JagWrangler, so you will know what the Engine Temperature really is. (www.thejawrangler.com) That will make the whole thing worth while...plus you will have dash lights that actually light-up!!!

Don't be afraid of LED's. they last longer and burn Brighter!

Billy Clyde

 

I know this thread is marked resolved but..
Are the above 5w bulbs correct for the dash lights ? ( should they not be 3w bulbs)
I was looking at the thread by engravosaurus ( cannot see xk8 1997 dash lights ) and post 14 by darbysan has 2 video's, watching the first video.

It say's to make sure you use the 3w NOT the 5w bulb for the T10 as the 5w will/can damage the instrument cluster with excessive heat ?

When watching this video he go's on to show how to check the polarity of led bulbs by using the rear side light bulb holder.
This is a 5w T10 bulb and you can see the damage done to the bulb holder by the heat ! ....

Dont think i would fit a 5w if it should be a 3w bulb
Can anyone confirm if the instrument cluster T10 bulb should be 3w and the T5 should be 1.5w when replacing like for like.
Thanks...

 

This is all very informative. I have one light bulb that is out on my 2005 Jaguar XK8.

 

XKR-Day,

I tried real hard to watch that video but Man it is hard to understand that Guy.....I finally just gave-up! I guess us Texans just can't understand the Queen's English...especially with the Guy mumbling! I really would like to know how he was going to determine the Polarity of the Bulb by using the Side Marker connection.. If you can make it out, I would appreciate you letting me in on the details!

If you know or if anyone knows where I can find this explained in plain old Texas English, I would really like to know !

Also, the Bulb numbers that I gave you for both the Regular and the LED's are the correct numbers and incidentally, the LED Bulbs do not create as much heat as the Regular Bulbs.....I would use LED's if that is a problem...My 2005 XKR now has LED's and I noticed my Side-Marker socket was burned just like this Guy's was...

Billy Clyde

 

Point is hdjag has shown none led bulbs rated at 5w ....

Ok for side light etc but not for the dash cluster if they should be 3w.

Iv had and seen dash bulbs on other cars that have melted the front of the dash cluster,looks like a cigarette burn,maybe because the wrong rated bulb was installed.
Granted this dos not happen over night .(or with led bulb)

Yes video is hard to watch,and his slow monotone voice is difficult to understand but it is informative if you persevere...

 

To close the loop, the answer is yes. they should be ~3 W bulbs and ~1.5W bulbs. Don't know whether this would wreak havoc with current draw and/or heat, but I would not do it myself. If you need more lumens, the engravosaurus thread points to LED alternatives. At this point, suspect the multi-led designs could approximate the original light distribution pattern.

 

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"OK Guys, "This is all I have to say about that!"

First of all: The LED Bulbs that should be used in the Speedo Assembly are:
Upper Bulbs should be: 4 (194-CWHP5-Cool White or Sylvania 2825 LED)
Lower Bulbs should be: 4 (74-WHP-Cool White or Sylvania 37 LED)

These Bulbs will NOT Melt the plastic Speedo Cover and do not produce anywhere near the Heat of the Incandescent BULBS THAT CAME IN THE CAR and you will have to agree that they don't melt the Plastic Cover either but if they get close enough to the Plastic they will make Melted spots like a Cigarette Burn... LED Bulbs will not do that as they do not create that much Heat....

My problem with the LED Bulbs has been polarity and placing them in the sockets correctly....After going back and listening to Mr. Mumbles again (for the 5th time) I have figured out what he is trying to say. Which would have saved me having to take the Speedo out the 2nd time and year or so ago.....He is saying that the plus (+) Socket on the Speedo is located at the bottom.....All you have to do is line up the plus leg of the LED with the Plus socket on the Speedo....Sounds like something you could do!

Finally, YES! even you can use LED's in you Speedo with great success! Much better, brighter and last much longer than an incandescent Bulb.....

Billy Clyde

 

With the aim of shedding more light than heat, perhaps, on the incandescent bulbs for the instrument panel in this resolved thread... The apparently conflicting advice on aftermarket bulbs for the instrument panel and in the illumination module was the reason I measured the power (amperage) of my original bulbs when I replaced them while I was in the instrument panel to resolder a connection. The original bulbs were not (yet) broken and measured ~230 mA@14 V (~3.2 W) for the large ones and ~90 mA@14 V (~1.3 W) for the small ones. To replace the large ones, for example, the Philips 194 is rated at 3.8 W, the Sylvania 2825 is rated at 5 W. The 74 is rated at 1.4 W and the 37 is rated at 1.26 W. The closest bulbs to my originals are the 194 and the 37. Whether the increased heat from the Sylvania or other 5 W part matters, I have no idea, as noted above.

Just as an aside, it does not appear that my originals could be hotter than the 5 W nominal Sylvania 2825.

As for LEDs, these days, they mostly appear to last up to their lifetime ratings. Some of the cheap early bulb module designs didn't seem to appreciate (or maybe care) that the rated temperature limits are important and the relationship between max actual temperature, as installed, and lifetime is not linear.

 

Mr. Bass,

I'm not sure what all that means....other than you personally don't like LEDs!

Isn't that about right...

Billy Clyde

 

Not exactly, I guess with fewer words, trying to make a couple of quick points
1. The 5W bulbs (like the Sylvania 2825 part) are about 60% hotter than the original bulbs that came in my car (~3.2W) and are hotter than the Philips 194 (~3.8W).
2. Unlike in the past, LED construction is fine these days, my preference aside.

My day job tends to encourage me to use more words when fewer would do...