has anyone changed their dashboard warning lights (hi temp, anti lock, etc) to led's? it seems to be a problem that i can only clearly see these lights at night. at the same time i want to upgrade the parking lamps and turn signal lamps as well.

Submitted by NE33-37918J on Mon, 12/30/2013 - 12:16

For earlier XJSs the warning lights are C38966 and the instument illumination are C15788 per the Service Manual (page 86-53). I don't have any info on the later cars, as this is from Manual 4 and doesn't have info on the 1995 model. I am also very interested in correcting the lack of visibility of the warning lights.

Submitted by BillCorn4895@c… on Wed, 12/04/2013 - 11:30

The ones that I have found on eBay are specifically designed for automotive use and have the resistor built in. If you go to eBay Motors Parts, you can search by the bulb number with "LED Bulb ####". They have almost every size imaginable. Really cheep too. The best ones are the ones that are the corn cob design, with LEDs arranged to look like a corm cob. That way the light actually hits the reflector to amplify the light from the bulb. Be careful of the earlier styles, as they shine straight out and make a bright spot in your lens, but do not hit the reflector behind the bulb. I think the ones that I have tried in my side markers are the same ones used for the warning lamps in the instrument panel, but I have just not had the time to experiment with it yet. I will eventually try it though.

Submitted by sodium@captain… on Wed, 12/04/2013 - 08:26

I'm interested in doing this too. The LEDs will require a load resistor to drop the system voltage to their operating range (or prepackaged LEDs).

I like the DIY angle and think about it every time I leave my turn signal flashing. Anyone have good guidance on this for the dash lamps? Seems like the problem of the bulb out indicator could be solved by putting a resistor in parallel to add extra power dissipation since the bulb indicator checks for load.

Submitted by sodium@captain… on Wed, 12/04/2013 - 08:26

I'm interested in doing this too. The LEDs will require a load resistor to drop the system voltage to their operating range (or prepackaged LEDs).

I like the DIY angle and think about it every time I leave my turn signal flashing. Anyone have good guidance on this for the dash lamps? Seems like the problem of the bulb out indicator could be solved by putting a resistor in parallel to add extra power dissipation since the bulb indicator checks for load.

Submitted by BillCorn4895@c… on Tue, 12/03/2013 - 22:55

I have changed the license lamps to LED and they work beautifully. On start up I get a bulb fault warning for a few seconds, but it goes out. I tried three different types of LED bulbs in the side markers, but they only make a spot illumination in the middle of the lens. I wen t back to incandescent. I haven't tried to change any other bulbs, but you may experience the bulb fault with those too. My concern would be that if you change all of them, the fault lamp may not go out at all. The lower current draw will likely make the circuit think that bulbs are not working.