The warning light strip on my '93 XJS is very hard to read during daytime driving. The turn indicator barely illuminates. It's OK for night time driving. Is this normal? Would higher watt bulbs help?

Submitted by alan.barc@veri… on Tue, 08/27/2013 - 11:04

Has anyone tried "higher wattage" LED's which should resolve the heat issue? That is on my list of things to do when I get my recently acquired XJS-C on the road. This is a typical Jag problem from my E-Type to my 2004 XJ8, perhaps due to the limited number of bright sunny days in the UK. Wearing sunglasses makes even the gauges nearly invisible

Submitted by unionjack@sunf… on Mon, 08/26/2013 - 23:56

Thanks Steven
That was my concern as well. Higher wattage=higher heat.
Another approach may be to reproduce the plastic strip with a lighter tint (silkscreen?).
Now, at least I know it's a design problem.

Submitted by stevejag@sbcgl… on Mon, 08/26/2013 - 21:04

Edited on 2013-08-26 22:11:36

Dan,

What you describe is a complaint that has been repeated and repeated since these cars came out. In bright daylight the tell-tales have been notoriously hard to see. I think you should be careful though. I know of two cars that people tried higher wattage bulbs......it wasn't pretty. Over time, the increased heat melts the housing and printed circuit. In one case, the guy got away with it for a few months; 'til he did some work that required the ignition to be left on while he traced a circuit. The lights that stayed on with the key soon melted the lenses and exposed the bulbs.

Like I said......wasn't pretty.

Edit:
Y'know, on further pondering, I'd bet someone could fabricate something with resistors and some of these new superbright LED's they have now.

Cheers,