Hi,

Back in a GV after a year with a smaller vehicle - so good to be back.

It's a 2.8CRD Limited, and our previous GV was an '51 plate (2001) and had illuminated needles for the four dials, but our current one doesn't.

Is it possible to retro-fit either missing bulbs or fit a different instrument cluster - black needles against the dimly light green dials doesn't work so well for me.

Ta

Steve

 

HiYa sjbilton , you would be amazed how many people have asked that only to find they have the dimmer turned very low or switched off altogether. It's the right hand vertical wheel. 'champagne' dials are and have been the standard for years, so black in almost white, so it must be your dimmer - or are you saying most of but not all of the bulbs have blown ? BTW the other frequent question is the fog / bright rear lights and that's on a pull of the headlight switch while on beam only.

 

Thanks QinteQ,

It's not the dimmer as I tend to have that down/off most of the time as it turns off the interior lights which the kids have a habit of leaving the lights on, or they leave the doors open on the driveway, so it reduces some of the drain on the battery.

When I turn on the lights in the evening, the whole dash board is dim, so turning up the wick as you describe increases the brightness of the whole dash, but leaves the needles black...

Do you know, do the needles have specific bulbs to illuminate them or do they share with the rest of the display?

Thanks

Steve

 

A just in case scenario, before you pull the dashboard apart. Perform the hard reset of the micros by disconnecting the battery -ve for a few minutes. I'd say there was a one chance in 5 this is the root of it. If your radio loses its code when battery diconnected, have it handy.

Leedsman.

BTW., that pull-out lights switch highligted by Qinteq is very handy as a single-action lights switch for the motorway tunnels in Leeds.

 

I've no idea whether you can transplant needles, I'm sure that the needles are not individually lit, and that the mod you dream of is unworkable as any cost effective DIY mod will rely on the dashboard gauge light being on. I do know that interior lights will automatically turn off in about 15 minutes if .. .. you or your kids leave them on .. .. a door, sliding door or the boot lid is left open .. .. any overhead reading light is left on .. .. or if the dimmer control is in the extreme top position.

 

Maybe there is a way you can transplant an older set of needles but surely it's too much hassle. Not impossible tho if you've had it in an older model. As for the interior lights turning off after 15 mins, I don't know why that would affect your illuminated needles.

 

I bought a new 2.5 GV Ltd in 2001 and I'm sure the needles were lit up red. My current GV is a 2007 2.8 Executive and they don't just showing black against the green background. Cost cutting I suppose. Also the earlier model had air vents that ran through the front doors that warmed/cooled people in the middle row seats. They've gone aswell.

Regards John.