crocs Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Well, two days before expiry of Fiat Warranty, I had the software fix done for the instrument panel so that the panel lights come on when Ignition is switched on. Works a treat and now I have no excuse for breaking speed limits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 As far as I’m aware the ‘fix’ does not require the Ducato to be within its warranty period. The software revision available for Ducato X290s can be carried out by a Fiat Professional agent ‘on demand’, or the revision will be made automatically if a Fiat Professional agent services the vehicle. I rate the ‘fix’ as better than nothing, but not much better! Having ‘night time’ instrument lighting on during the day will help if daylight is so poor that it resembles dusk and it can be useful if, say, driving on a road through a forest - but otherwise it only marginally improves daylight speedometer readability. To be able to read the speedometer in all daylight conditions it needs to be suitably ‘front lit’, but it’s undoubtedly more effective to use a digital readout (eg. a sat-nav readout) that’s in the driver’s line of sight than (especially outside the UK) peering at the speedometer of an instrument display that’’s fundamentally poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plwsm2000 Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 Derek Uzzell - 2018-09-12 7:28 AM As far as I’m aware the ‘fix’ does not require the Ducato to be within its warranty period. The software revision available for Ducato X290s can be carried out by a Fiat Professional agent ‘on demand’, or the revision will be made automatically if a Fiat Professional agent services the vehicle. I rate the ‘fix’ as better than nothing, but not much better! Having ‘night time’ instrument lighting on during the day will help if daylight is so poor that it resembles dusk and it can be useful if, say, driving on a road through a forest - but otherwise it only marginally improves daylight speedometer readability. To be able to read the speedometer in all daylight conditions it needs to be suitably ‘front lit’, but it’s undoubtedly more effective to use a digital readout (eg. a sat-nav readout) that’s in the driver’s line of sight than (especially outside the UK) peering at the speedometer of an instrument display that’’s fundamentally poor. A better "fix" that Fiat could do is to add "instantaneous speed" as one of the display options. We already have instantaneous fuel consumption,, average speed, trip distance etc. Adding instantaneous speed should be easy for Fiat to do. By using the existing metric/imperial option, you could display in mph or kph as required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocs Posted September 12, 2018 Author Share Posted September 12, 2018 Derek Uzzell - 2018-09-12 7:28 AM As far as I’m aware the ‘fix’ does not require the Ducato to be within its warranty period. The software revision available for Ducato X290s can be carried out by a Fiat Professional agent ‘on demand’, or the revision will be made automatically if a Fiat Professional agent services the vehicle. I rate the ‘fix’ as better than nothing, but not much better! Having ‘night time’ instrument lighting on during the day will help if daylight is so poor that it resembles dusk and it can be useful if, say, driving on a road through a forest - but otherwise it only marginally improves daylight speedometer readability. To be able to read the speedometer in all daylight conditions it needs to be suitably ‘front lit’, but it’s undoubtedly more effective to use a digital readout (eg. a sat-nav readout) that’s in the driver’s line of sight than (especially outside the UK) peering at the speedometer of an instrument display that’’s fundamentally poor. You may be correct, Derek, but my experience from a Fiat Professional agent is that they were not going to do it automatically (nor without Fiat's approval) - so perhaps not all agents are as switched on. Don't know about the warranty bit, but I happened to be within the warranty period and, according to the lady at Fiat in Italy, they were carrying it out under the warranty free of charge. I can only report my experience. I rate the fix as worthwhile, although not perfect as the perfect solution would be to change the panel completely so that it could be read easily in all light conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 When my 2015 Ducato was in for service earlier this year at the Gloucester Fiat Professional agency, a couple of software ‘upgrades’ were applied to it as part of the work and with no prompting from me. Subsequently, when I switched on the vehicle’s ignition, the dashboard illumination came on. This earlier thread may be of interest https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Peugot-dashboard-darkness/49962/#M575004 as it includes a photo showing my DIY approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.hubrechtsgm Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 Do you have to pay money for this to the dealer being FP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 The instrument-lighting software revision is free of charge in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocs Posted September 12, 2018 Author Share Posted September 12, 2018 Derek Uzzell - 2018-09-12 1:43 PM When my 2015 Ducato was in for service earlier this year at the Gloucester Fiat Professional agency, a couple of software ‘upgrades’ were applied to it as part of the work and with no prompting from me. Subsequently, when I switched on the vehicle’s ignition, the dashboard illumination came on. This earlier thread may be of interest https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Peugot-dashboard-darkness/49962/#M575004 as it includes a photo showing my DIY approach. Interesting, Derek. What was the other upgrade? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeco Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Derek Uzzell - 2018-09-12 4:59 PMThe instrument-lighting software revision is free of charge in the UK.When I had my instrument lighting software revision it was free so I would expect Belgium would also be free of charge. I agree with Derek the fix is marginally better than no lighting.In IMHO it is almost impossible to obtain an accurate speed when looking down from the driver's seat. I always use my sat nav to obtain an accurate speed, especially when travelling through 40 or 50kph zones where you are very vulnerable to Mr Plod with a radar gun. My car has an instantaneous digital speed readout as mentioned by Phil and I use it all the time. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 crocs - 2018-09-12 7:07 PM Derek Uzzell - 2018-09-12 1:43 PM When my 2015 Ducato was in for service earlier this year at the Gloucester Fiat Professional agency, a couple of software ‘upgrades’ were applied to it as part of the work and with no prompting from me. Subsequently, when I switched on the vehicle’s ignition, the dashboard illumination came on. This earlier thread may be of interest https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Peugot-dashboard-darkness/49962/#M575004 as it includes a photo showing my DIY approach. Interesting, Derek. What was the other upgrade? I don’t know. I asked but the technician just said that two software revisions had been part of the service and it was visually obvious that one of these was the instrument lighting ‘fix’. I didn’t notice any other changes (positive or negative) after the service, so whatever the 2nd revision was for didn’t much concern me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.