fesspark Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 I still haven,t had my dashboard light updated, my ducato is just over 3 years old, is it Fiats responsibility to put it right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmold Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Do you mean the warning light problem or the illumination problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 I believe this is the “old thread” fesspark refers to http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/fiat-dashboard-lighting-/45838/ Fesspark’s earlier inquiry related to difficulty reading the speedometer of X250/X290 Ducatos in daylight and, (Dare I say it?!) was covered in considerable depth in the November 2016 thread. As was explained then, the software revision applies only to Ducato X290s, is not an under-warranty ‘fix’ and is only carried out if an owner of a Ducato X290 requests it. Fiat has told Fesspark that his motorhome is based on a Ducato X250 (not an X290) and, consequently, there is no software revision available to address the instrument-lighting issue. ‘Illegality’ was also discussed in the thread. This year-long Fiat Forum thread may also be worth browsing through http://www.fiatforum.com/ducato/425538-new-ducato-imala-m-home-instrument-cluster-illumination.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fesspark Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Thankyou for your reply,age is a barrier for remembering,all the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fesspark Posted March 5, 2017 Author Share Posted March 5, 2017 Thanks again,tried the menu idea to brighten the system to no avail so I guess if it fails the M.O.T. due to the dashboard light I will have to contact Fiat.again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 The MOT manual can be viewed here https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/585905/mot-inspection-manual-classes-3-4-5-and-7.pdf The speedometer is covered in Section 6.7 and you’ll see that one of the (few) checks is that the speedometer can be illuminated. There is nothing to say how bright the illumination should be, nor how easy it is to read the speedometer in daylight conditions. If poor speedometer visibility in dim daylight conditions resulted in MOT-test failure, every UK-registered Boxer/Ducato/Relay X250 vehicle would never have passed the test, every Ford Transit Mk 6 or 7. I hesitate to say this, but you are making heavy weather of this issue. About 50,00 motorhomes based on an X250 Boxer/Ducato/Relay will have UK-registered and they’ll all have the same instrument-panel as your vehicle. With that number of UK X250-based motorhomes in the mix, you really can’t expect Fiat to modify yours because you think the instrument visibility is crap. Yes, it is crap, but plainly not enough owners of X250 motorhomes have found it so bad that they’ve complained strongly enough to get Peugeot/Fiat/Citroen to do something about it. Have you tried the kitchen-foil ploy to reflect more daylight on to the speedometer - that will cost nothing and is supposed to help? It’s certainly practicable to ‘front light’ the instruments (which I’ve done on my X290 Ducato) and that approach is more effective that Fiat’s software revision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granddad Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 THIS ANY HELP Hi Everyone, i would like to introduce myself first of all, not only am i a proud owner of a 2014 FIAT DUCATO AUTO TRAIL FRONTIER Motorhome but i am am also the director of Cartronix. We are Specialists in repairing instrument clusters on motorhomes as well as other vehicles. Two of our biggest customers in the uk are Motor home dealers. The Faults that have been described on these forums are extremely common and we see them every day. Dimly lit LED warning lights and draining of the battery are the most common faults as well as the gauges sticking. The LEDs Fail for 2 reasons, jump starting flat batteries and Cheap unreliable components. Solution: We Replace all the LEDs with Superior European Quality ones and give a lifetime warranty. The Gauges often fail when they dry out inside and seize up when the vehicles have been left over the winter months. Solution: We Replace the Motors with upgraded European Motors which have a protective coating inside and again give a lifetime warranty. We have a solution for all problems and charge a fixed rate of £150 inc vat to repair these instrument cluster faults. We have a next working day Postal service if you would like to remove and send us your instrument cluster to us for repair or failing that if you fancy a trip to our workshop in Hampshire we can remove repair and refit your instrument cluster while you wait. Our telephone number is 02392 265986. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 No need to spend money. I have spoken to Carole from fiat in Italy. Most helpful. Face to face. Not over the phone. My local fiat professional said there was no update for my 2016 Mh!!! Not true. It's going to be done FOC of course. I'll pm you with the tel no. Free from a landline. On Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 I’m reluctant to say this, but neither of the previous two well-meaning postings is relevant to Fesspark’s enquiries. As should be realised from by my posting of 4 March 2017 11:12 AM above, Fesspark’s complaint is that the visibility in daylight of his Ducato-based motorhome’s instrument-cluster is poor (and he feels that Fiat should address this). It is well recognised that the the instrument-cluster of ‘X250’ (2006-2014) and ‘X290’ (2014-onwards) Ducato vehicles has been problematical, with warning lights not turning off fully and spurious warning lights illuminating. Those are the types of fault that Grandad has described in his Cartroniix posting/advert and Fiat may be prepared to address such faults free of charge (FOC) on a Ducato by installing a new instrument-cluster. But Fesspark’s complaint is not about instrument-cluster ‘electronic’ faults, it’s about difficulty reading the instruments. It’s also reasonably well known that Fiat - if asked by a Ducato owner - will authorise a software revision that causes a Ducato’s instrument-cluster's backlighting to illuminate when the vehicle’s ignition is turned on, rather than the backlighting illuminating only when the vehicle’s external lights are switched on. This helps with the cluster’s visibility in daylight, but the software revision is only available for X290 Ducatos and Fesspark's Ducato is an X250 model. This was all covered in a November 2016 forum thread (link in my posting of 4 March 2017 11:12 AM above) that included how to contact Fiat Camper Assistance by phone and a reference to a longish July 2015 forum discussion about the instrument visibility issue generally. To summarise then... 1: Fesspark is not complaining that his Ducato’s instrument-cluster is faulty, just that it is ergonomically poor regarding instrument-visibility in daylight. 2: Fesspark’s Ducato is an X250 model, so the FOC on-request software revision that Fiat will authorise for X290 Ducatos (like Den’s) cannot be installed on Fesspark’s motorhome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.