Rapido (Fiat Ducato) Instrument Panel

[GeoffPage]

Hello Motorhome Matters Folk

I have just picked up a new Rapido 890F DE and having real problems in reading the analogue instruments (speedometer) in daylight driving conditions. The panel dials have a "sun shield" which puts the dials into dark shadows. I have reported this to the dealer and awaiting a response. HAs anyone else had this issue and how was it resolved?

[Keithl]

Hi Geoff,

 

This very matter has been discussed on here over the last few days, you'll have to skip the first few posts until you get to the proper subject though..

 

http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Reading-speedo-in-dull-conditions-/38945/

 

Keith.

[Derek Uzzell]

There are a couple of references to the difficult-to-read-instruments issue in November 2015’s MMM magazine (Pages 171 and 173).

 

Nick Fisher (euroserv) warns against a suggestion that the vehicle’s wiring system could simply be altered so that the instrument panel is illuminated when the ignition-key is turned to the ON position, as this might well result in CAN-bus-related problems.

 

There’s also a "TOP TIP” that involves sticking a piece of kitchen foil on a 2”-square of card, and then mounting the card angled upwards below the speedometer so that it reflects outside light on to the speedo’s face. This would be worth trying as (as I’ve mentioned before) the speedometer in my LHD Rapido is well enough lit by outside light even though actually reading the speed on the speedometer ain’t easy.

 

I've experimented with a focusable LED torch and (in principle) it would be possible to strongly illuminate just the speedometer face with an external light-source or the whole instrument-cluster (as suggested by Mugsy in the other forum discussion). Though cheap, this would not be a very pretty approach and (as I think may have been mentioned before) attaching an LED-strip to the underside of the ‘shade’ above the instruments would be tidier. The LEDs could be powered from an ignition-controlled source like the circuit feeding the cigarette-lighter and a switch would (presumably) be needed to turn off the LEDs at night. It ought to work...

 

(Idle curiosity, but can anyone describe what’s involved in accessing the speedometer face of a Ducato X290, please? I understand that it was a simple/quick task with LHD X250s when the kmh-only speedometer scale needed to be swapped, but I don’t recall it being said how this was done. Although there are differences between the X250 and X290 instrument panels, I’m guessing that a similar procedure would be used to access an X290’s speedometer.)