Anyone know of a way of having the instrument lighting on without switching the lights on? I did a very simple mod on the old Fabia so the panel lights came on with the ignition but the Octavia seems to use a completely different system (presumably because of the Can Bus wiring). I noticed that the dials and LCD display were not particularly visible as the weather today was dull, but not really dark enough for the lights to be on. Recent Hondas have permanently illuminated dials and they are a model of clarity.

Anyone know of a way of having the instrument lighting on without switching the lights on? I did a very simple mod on the old Fabia so the panel lights came on with the ignition but the Octavia seems to use a completely different system (presumably because of the Can Bus wiring). I noticed that the dials and LCD display were not particularly visible as the weather today was dull, but not really dark enough for the lights to be on. Recent Hondas have permanently illuminated dials and they are a model of clarity.

I always reckon that if its to dull to see the instruments easily then the lights should be on - see and be seen!!

I agree

I always drive with my side lights on, I just don't care do I!

Cars with permanently lit dash binnacles could encourage driving with no lights on in the evenings.

What I think I'm getting at is the somewhat old fashioned instrument display on the Octavia. Certain Hondas, Toyotas etc. have 'black' displays that 'light up' when the ignition key is inserted. This is nothing new as I remember Citroen CX's many years ago having this feature. These displays are far more visible no matter how bright the ambient lighting is. Perhaps the answer is to adopt permanent headlights as in Scandinavia etc. then there will be no problem!

Permanent side lights at least would be a good thing but that's a very large can'o worms that one