gauge cluster?????

yesterday i was driving and all of a sudden the gauge cluster stopped working(odometer,speepdometer,ect) and so did the radio so i checked all fuses and cant find one blown i mean i checked everysingle one under hood and kick plate wiggled all the electrical connections under dash but to no avail was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what might be wrong?

What year? I know my 91 gets pissy in hot weather and the dome blinks out, along with windshield wipers and blinkers...but I actually don't have an explaination, just an idea that it's a circuit breaker of some kind

let me guess, your XJ is 97 or newer (I assume from your ID it is 98 )

There's other threads about it and other sites that talk about it, but it's common on XJs and TJs. The connector on the back of the cluster isn't making good contact. You can probably fix for a bit it by pressing the cluster back in towards the dash to shift it a little, but it needs to be pulled, connector cleaned etc.

yes it is a 1998 4.0l

Did the cleaning work? I have the same problem...if the I clean the connectors, will the radio come back on? It all runs from fuse 16 in the engine bay - does the cluster need to work to get juice to the radio?

Mine has been doing this a lot lately. Sometimes it is just the speedo and tach and the airbag light comes on. I've read this is the VSS (speed sensor) and I just need to either clean it or replace it. Other times the entire cluster stops working and will come back on when I smack the top of the dash. Sometimes, either condition goes away when I hit a bump in the road. Radio never fails though...

Same thing here too. Mine's a 98. Mine always comes back on if I just flick the wiper lever back towards the rear of the jeep like you are using the washer fluid, but flick it quick enough that no fluid comes out. It works everytime on mine. Unfortunatley, it doesn't help the power windows when they decide to go nutty.

Hahah jeeps are sweet..

My dash decided to take a dump today too..'search on naxja' is my first step thusfar.

cwstnsko said:

let me guess, your XJ is 97 or newer (I assume from your ID it is 98 )

There's other threads about it and other sites that talk about it, but it's common on XJs and TJs. The connector on the back of the cluster isn't making good contact. You can probably fix for a bit it by pressing the cluster back in towards the dash to shift it a little, but it needs to be pulled, connector cleaned etc.

Click to expand...

When you pull your dash apart, pull your cluster out, and the two pins on the farthest to the drivers side window, bend them slightly outwards (towards the outside of the vehicle..

For clarification, if you are sitting in your seat looking at your gauge, the two pins are the two closest to your drivers side door..bend them towards the door/outside of vehicle so they get a little better connection when you plug your gauge cluster back in and your weird intermittent gauges are a thing of the past!

helliphinon8 said:

Same thing here too. Mine's a 98. Mine always comes back on if I just flick the wiper lever back towards the rear of the jeep like you are using the washer fluid, but flick it quick enough that no fluid comes out. It works everytime on mine. Unfortunatley, it doesn't help the power windows when they decide to go nutty.

Click to expand...

Misery loves company, glad you posted this otherwise i'd never have figured it out! Mine died yesterday and I did a quick search here and found your post (and others of course) so I checked fuses, etc etc..then for whatever reason I remembered this comment about flicking the wiper combo switch..did it and voila! it works <shake head> fockin heeps anyway eh heh.

TSB #081599, issued on 5/21/99, addresses this problem.

I bought the "cluster connector patch harness" at a local stealership,
yesterday for $12.43, part # 05016261AA, haven't put it in yet, though.

sunburned said:

Mine has been doing this a lot lately. Sometimes it is just the speedo and tach and the airbag light comes on. I've read this is the VSS (speed sensor) and I just need to either clean it or replace it. Other times the entire cluster stops working and will come back on when I smack the top of the dash. Sometimes, either condition goes away when I hit a bump in the road. Radio never fails though...

Click to expand...

X2

danwho said:

TSB #081599, issued on 5/21/99, addresses this problem.

I bought the "cluster connector patch harness" at a local stealership,
yesterday for $12.43, part # 05016261AA, haven't put it in yet, though.

Click to expand...

OMG are you serious?
there is a fix for it.????????
Please post up here when you know for sure...