Mech oil gauge and no stock gauges related?

I just installed a mech oil gauge and now my stock gauges arent working. It still has lights, the turn signals flash (on the cluster) and I can still dim the lights. The odometer isnt on either. I can use cruise control but the light on the cluster does not come on. The mech gauges and the stock cluster worked together on the way to Walmart, but as soon as I left the cluster did not come on. I didnt use the mech and stock oil gauge together, I left the sending unit unplugged, so that even when the Jeep was running the stock oil gauge on the dash read zero and the check gauges light was on. Could this have thrown the rest of the cluster off kilter? I didnt take any of the dash apart to put the gauge in. Radio works fine if that has any effect on anything.

A**uming a late model?

Always give the year/engine/trans, that kind of info.

Late model XJs have a problem with the connector at the back of the IP, there is a TSB for replacing the connector. Most smack the top of the dash, others pull the IP, clean the contacts, treat with dielectric grease, and "pull" the harness a little to relieve strain on the connector.

Yeah, its pretty simple to get out on 97+ models. I have had mine out twice and it only took about 10 minutes to get out. Take it out, clean the contacts and slap some dielectric grease on it. There is actually a connector on either side and the cluster just slides right out once you unscrew the screws holding it in place.

lol wow Im dumb. I always laugh at those people who give vague info. Its just easy to assume everyone know what youre talking about. Yes, its a 97. Ive had the thing in and out several times, even upgraded to the high line version with the gauges and dummy lights. I wasnt sure if the problem of no gauges but lights working could be traced elsewhere, or if it was related to the stock oil gauge reading zero for extended time.

Use a T fitting (1/8" NPT) to restore the OEM oil pressure sensor. I've not heard of it, but it's entirely possible that OBD-II is pitching a fit because it's not getting an oil pressure signal (for OBD-II, the gages are driven by the ECU via the CAN bus - for Chrysler. All engine status signals therefore go through the ECU first, so it's possible that it would check them and see that something is amiss.)

The simplest way I've found for cleaning exposed electrical terminals and card-edge connectors, like on the back of the IP? Regular ol' pencil eraser. I keep a small draughtsman's "power eraser" (like the one on my drawing board) in my toolkit just for cleaning electrical terminals. Works well, and works easily (it's a Helix, just like the one on my drawing board. That way, I only have to keep track of one type of eraser refill.)

I don't know as much about OBD-II as I'd like to - at least, as far as the nuts-and-bolts of it - but I would also suppose it possible that losing the oil pressure signal for an "extended time," as you mention, could cause the ECU a headache. I'd think it would be resolved by replacing the sensor, but what do I know?

Have you access to an interrogator? It should be borne in mind that there are "hard" codes and "soft" codes in OBD-II - a "hard" code will set the CEL/MIL, while a "soft" code will not. However, a lingering "soft" code (such as, say, set by a failed/failing oil pressure sensor?) could cause gage issues...

This is why I pull codes on my wife's car quarterly - just to make sure there's no small problems I can catch before they become big ones. Small problems are much cheaper and easier to repair, and it takes about three minutes every three months to pull codes, if there's nothing apparently wrong ("soft" codes can often be asymptomatic, which makes regular checks a good practise.)