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Gauges sparadic

P

prerunner1982

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Edmond, OK
Sometimes they work... sometimes they dont. When they dont work the only one that does is the engine temp. Is there a common problem with the connection at the back of the instrument panel or ???? They dont start working while I am driving or hit a bump and they dont stop working while driving. It's when I start it... if they work then they are fine the rest of the time the vehicle is running...

For the past couple of days though it has worked just fine with every start up. The previous owner said he hadnt driven it much for the past year. I have driven it daily.

Let me know what you think..

Jon
 
Posting the year would do wonders. If you have a 97+, there is a technical service bulletin out for a bad connection at the rear of the instrument cluster, just take out the cluster, clean the connections, use some dielectric grease on it, and it should make a difference. If it is 96 and older, i dont know what to tell you.
 
I'm very interested to know what you find. I'm having a similar issue with my 89. At this point everything (gauges) has stopped working, but it did like yours for a while. I've confirmed that the ground is good. Now I'm stumped. Could the ignition switch have anything to do with this? I've noticed that mine has been acting a little weird and making a noise like something breaks inside everytime I put it into the start position. The thing cranks up though.
 
filmxj said:
I'm very interested to know what you find. I'm having a similar issue with my 89. At this point everything (gauges) has stopped working, but it did like yours for a while. I've confirmed that the ground is good. Now I'm stumped. Could the ignition switch have anything to do with this? I've noticed that mine has been acting a little weird and making a noise like something breaks inside everytime I put it into the start position. The thing cranks up though.
Click to expand...

definitely a chance the switch is going out-- all power to dash is through switch. if it's acting up, change it first. also check the fuse for them-- mine was good, but had high resistance in the block and caused all of the gauges to read lower than true reading. I pulled it out, cleaned the connector and fixed my oil pressure, charging system, and cooling system.... all in about 1min!!:yelclap:

--Shorty
 
Switch was bad alright. Once I got juice in there they all jumped to life including the tach. Haven't put in a new ignition switch yet, just running 12V through a toggle switch I had around. Works for the moment, just have to flip a switch to get the gauges going.
 
Dead thread revival, yea!

So my '99 has been doing the intermittent "no bus" dead gauges thing the last couple days. I've read a handful of threads regarding this issue. I am curious about this thread because of the mention of a "switch" that was bad, what switch are we talking about here, ignition or..? Or is that switch something related to the pre '97 XJ's?

I havent got into any diagnosing of mine yet because i wanted to read about where to start. I'll be looking at the connections on the firewall from main harness to engine harness and the connection at the back of the cluster.
My airbag light has been on forever and recently my door locks hardly ever work with the power switches, or remote and window controls only function from the drivers door. My baby is falling apart at 235K
 
OBD II Gauge drop dead issues are the connector at the back of the cluster unit. Remove the cluster, resolder the pin header that plugs into the harness and you should be good to go.

Covered mucho times and a "Syndrom" on OBD II units
 
For you guys with the older XJs, here's something to help take the heat out of that circuit. There's one crappy ground point for nearly the whole instrument cluster and it's held on with a sheet metal screw.

Improving the Instrument Panel Ground
The ground point for the complete instrument cluster on your XJ or MJ is located up under the driver’s side dash. If you lay on your back and look up under there with a flashlight, without wearing a hat, you will see a black wire attached to a shiny piece of metal almost directly above the hood release knob. The screw will have either a ¼" or 5/16" head on it.
This ground point is responsible for handling the ground circuit for the following items: Dome lamps, Seatbelt and key warning, trans comfort switch, wiper switch, headlamp switch and delay module, fog lamp switch, cargo lamp switch, all instrument panel grounds and illumination, power windows and door locks, cruise control dump valve, and a few more things.
The problem is that where the ground point is located does not have a good contact with the chassis where the ground should be. The solution is simple.
Make up a jumper wire with #10 gauge wire about 10" long. On one end, crimp on a ¼" round wire terminal. On the other end, crimp on a 3/8" round wire terminal.
Remove the screw from the existing ground wire and attach the small terminal of your jumper so that the original wire and your new jumper share the same attaching point, one over the other.
Look above the driver’s side plastic kick panel just forward of the top of the hood release knob. You will see an 8mm stud there. Attach the large terminal end there with a washer and nut over it tightened securely.
**Special note for Comanche owners: Make your jumper wire 12" long and attach it on the driver’s side kick panel close to the fusebox on the 8mm stud.**
　
Revised 11-29-2011
 
Check the ground wire(s) on the starboard side of the engine block - just aft of the dipstick tube.

The plastic heater valve will obscure your direct view of this ground point and the wires,
and so you'll have to look around, and past, the heater valve in order to see it.

Do not trust a visual inspection.

Undo the nut, and remove the 3 wire lugs that are on the stud and clean them with
electrical contact cleaner. Chances are, one (or more) of the wires will fall away
from its lug, or the wires are waek and frayed where they attach at the lug.

I found it easier to follow the wire harness down to where it plugs into the distributor and
unplug it. Then carefully lift that section of the wire harness up further in order to make
the ground wires easier to get to with a soldering iron.

Clean the offending wire(s) and lug, and solder it back together and you'll be good to go.

Some owners will solder a 2"- 3" wire extension on to the offending wire/lug in order
to alleviate the tension on that wire.
 
Dragonslayer said:
Check the ground wire(s) on the starboard side of the engine block - just aft of the dipstick tube.

The plastic heater valve will obscure your direct view of this ground point and the wires,
and so you'll have to look around, and past, the heater valve in order to see it.

Do not trust a visual inspection.

Undo the nut, and remove the 3 wire lugs that are on the stud and clean them with
electrical contact cleaner. Chances are, one (or more) of the wires will fall away
from its lug, or the wires are waek and frayed where they attach at the lug.

I found it easier to follow the wire harness down to where it plugs into the distributor and
unplug it. Then carefully lift that section of the wire harness up further in order to make
the ground wires easier to get to with a soldering iron.

Clean the offending wire(s) and lug, and solder it back together and you'll be good to go.

Some owners will solder a 2"- 3" wire extension on to the offending wire/lug in order
to alleviate the tension on that wire.
Click to expand...

If you're gonna do that, might as well do it all, I guess.

Renix Ground Refreshing
The Renix era XJs and MJs were built with an under-engineered grounding system for the engine/transmission electronics. One problem in particular involves the multiple ground connection at the engine dipstick tube stud. A poor ground here can cause a multitude of driveabililty issues, wasted time, and wasted money replacing unnecessary components.
The components grounding at the dipstick tube stud are:
Distributor Sync Sensor, TCU main ground, TCU "Shift Point Logic", Ignition control Module, Injectors, ECU main ground which other engine sensors ground through, Oxygen sensor, Knock Sensor, Cruise Control, and Transmission Sync signal. All extremely important stuff.
The factory was aware of the issues with this ground point and addressed it by suggesting the following:
Remove the nut holding the wire terminals to the stud. Verify that the stud is indeed tightened securely into the block. Scrape any and all paint from the stud’s mounting surface where the wires will attach. Must be clean, shiny and free of any oil, grease, or paint.
Inspect the wire terminals. Check to see that none of the terminals are crimped over wire insulation instead of bare wire. Be sure the crimps are tight. It wouldn’t hurt to re-crimp them just as a matter of course. Sand and polish the wire terminals until clean and shiny on both sides. Reinstall all the wires to the stud and tighten the nut down securely.
While you’re in that general area, locate the battery negative cable which is fastened to the engine block just forward of the dipstick stud. Remove the bolt, scrape the block to bare metal, clean and polish the cable terminal, and reattach securely.
Another area where the grounding system on Renix era Jeeps was lacking is the engine to chassis ground. There is a braided cable from the back of the cylinder head that also attaches to the driver’s side of the firewall. This cable is undersized for it’s intended use and subject to corrosion and poor connections at each end.
First off, remove the cable end from the firewall using a 15mm wrench or socket. Scrape the paint off down to bare metal and clean the wire terminal. Reattach securely.
Remove the other end of the cable from the rear of the head using a 3’4" socket. Clean all the oil, paint and crud from the stud. Clean the wire terminal of the cable and reattach securely.
A suggestion regarding the braided cable:
I prefer to add a #4 Gauge cable from the firewall to a bolt on the rear of the intake manifold, either to a heat shield bolt or fuel rail bolt. A cable about 18" long with a 3/8" lug on each end works great and you can get one at any parts store already made up. Napa has them as part number 781116.
A further improvement to the grounding system can be made using a #4 cable, about 10" long with 3/8" terminals at each end. Attach one end of this cable to the negative battery bolt and the other end under the closest 10mm headed bolt on the radiator support just forward of the battery. Napa part number 781115.
　
　
If you want to upgrade your grounds and battery cables in general, contact Jon at www.kelleyswip.com. He makes an incredible cable upgrade for a very reasonable price.
　
Revised 11-28-2011
 
Trying to bring back an old thread for a second. Much thanks to Cruiser for all of his advice. In reference to the 3 grounding wires behind the oil dipstick. On my 96 country, thry are held down my a bolt, 12mm I think. After removing that nut, I just slid the terminals off an cleaned them as best I could. The The bolt that they came off of looks like a torx bit on the end? I would have like to removed this and clean it when I was addressing my gounds but, I didn't have the appropriate tool or socket. My question is what size is that bolt/torx and WHAT IT IT? What do I need to get it out? Is it even worth messing with?
 
bugout said:
Ill take another look at it when I get home. I've got the 7/32. It also holds the oil fill tube bracket. If it turns out to be a 7/32, I appologize. I was tired, it was late, and dark and very very scary.....:jester:
Click to expand...

That is what an AR carbine with Surefire weapons light is for. You know--zombies and things that go bump in the night...
 
So I got my issued RRA w/Surefire forend and my G21 with streamlight weapon light and went to work. Yes, a 7/32 fits on the end but it is NOT a 7/32 bolt. It looks like the end of a star driver with 5 or 6 distinct points on the end. I dont feel comfortable putting any kind of pressure on it with a ratchet for fear of stripping all of those little points off???? Suggestions....Its a 96 with the HO 6.
 
bugout said:
So I got my issued RRA w/Surefire forend and my G21 with streamlight weapon light and went to work. Yes, a 7/32 fits on the end but it is NOT a 7/32 bolt. It looks like the end of a star driver with 5 or 6 distinct points on the end. I dont feel comfortable putting any kind of pressure on it with a ratchet for fear of stripping all of those little points off???? Suggestions....Its a 96 with the HO 6.
Click to expand...

Currently soaking this stud in PB blaster. Ill repeat for a couple more days then Ill try throwing on a 7/32 and tease it a little....
 
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