TJ Gauge wiring question

Dec 27, 2005 22 Replies

While installing the wiring kit for my hard top I have run into a snag while putting it all back together. It seems that my gauges have stopped working. There is power to the cluster, the warning lights work and the odometer, just the gauges don't.



I have gone through and verified all of my connections per the instructions, have checked for blown fuses...nothing. The wiring diagram in my Haynes doesn't help much. Jeep starts and runs fine. Any ideas?



J Slaughter



99 TJ Sport

My '99 does that on a regular basis. Pushing on the center of the cluster fixes it, as I'm too lazy to really fix it.

Is your airbag indicator illuminated?

I would suggest checking to see if you pull a multipin connector on your gauge cluster loose.

Why yes..it is...what does that mean?

JS

It's a loose connector. Mine's had the problem for years. I simply push on the center of the cluster and all is well for another few weeks.

Bill Hughes has the procedure to fix it correctly on his web site. It's printed out on my workbench at home.

I don't have the url handy, hopefully, he'll see this.

I have Bill's link to that, it's broke it would seem...

Basically they messed up with the sizes on some of the TJ's dash pins and the plug socket size. They don't match up tight. I have a wild guess that it it a metric to standard screwup, but that's just a guess.

You can pull off the dash plug and give all the pins a slight twist, then put the plug back on.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >

Take it out, twist the pins very slightly, put in some conductive grease and put it back. Takes all of 15 mins start to finish.

Dave Milne, Scotland

Heh, let's hope that "conductive grease" you recommend isn't really conductive Dave.

What should really be used for that purpose is called dielectric grease which is protective/water-proofing but decidedly not conductive at all. :)

Jerry

Dave Milne wrote:

You are talking about the two connectors behind the cluster right? The blue and the black one?

JS

oh dammit, you are quite correct of course. Glad someone was paying attention !

Dave Milne, Scotland

message

Tried it...no joy...some slight movement of the oil pressure gauge needle, so there is current getting to it. I wonder if I could have shorted it out somehow? But all the lights work. I need a better wire diagram, one that shows the connectors.

Thanks for the help so far!

JS

Does the dash diagnostic work ? IIRC you hold down the odometer reset button and then put the ignition on. All the lights should come on, and the guages do the full sweep.

Dave Milne, Scotland

That worked...they all went full sweep. It has to be a screwed up connection somewhere..I have pulled the connectors from the 100 connector block under the dash, re-seated the plugs. Confirmed the wiring I spliced in. I'm missing something....

JS

Jerry, that the dash guages went "full sweep" indicates you didn't really run the diagnostics, you just ran the instrument panel test. Besides, I'm certain you can't extract the diagnostic codes from a '99 without an OBD II code reader. There are a couple model years that don't give that ability and unfortunately, your '99 is one of those years.

Jerry

Jerry Slaughter wrote:

He wasn't trying to pull codes, he was trying to find out if the gauges worked. They did, indicating that the cluster works.

FYI, pull>Jerry, that the dash guages went "full sweep" indicates you didn't

Gauge info is sent to the cluster over the vehicle's data bus. Look for a twisted pair of wires and trace/check them closely.

she's gonna blow ..... ba-doom !

Dave (sorry got a bit carried away).

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required