97 TJ issues

C

Chris Smith

New Member
Original poster
Joined
Oct 11, 2018
Messages
2
Location
Waynesville Ga
Please forgive me if this has already been answered but I have read so much on the internet and I am at my wits end I need help PLEASE!

I bought my daughter her dream vehicle.....97 TJ. It has several issues that I feel are all connected. The gauges dont work, airbag light stays on,horn dont work, and tail lights on one side dont work. We have tried cleaning and using needle nose pliers on the cluster with no luck.....we have also traced wires and ground with no luck. Could it be the clock spring causing the issues? Please help! She really wants her jeep back.
 
Chris Smith said:
Please forgive me if this has already been answered but I have read so much on the internet and I am at my wits end I need help PLEASE!

I bought my daughter her dream vehicle.....97 TJ. It has several issues that I feel are all connected. The gauges dont work, airbag light stays on,horn dont work, and tail lights on one side dont work. We have tried cleaning and using needle nose pliers on the cluster with no luck.....we have also traced wires and ground with no luck. Could it be the clock spring causing the issues? Please help! She really wants her jeep back.
Click to expand...
I highly doubt that they are all connected.
The horn and airbag very well could be the clock spring.

The gauges not working do you have power on them at all. Cluster lights from light switch? Warning lights. (I assume work because the airbag light is on).
I would try a quick cluster self test. (Google it i cant find my link)

Rear brake light on one side possible lose mising ground. Or even a bad socket. Does the reverse lights work. Or any blinkers? Hazzards.
 
Ok so what I've done.

Pulled cluster and clean sockets with air. Sprayed sockets with contact cleaner and moved prong around and added dielectric grease for better connectivity. Pulled grounds behind both speakers, cleaned and sanded metal to bright and reattached. Checked both #17 fuse under hood and #10 fuse behind glove box. Changed out the control box under the hood and even tried a new ground on the black (left) connector that goes to the cluster. I've checked the body ground and the ground to engine.

Here's what I have. The black left plug to cluster has power and all lights work one the cluster. However, the grey right plug has no power coming out of it at the CCD+. This plug also controls the power going to the right blinker (however that issue may still be a ground at the socket).

My question is now: should there be power to the grey plug going to the cluster and if so what else would keep me from getting power there? I could change the plugs and add new grounds but if there's no power coming in it may be wasted time. Also would a bad airbag control module cause these issues with the Cluster?
 
Im just not sure. The bata bus wires are going to be data you cant read it on a standard multimeter.

From looking around as im sure you already have. There are hundreds of posts on this. But no real consensus on a fix.

It might be worth a trip to the dealership to get it diagnosed.

Only one thing stood out to me was the ignition switch. Have you tried jiggling it to see if it brings life to the gauges.

Also found the cluster test. It might give you an idea.

 
Have you tried replacing the gray/right connector with the new sized factory replacement per the factory service advice? I am still fighting this same issue, I can get my gauges to work by tieing up that connector with zip ties to anything above it. Try wiggling the gray connector while it is connected to cluster from underneath dash. Your inop horn and airbag light is indicative of faulty clockspring. Good luck
 
Top Bottom