If this has already been discussed in detail or in another thread I don't mind someone linking me to it but if not I have a serious issue. My instrument cluster on my 98 TJ has been working fine since the day I drove it home but about a week ago things started to go south. At first the speedo and RPM gauges would die out from time to time now everything has gone dead on it except my fuel gauge. The AB light is on almost constantly and I have heard about the "Pin twist" trick but havent tried that yet. Should I fool around with trying that or is there a better way to fix this issues? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
98 TJ Instrument Cluster issue
- Thread starter TheCreeper088
- Start date
I'd recommend starting with pulling the instrument cluster & looking at the connections. They might need some cleaning if moisture has gotten in there over the years. I've never had the issue myself, but some other folks on there have given the male terminal ends of the connectors a little tweak to make sure they seat firmly in the socket.
I have already cleaned it twice now and haven't had any luck yet. I'm going to tweak the pins here later this afternoon and see if I can't make something work.
My '98 XJ 4.0L developed the same problem and there was a TSB addressing the replacement of the buss multi pin connectors for the instrument cluster.
The actual problem was little black specs of oxidation on the connector pins that would interrupt the instrument cluster signals. My Jeep Technician (25+ years) friend advised me of what the problem was. I tried taking scotch brite to the male and female pins; even had the TSB performed. The gauges worked for 2 months and the problem returned.
What I found that worked everytime was to make a right turn with the directionals; the gauges would return to working again.
In the 21 years of owning the XJ; I was never able to solve the problem permanently.
The actual problem was little black specs of oxidation on the connector pins that would interrupt the instrument cluster signals. My Jeep Technician (25+ years) friend advised me of what the problem was. I tried taking scotch brite to the male and female pins; even had the TSB performed. The gauges worked for 2 months and the problem returned.
What I found that worked everytime was to make a right turn with the directionals; the gauges would return to working again.
In the 21 years of owning the XJ; I was never able to solve the problem permanently.
Thanks for the response, I'm going to try the pin trick tonight and see if it might work otherwise I dont know where to go next.