My 98s instrument cluster has been acting up. I have put a new actuator pin in, I have tried the pin turn on the back of the cluster ,.what weird is I can slightly turn my ignition key forward and guages will work but once I release it gauges go back to not working. Could this be on ignition key cylinder or the electronic key switch that is beside the actuator pin? Also I want to try and see if my ccd data buss wires are wired correctly, but I cant seem to find or tell which 1 are my buss wires ,diagram says a +and - ,but I dint know which ones are which. Or of you guys have something else or an easier way for me please let me know. Thanks
Instrument cluster acting up on 98 TJ
- Thread starter Mesjeep98
- Start date
I dunno to be honest . I had the same issue before and someone said to replace the actuator pin and it seemed to work for a little but them just started the same thing and now sometimes its hard to get it to engage . I'm gonna purchase a new ignition switch and key cylinder . I'm hoping that works . Becuase to be honest its driving me crazy. It's my daily driver and I never know if my gauges are working or are stuck so I constantly have to twist my key forward a little and gold it to get gauges to read and once I let go they just go back to not working. Thanks for the help.
Cupcake
New Member
I have the exact same issue in my tj. The same with the key twist as well. I’ve change the actuator pin and the ignition switch. Could it be the pcm?
I eventually changed the lock cylinder, the actuator, and the switch and corrected all such issues.
It's not the PCM. What the issue most likely is is what most early TJs had, just a bad connector design on the back of the instrument cluster. The usual fix is to give each of the small male pins in the cluster connector a gentle tweak (a barely perceptible bend) with a small needle-nose pliers so it fits more snugly into the female half of the connector.
Cupcake
New Member
Thank you for the response.
So I’ve done what you’ve said. And no. I twisted the bus cables in the back. I tried a different cluster. Also I just changed the ignition switch and Actuator pin again. And still the airbag light Is on.
If I turn the key just a lil forward my Gauges work my airbag light will go off but my radio and heat will not work. When I release the key gently back the airbag light will come back on in the radio and heat will work again. It’s really been driving me crazy I just can’t figure out what it is.
Cupcake
New Member
I will attach a video. My check engine light is on due to an evap issue. That has just appeared recently. And really has nothing to do with this.
Same issue -> When it starts the rpm gauge goes up, 2 seconds later drops on the gauge but the jeep runs great but I also don't get oil pressure or speed
When I pull up the diagnostic screen all my values are solid and so I suspect a short somewhere...
When I pull up the diagnostic screen all my values are solid and so I suspect a short somewhere...
Just throwing this out there. This YouTube video has a good description of how the pieces go together. At 7:00 the poster mentions the positioning of a little brass piece.
I just disassembled and cleaned my ignition switch. They get a little nasty over time. You need a tiny T8 torx bit to do that in addition to the security T10H bit to remove the switch. My airbag light was also coming on. I had replaced the clock spring a number of months back which fixed the air bag light but it came back on yesterday. I metered the clockspring connections while a helper rotated the steering wheel lock to lock with the front end off the ground. No dead spots so I did the switch. So far, so good.
I just disassembled and cleaned my ignition switch. They get a little nasty over time. You need a tiny T8 torx bit to do that in addition to the security T10H bit to remove the switch. My airbag light was also coming on. I had replaced the clock spring a number of months back which fixed the air bag light but it came back on yesterday. I metered the clockspring connections while a helper rotated the steering wheel lock to lock with the front end off the ground. No dead spots so I did the switch. So far, so good.
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