1991Jeep_Man

So appairently there is no such thing as an 'easy' job on an XJ. I had two issues I wanted to try and correct today. First issue, no 4x4 part time light (np231). I know it engages, but no light. So, rather than simply climb underneath, bridge the light sending unit, and see if it was even a blown bulb at all, I pulled the dash bezel out of my '91 XJ to get to the little light cluster next to the gauges. Second issue, which is why I went ahead with this route, is I have no air to my vents. No matter where I set it to, all I get is air out of the defroster. Everyone said vacuum leak. I traced the jeep egg, up to the cruise control servo, to the t connection for the HVAC controls, to the intake nipple. No crack/hole that I could see. So I was gonna pull the HVAC controls themselves to see if something was wrong there.

Anyways, while checking the lights, I had one heluva time tryin to figure out how to get the little bulbs out. Ended up doing this:





Go me. Now help me out here; is the little black plastic portion part of the bulb, or did I accidentally somehow yank the connecter that the bulb goes into? I ask because I first thought I had in fact torn the connecter, but upon further investigation, there are 2 contact prongs on each side of the plastic housing, which makes me think it's all just the bulb assembly. The reason this happened was because I trying rotating the bulb counter clockwise to disengage the ring that sits in a slot (idk the technical term for this type of fastening). When I rotated it, the entire thing just fell backwards behind the indicator light housing. Fell to the floor, I picked it up, tried twisting the bulb loose from the plastic and then the glass decided to explode. Considering that this isn't the actual connector, what is the part number for this bulb, or does AutoZone have a replacement I can just waddle in and get? Thanks for the help!

Slick761

The bulb is a 774 and goes in the little plastic thing. The prong contact in the holder. As for the airflow my vacuum ball leaked. There was no crack. Try replacing the ball.

1991Jeep_Man

Thanks for the help man! Much appreciated. I'll make a trip to A/Z today and grab one, and toss my mistake in the trash lol. Maybe I can be a little more gentle this time. Also, I think I'm still gonna check the back of the HVAC unit just to be safe since I have everything off now. If I don't find anything, where did you order a new ball? I've also heard of people making their own... might go that route too. A smaller unit that can fit in the engine bay or something. Again, thanks for the help!

Slick761

I got it at the jy. Look in my albums its pretty easy to relocate. There are pics of how I did mine.

1991Jeep_Man

Thanks again. Also, just to make sure I understood correctly and didn't brain fart, the little plastic piece I am holding in the picture is part of the bulb, correct? It isn't part of the indicator light holder, right?

1991Jeep_Man

Actually, I think I am wrong. The new bulb goes into the black piece I have, and then I twist the black piece into it's place on the inidicator light holder. Is this right?

Slick761

Correct. The bulb goes in the plastic piece and it twists in.

1991Jeep_Man

That's what I figured. Well damn, how do I get the last little stub out? Just keep breaking the remaing glass?

Slick761

Try the little locking suture pliers you sometimes find in med kits.