I have a 2000 XJ and my problem is intermediate but getting quite frequent. i can be driving or right when i first crank up, all my gauges simply drop to nothing, no rpm, no gas, volts, oil, etc. I have to shut the jeep off and then crank it back up and they normally come back on but today I tried serveral times and they didn't so I don't know what to do and was hopin maybe someone has had a similiar problem.

I just replaced the battery about 4 weeks ago, its a Interstate 800 cca.

Any advice would be great.

 

sounds like a power supply issue to the instrument cluster. never seen it before tho. try to get it to do it with ignition on but engine off and if the check engine light goes off when the gauges drop this would prove my theory. I would check the connections on the back of the cluster first cause its easy to do.

 

i think its got something to do with the connectors on the back of the cluster. Clean and check for loose wires. My 99 did this and that is what i was told to do. never got around to it, i sold it.

 

Power in to the cluster comes from a fuse. I would start there and replace it even if it looks good. Clean that socket out if it looks grimy with some canned air. The other thing the cluster shares is a ground. If you end up dash diving don't forget to safe the airbag system.

 

i had this problem a couple years ago. what i did was clean all the grounds under the hood. if i remember correctly there are two on the engine, one next to the oil filter and one on the rear driver side. the one on the rear driver side also connects to the firewall above the brake booster thing, and i'm pretty sure that's where my problem was. it was corroded and i had my winch grounded there too. i cleaned it moved the winch ground and the problem went away.

 

thanks for the feedback guys, i'll try to get around to it tomorrow and let you know what i find

 

My 99 did it also awhile back....cleaned the connections and haven't had a problem since.

 

I have a 98 XJ, and have something similar, but only part of my gauges go out. Found it is due to the p;ugs coming loose from the back of the cluster. The plugs are mounted to some frame work, and the gauge cluster slides into them. I just have to push the cluster back a bit to "Plug it back in" so to speak. Doesn't happen to often, takes a lil while before they get loose again usually.

 

*Remove dash cluster
*Spray connector plugs thoroughly with electrical contact cleaner (available anywhere)
*Use a generous dab of dielectric grease on the connector (very important step!!)
*Reconnect the connector and reassemble

This is a flaky electrical "contact" issue, and the above generally resolves............

 

My 98 does it when it feels like it. It hasn't done it in a while. It was doing it everyday for a while. It will do it while I'm driveing. I just hit the dash lightly on the right side, and they all start to work again. Seems like everytime It starts to bug me, and I'm going to take the gauges out and clean the conector it stops doing it. I know I will have to do it one of these days.

 

allright well i'll pull the cluster out as soon as i get a chance at work, shouldn't be to bad i'm guessing

 

LOL, it was a bear of a job, but worth it if you want your gauges to work

 

I forgot to mention that i still have power to my cluster when it happens cause the check engine light comes on and where the odometer is says "No bus". pulled the check engine light on my scanner and it says something like "no reponse from instrument cluster"

I have cleaned all my grounds under the hood, but haven't pulled the dash yet.

 

cleaning the connector for the dash cluster seem to cure this issue

 

Cleaning the plug may help. If it doesn't replace the plugs.

Here is a writeup I did on my fix.


K