Driving to work this morning, I noticed the radio started acting funky. About a minute later, I lose all power to the dashboard. Speedo is dead, radio dead, everything dead but AC is still running. Also noticed that the car lost a little power.

I smack the dash a few times and notice the speedo needle jump a bit but its still dead. I have no choice but to keep driving since I am 5 minutes away from work. The blinkers work and the headlights turn on and off.

I get to a light and decide to turn off the AC in case I am draining battery. As soon as I turn the AC off, the dashboard kicks back on and everything is working as intended. Turn the AC back on, everything dies, and I lose a good amount of power in the motor. Turn it off, and I am cruising along.

I get to work and park the car. I turn it off and crank it back on and it seems to start fine. I turn the car back off and put it in the ACC position. Radio on, AC off. I turn the AC on, radio stays on, but the oil light dims.

I dont have a voltmeter at work, but I am guessing either alternator or Battery. The alternator looks like a pain in the ***.

Any input besides checking voltages?

 

This could be associated with the "No Bus" problem...ie wiring harness oxidation/bad contacts. Check to see if it's throwing any codes.

In my '98, since about, oh 1998, the gauge cluster will intermittently/randomly die. A firm tap on the dash generally wakes her up from her slumber. I've never considered it a major issue, so have never fixed it. Sometimes Jeep just takes a nap.

 

I'd try checking and cleaning the grounds. Bad grounds can cause all kinds of crazy electrical issues.

 

Had the same problem but my whole gauge cluster was out, no radio, but the headlights and A/C worked fine. It was a fuse. Go to the fuse box under the hood and pull the fuses and see if any are blown

 

check the 50 amp fuse in the pdc and slot 5 i think on the passenger side fuse panel. it is a 20 amp fuse you can use the spare fuse in slot 18 to replace it.

 

After 2.5 years they may not even still have the Jeep.

 

i have a similar problem but its a short in the overhead console. i can move it back and forth and kill all the dash components and gauges. the turn signals still work but won't show that on the dash.

 

I've got an 83 Cherokee and converted to a bigger 70 amp alt. And brackets don't fit any ideas would be helpful.