Crimmy

Hey guys. So ever since i bought my xj the speedometer jumped a little but it didnt bother me at all. The other day it suddenly got much much worse.

Here is a link to a short video showing the issues. https://scontent-a-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/...e9&oe=544A9EA3

I recently put in a new dash gauge cluster to have a tach. I had to remove the cable from the transfer case and feed it forward to have enough slack to get the dash cluster out. The end that goes into the transfer case i did not have a wrench the right size for that nut so i ended up using a pipe wrench however i couldnt get a good fit on there. I broke it free and then did it with my fingers.

It was suggested to me to lube the cable with white lithium grease. I was wondering what the proper procedure would be to clean and lube the cable.

Just a foot note the clicking/clunking noise is from the speedo it is not from the engine or the drivelines. The jeep is actually running great for a change.

Crimmy

Anyone?

Also how can i be sure the cable itself isnt damaged? But mainly i need to know how to properly lube it and ensure the whole thing is lubed well.

hbracing13

Mine did the same thing and still does in the 10-15 mph range I just lubed the crap out of it then blew air from the cluster the t case then lubed up again. Is the clicking coming from the t case or the cluster as they are either not sitting right which does happen easily .

Crimmy

It is definitely coming from the cluster. Dont know if there is any external noise. The noise only happens when its moving and kinda hard to be under the vehicle while its moving and survive. =P

hbracing13

I bet then you put the new cluster in the cable that hooks up to the cruise control piece is not sitting right, or not sitting right in the cluster your going to have to take it apart again and connect the connection near the pedal right then push in the one into the cluster .

Crimmy

2What cable on the cruise control piece? My cruise control doesnt work at all. It hasnt since i bought it but i just didnt care.

Radi

Some of those had a 2-piece speedo cable with a cruise control transducer in between. It'd be up under the dash.

I was told years ago to lube speedo cables with a dry lubricant like powdered graphite, liquid lubes/greases will work their way up into the speedometer head and damage it.

Crimmy

Ok! So to start off with. It is fixed! It still wiggles but far far far less than before.

I also did not see the extra cable going to cruise control. Ive got the cable going from the transfer case in through the firewall and that goes into a small round black electrical thingy that has a wire going off somewhere. Then the other side has the cable going up to the speedometer. I took everything off and couldnt figure out where the speedo cable was going into the firewall so i just lubed each end a bit.

I inspected the speedometer and i noticed one of the blue gears wasnt spinning after awhile. It would bind up as i spun the speedo cable. So i put my original speedo in and everything is ok now. Looks like the speedo itself was damaged and not the cable. Odd to say the least.

Thank you for your time and help everyone.

Crimmy

This issue is not resolved it has simply evolved into something else.

The speedometer works again as well as it did when i bought it which is fine but all of my other gauges are now inaccurate or non functioning. Specificly the tachometer sits at 0 now while idling but goes up during acceleration and the gas gauge sits at 0 most of the time. Occasionally it will shoot up...

The vehicle i pulled this dash cluster from seemed to have had a leak from the windshield into the dash. There was corrosion on the circuit board and rust on all the bolts. I used the bolts from my gauge cluster and wet sanded the contact points on the circuit board to try and ensure a good path for the current to travel but it didnt help at all.

To me it seems like there is resistance in this circuit board causing this and im wondering what to do to get it working. Ive run out of ideas and im really really sick of taking apart the damn dash.

Crimmy

Any ideas?

hbracing13

Ok did the everything work before the you fixed the speedo cable/gear? Did you clean the connection its self or didn't connect the cluster back right?

Crazy 8s

This sounds a bit like electrical shorting. I have read that the electrical connections, the grounds specifically, for the instrument cluster are less-than-ideal and can be benefited by cleaning, or upgrading, the ground connections.

See tip 18 in Cruiser's awesome list of things to do..

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/cr...x-tips-153657/

Crimmy

Yes everything worked before i put the new speedometer in. I did not clean the speedo cable as i couldnt figure out how it came out of the firewall and i really didnt want to break it so i put the grease in and spun it with a drill to distribute it throughout.

How could the cluster not be connected right? The 2 electrical connections only fit in 1 way.

Crimmy

I've already done it. Quite familiar with cruiser and his tips.