XJ5150

As with many Grand Cherokee's, my speedometer is utter's up. I decided to take things apart and see if cleaning contacts and connections would help... it did not, but here are some pics and my own step by step kinda thing .

Step one... Remove the dash pad/cap. Not hard to do. 4 screws under the defrost vent, the two outside screws at the top, underside of the gauge cluster and two at the top, underside of the radio trim. Just pop the pad up and out after the screws are removed. Step two... Remove the radio trim by removing the final two screws above the ashtray... pull and rotate to the right. No need to disconnect the lighter. Step three... remove the the trim under the steering column followed by the trim just to the left and the left vent piece of the dash. Step four... Remove the metal plate below the steering column, you will not need to remove the trim around the steering column that covers the turn signal and ignition. Remove the two bolts that hold up the steering column and let the column drop slowly until resting on the seat.

Step five... Remove the top trim piece around the gauge cluster. Remove the lower trim piece and let it rest on the steering column. You now have access to the three screws holding the Speedometer Head "gauge cluster" in place. One to the left, one to the right, and the final screw is centered and behind the cluster. Now you can lift up and out... but not to far. Rotate the head to the right a bit and you will be able to access the connection easier. Remove the blue and gray plastic clips "kinda tricky so pay attention how they are in there... take a picture." then you can remove the connector.

Assembly is in reverse order. Two things to look out for... One, if the steering column does not line up with the studs when you try to put it back in position, pull on the steering wheel and it will move the column towards you and you will be able to line it up. Second, if when all is put back together and the left dash vent is not blowing any air, check the tube by your feet that runs under the steering column, it will need to be pushed upwards, most likely on the left side to seal it back up. Double check your work, pat yourself on the back and call it a day.

Tools:

Stubby Phillips Head Screwdriver (+) "Recessed Screws (Left Dash Piece, Under the top of the gauge cluster, The radio trim)"
Normal Length Phillips Head Screwdriver (+) "All forward facing screws (Defrost, Under dash trim panels, metal steering column plate and Speedo head screws "3""
Needle Nose Pliers "Blue and Gray clips"
10mm Socket, 6 Inch Extension and a Ratchet "Steering Column"

jnicewan

Thanks, for the write up, it will help those who dont know. Only thing I will add is, all you need to remove is the upper dash pad to get the cluster out. You can access the 3 screws for the cluster and slide is straight up and out.

I have had my cluster out and apart numerous times. Tested vehicle speed sensor and wiring. I have checked, cleaned all connections, inspected the printed circuits, verified connections to the speedo head. Removed speedometer and re-soldered every joint on the circuit board. All of this did nothing to help the erratic speedometer op. 5-10% of the time it appears to work and indicate correctly. 90-95% of the time it reads low and/or erratic.

XJ5150

Thanks, I never even thought about that, just removing the dash pad. I went in blind and spent a slow two hours looking things over and doing the tear down. The only time I know how fast I am going is when my speedo says 85mph... this = 45mph exactly on mine. Looks like I will be hitting the Salvage yard and picking up a few Speedometer Heads to test out. I also found out, and I know it shouldn't be done, but the clear plastic comes off pretty easy from the front of the gauge cluster allowing you access to the odometer... I want to make sure that when I get a new one I can set it to what my miles are now... just don't know if can be done by rolling the number without hurting it.

Bustedback

The dash on these ZJs are like a Rubik's Cube to get apart.