HarryMelodies

1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport Automatic. 106,000

Jeep Brethren,

I’m having some issues with my Jeep that go beyond my novice understanding of the vehicle.

I recently did the big 7 battery cable upgrade (K Suspension) with my step dad as my first project on the Jeep. It seemed like a good first project to do some basic improvements and help me familiarize myself with all the components under the hood. After we finished the job two problems immediately became apparent.

1. The transmission started acting incredibly sluggish. In drive it takes a lot of acceleration to get going from 0 to 1mph. I'm able to drive it just fine in manual mode, shifting from 1-2, 3 then Drive, but starting in drive is pretty much a no go.

2. The gauge cluster stopped functioning. Lights still turn on, the odometer is still accurate, gauges perform when doing the restart test, but the speedometer, fuel gauge and the rest all don't perform at all in normal operation.

I'm betting we must've zapped some electrical component when doing the cable upgrade, but I don't really know how to track down the problem. I've replaced the relevant fuses that effect the gauge cluster and transmission electronics, but that hasn't helped the issue. Replacing fuse 16 has gotten the gauges working temporarily, but they fail to function properly again the next time the Jeep is started.

I’ve done some research and found others with similar issues who fixed their cases by replacing the Transmission Control Module, Throttle Position Sensor or transmission solenoids, but I'm not sure how to efficiently diagnose my issue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.