Khawk2

Hello All,

I know this topic has been beaten like a rented mule but I need to revisit one more time.
The VIC on my 1997 GCL operates correctly for periods of time then it will go blank, or display random faults or display all messages at once as well as sending an alert chime through the BCM.
Things I have done:
Re flowed the solder connections between the back plug and the board
Re flowed the solder connection between the jumper wires between the two boards
Re soldered one connection to an onboard chip that appeared to be getting hot
The result was the behavior was still the same
Since the module has two separate power wires and two grounds I checked the pin outs from the molex plug for continuity to grounds and for correct 12 volt supply voltage. All were correct and seemed stable.
One reason for my post is to ask if anyone knows if the VIC module is “stand alone” so to speak or does it get some signals from the BCM. In other words could the BCM have a problem and be sending bad signals to the VIC?
The other reason for my post is to ask if anyone knows of an electronics shop that does repairs to these modules?
Several shops I have found online say they do repairs to dash electronics including “driver information centers” but when I call them they say they don’t not work on this module.

Still looking for a solution.

Thanks for your patience with this long post.

Muddz

Mine started doing the same sort of thing, sometimes would go dark like it had no power. Then it stropped working altogether.

My solution was to remove it. I don't really miss it telling me a door is ajar, etc. Also don't miss beeping error messages such a rear light not working and problem with 4WD.. All my rear tail lights are ok an also the 4WD shifter.

I have a 95 ZJ Limited and not aware of a BCM. I think the VIC for at least some years talks with the PCM? Also perhaps there is some sort of connection to the overhead console?

I'm not aware of any of my paperback FSM's discussing the VIC with troubleshooting procedures? The FSM supplements do cover things not in the main FSM. With lots of troubleshooting procedures, diagrams, pinouts, etc. Perhaps there's a FSM supplement that covers the VIC?

94zj318

The EVIC on ZJ's is annoying... sometimes I felt like ripping mine out on my old ZJ... I thought about getting a replacement, but the replacement might not fix the problems... on the bright side, they do make a nice desk clock... there's a tutorial online somewhere (Instructables?) that shows how someone put a ZJ EVIC into a wood cabinet and got a transformer to make it work as a desk clock.

jon-d

that's a cool idea! my VIC is just sitting in a drawer.

Khawk2

Hello Folks,

This is another long post but I hope it may help others with this problem.

As I stated earlier my symptoms were the same as others, miscellaneous error messages, then everything lighting up then back to normal for a short period then going black then coming back on as normal. I tried most of the fixes others have had success with but no help for my issues.

What lead me in this direction was that I purchased a JY takeoff from Ebay and after installing it I had all the same issues as with the original VIC.

That made me think about the power and ground to the VIC.

Why I thought about power and ground is that unless there is a problem in the VIC itself, these are the only inputs common to all error indicators and messages in the VIC which would explain the reason I had the exact same issues with two separate VIC modules. I believe it is unlikely that all inputs could fail at the same time and cause these issues.

I studied the FSM wiring diagrams and found that the VIC has two separate power inputs (FSM 8W-46-4) and two separate grounds (FSM -8W-46-4) and a third input identified as the “Panel Lamp Driver” which appears to be the signal that dims the display when the headlights are on otherwise there is no voltage on it.

I started looking at the grounds and their connections beginning with Splice 216 (FSM 8W-46-4)

The table in the FSM 8W-95-2 gives a written location of the splice and FSM 8W-95-8 Fig. 5 shows a diagram of the location of the splice in the dashboard which is above the glove box and below the passenger air bag. Remove the lower dash panels and glove box and remove the plastic harness carrier tray above the glove box and you have good access to the harness.

Splice 216 is located next to five other spliced wires so when I got to it, I took the insulation off of all of the splices to inspect. All except S216 were well connected with either some high temp solder or some type of copper weld process but all looked sound so I re-insulated and moved on. S 216 was another matter. The splice was an old style “bullet” connector on the end of a short wire spliced into one of the “welded” splices. The ground from the VIC has a male end that mated with the short wire from the splice then the connection was insulated with a piece of shrink tubing. I removed the connector and made a soldered splice and reinsulated with shrink tubing. I believe the connector was put in the harness for assembly. If the build sheet did not call for a VIC or GDM the connector was left hanging.

After reassembling everything I have put about 200 miles on my Jeep with no problems with the VIC. I have all transfer case indicators and all door indicators working. I don’t know about lamp out indicators but I suspect they will work as expected.

If you got this far I truly hope this may help you with any VIC issues you may be having

Best To All………………..