4x4Play

Ok, so Ive got an 00 XJ that had the idiot light cluster. Bought a tach/gauge cluster off ebay from an 01. Swapped out the bulbs for LEDs, but decided i didnt like the blue silkscreening on the back of the gauge overlay.


So I took the cluster apart, removed the needles, removed the overlay, and used a dull blade to remove the blue backing. Put it all back together, and it looks awesome. But now the needles are all f'ed up....at idle, the tach sits at 2k rpm, speedo says 28 mph, and the 4 smaller gauges are all pegged out.

How do you reposition the needles so it reads correctly?

My only thought was to remove the cluster, take it back apart, and supply it with 12V on my kitchen table so the gauges reset...then install the needles while its zero'd out.

Any thoughts?? (intelligent replies only please)

PS - I already tried the 'self test' where you hold down the trip button and turn key to on position...it didnt fix the problem

Fred/N0AZZ

Buy another cluster and "DON'T SCREW WITH IT"

4x4Play

Thank you for the intelligent reply. There is a way to recallibrate these, and thats what im trying to figure out...if you dont know what it is then please keep your thoughts to yourself

Dumajones

You did say any thoughts,, so Fred gave you his thought.

4x4Play

This is true...post edited, lol

Dumajones

LOL,,cool.. as for the needles you might have to try and take them off again.
I cant find anywhere on how to zero them out besides manually.. I did find this little bit. Maybe someone else will chime in, good luck.

http://www.cherokeetalk.com/forum/f6...toration-7072/

4x4Play

Yeah I read that post too, but he never finished it!

Dumajones

Yeah I just saw that.. I hate that . Sorry, If you find out a good way to fix it..Maybe you could do a kill write up on how.

PNWjeeper

It may not be accurate but what I would try is install everything as it was, leave the clear plastic off and turn the Jeep on. Put the needles back in (if you took them off again) then after 10 minutes or so, when the jeep is at operating temp, pull the needles off, like temp, pressure, and battery and position them where they are roughly normally at. Things like the tach and speedo are different, speedo should be easy since your not moving while doing this I hope, tach might be a little more difficult. That's one thought anyway.
Do all the gauges normally return to 0 when the car is off or do things like the temp stay where they were at?

Fred/N0AZZ

No all gauges do not return to zero like fuel.

My answer was the best and easiest to do, most intelligent thing would have been not to remove the needles, we all make mistakes I bet you don't do that again.

But you can take all lines and hook up to a known good manual gauge. Bring engine to operating temp and note the numbers for oil, temp, alt., the tach I have no idea about it as most don't revert to zero when turned off.

Just noticed you have a 2000 if you don't have one borrow a scan gauge and plug it into the OBDII connector it will give you all of the readings.

investinwaffles

I had to do this with the car running on my mustang.

Put the cluster back in the car with the lens removed. Start her up and use an OBD II code reader to pull RPM, Voltage, Water Temp, etc. and eyeball where the needles need to be.

For the speedo, I actually had to put it on cruise control on a flat road, and have a friend reach over and help seat the needle where it needed to be


Total PITA - probably a much easier way but thats how I have done it in the past.

PNWjeeper

Didn't even cross my mind about the OBDII, I was on the right trail though just thinking how I would have to do it on my '90

4x4Play

Ok I think I got it. Each of the gauges has a coil behind it, which gets 'excited' when you turn the key to the On Position (engine not running). When the coil is excited, the needle will jump to a preset position based on the input voltage - about 5V or so (this explains why my needles were so wacky...when there is no power, zero is not actually zero).

So to position the needles correctly, I had to install the cluster without the plastic front, and without the needles. Turn the key to the On position. Then Install the Speedo, Tach, & Oil Pressure needles first...because we know these have to be zero when the engine is not running, and the car isnt moving.

Next, do the Battery Needle. Take a voltmeter and see what the battery voltage reads...mine was 12.47 before starting the engine. So with the key still in the On position, i put the needle on directly between 12 - 13 Volts.

Next, the coolant gauge. Since the first value on the gauge is 100 degrees, it is best to do this one after you have warmed up the car and let it cool down to 100. To check this I used a laser thermometer ($17 on amazon), and aimed it directly at the coolant temperature sensor housing. Mine was at 94 degrees, so i put my needle on just a kunt hair before 100 degrees. Close enough.

Lastly, the fuel gauge. This one is tricky, because it seems like there are two things happening when you turn the key to the On position. First the coil excites and jumps to its preset position, then 1 second later it accepts the resistance value from the fuel pump float and jumps again to the fuel level...i think. The only way I could get this to work was fill my tank up to the top, then stick the needle on as far towards Full as it would go.

The pics should show everything. The gauge coil, coolant temp test, battery volt test, Needle position at On position, and Needle positions at idle.

The OBDII reader I have is a Scangauge II, so I was able to compare the gauge values to the ECU signals. The tach is still off by 100-200 rpm, so that might have to be tweaked. Everything else seems to be spot on. Hope this helps!

4x4Play

Fred, I thought I would add that my fuel gauge does indeed return to zero after turning the key off. Maybe this is only true for '99-'01? I dunno.

So yes, your solution would be the easiest...but not very intelligent, or cost effective. Keep throwin money at those problems bud, ill stick to the science

Dumajones

^^^^ LOL,,,, sorry Fred it is funny.
Good job .. Thanks for coming back and not just leaving a dead end.