92 YJ Instrument Cluster not working

jeepgiant · 08-29-2005, 07:14 PM

About a month ago I had to swap out my 2.5L engine with another 2.5L (the original engine had a nice hole in the block). I hooked everything back up and boy does she run good. The only problem is that NONE of my guages work! I thought it was a grounding problem but I cant seem to find one. The turn lights, hazard, and high beam indicators all work, but none of the guages do. Any tips on troubleshooting this would be appreciated.

camarkim · 08-29-2005, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeepgiant

About a month ago I had to swap out my 2.5L engine with another 2.5L (the original engine had a nice hole in the block). I hooked everything back up and boy does she run good. The only problem is that NONE of my guages work! I thought it was a grounding problem but I cant seem to find one. The turn lights, hazard, and high beam indicators all work, but none of the guages do. Any tips on troubleshooting this would be appreciated.

I have taken out my gauge cluster numerous times in the past month, trying to figure out why the temp gauge does not go past the fist line (after 100). So. I would take the gauges out (it's really easy and see if you are getting power to the gauges, and of course clean the grounds and circuit board.) Are you getting lights at the gauges? I'm not sure if there is a fuse specific to the gauges, or a relay, but I don't think so.

Good luck, and report back.

jeepgiant · 08-29-2005, 07:37 PM

I have pulled the guages out. I have cleaned the paper circuit board. I do have background light on every guage. I hooked up a voltmeter and I seem to be getting voltage to the unit. But still no working guages.

zeeman918 · 08-29-2005, 10:21 PM

many people on this forum will tell you the stock gauges stink. They are not very accurate or dependable after around 100K miles. I got some Autometer Phantom gauges and just mounted them in the stock locations. THere is a company who makes a bracket to use these gauges to bolt them into your jeep but you can make the same thing out of the stock cluster. If you are interested, I think that company is JD's off road or something like that. Summit.com has the best prices on aftermarket gauges. If you can install an aftermarket CD player, you can install these gauges. THey look real *****in too. But they will cost you. You can find a stock clster at your local scrap heap but who knows what you will be getting. And, because it is electrical, the scrap heap will not usually take returns if it does not work.

wolf3902 · 08-30-2005, 06:38 AM

The gauges are on a fuse. The lights for them are seperate.
I believe it's a 20 amp labeled inst/pnl

jeepgiant · 08-30-2005, 08:27 PM

I cant seem to find a 20 amp fuse labeled inst/pnl in my fuse box???

Alfons · 08-31-2005, 05:29 AM

If you remove the guage cluster you'll notice a few things:
1. The power and ground to ALL guages is daisy-chained, so if the power to the flexible printed circuit board (PCB) is OFF, all guages will be OFF.
2. The main connector to the PCB is prone to corrosion - unplug it and clean the contacts in the connector as well as on the PCB but be careful not to remove the copper trace.
3. Each guage has three contact points on the PCB that must be cleaned - one is +12, one ground, and one from the sender.
4. The power (+12 volts) comes to the PCB from an Orange/Black wire - check that this has power & if not, you'll need to look farther back. Look at a schematic to determine where to look for your problem.

You'll have at least two fused circuits feeding your guage cluster - one that gives you power for the background lights and the other as the source of the power for the Orange/Black wire (this wire also goes to other places and comes from the same source).

If you made any wiring changes during your engine swap, you might want to look there first to make sure you doen't have any short or open circuits.

jeepgiant · 08-31-2005, 09:35 PM

Well, The Guages Finally work!! I started checking the orange/black cable for power and got nothing. After looking for days online I finally found the wiring Schematic (my Hanes manual has every schematic except for the instrument cluster). Turns out the Orange/black is for the gauge background lights. the white/black cable is the power for the gauges. I then followed it back to the fuse box, where I noticed I was missing a fuse altogether (it was not labeled). Hooked it up and what do you know.....gauges work! EXCEPT for my temp gauge. I hope that the sensor is out. Anyone know the voltage it should read when hot? Or how to test the sensor (if possible). I have another sensor from my original engine that I can try. Thanks everyone for your help!

Raindem · 09-01-2005, 07:36 PM

That's what I like to see. Someone actually solving the problem and then posting the solution. Glad to hear you got most of the guages working.