Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

Repair w/pix - Stock Gauge Cluster how-to

142K views 136 replies 56 participants last post by  Que89YJ 
#1 · (Edited)
A lot of folks think that the Gauges on your Jeep YJ are problematic because they just are, or that they don't, won't or should not work. Well - that's not the case. With a little time and care, everything can and should work. I'll add comments in a bit.

STEP 1: DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY NOW SO YOU DON'T SHORT YOUR BOARD :)

Below: Stock cluster has 4 screws below and 2 on the side. The 4 below also hold in place a plastic trim piece.


Remove these and CAREFULLY unseat the plastic cover - the clear plastic cover contains the mechanism to wind the clock - they are designed to come apart. They WILL crack at the hole for the clock if you are not VERY careful.


now that you have it in your lap - you can see what it looks like - left to right:
Backlight
Temp Gauge
Backlight
Fuel Gauge
Backlight
Square box is where the wiring harness attaches into the circuit board. Not shown: Clock - it is right off the shot in the center.


Close up on the square box - be gentle in here, but understand that they need to be clean - emery paper, Pencil Eraser (Good tip from the comments after I posted) Dremel with stainless wire wheel at LOW speeds - all will clean this up, bright and shiny.


Each Gauge sits in a sink like this - one positive, one negative and the receiver. All the connection points need to be bright and shiny.


This is the connector which is secured through the cluster and the circuit board that provides power into the individual gauges. These also should be clean and shiny. You'll notice here that this is not the case and was causing my Fuel Gauge to need periodic "tapping" in order to register. Not cool - plus, the increased resistance was causing incorrect measurements on the gauge.. In my Jeep - EVERYTHING works - Period.


After a little bit of work - you'll get them nice and shiny again! This is ready to get plugged back into the gauge cluster. You can put a thin coat of dielectric grease or white lithium grease on the copper to keep it conductive longer.


In order to clean up the plug on the Wiring Harness side YOU MUST DISCONNECT THE BATTERY - failure to do so will likely cause a short on your wiring harness, fire, nuclear disaster, famine, the seventh seal on the gates of wrath to break, etc. etc. etc... Well - maybe not, but you get the idea...


Since you have it out - clean up the receiver from the Wiring Harness - this will pay big dividends over time!
Both sides need to be cleaned - I used a Dremel with a stainless wire wheel.


Be gentle - again - bright and shiny!


Reassemble the cluster and turn the engine over - make sure that you've been cleaning everything as you went in and out - this is a great time to clean off all the dust and grime that may be in there!


Wanted to add these pictures of the Tach/Speedometer as well.

Backside of the speedometer - popping the cable loose by squeezing the white plastic lever on the left will give you more room to work.


Two lights on that on the left and right.

Back side of the Tach - two lights on left and right as well:

Pop those loose and when you replace the lights just check to make sure they work before you button everything up.

Just for Giggles - I put Blue LED's in - this is what they look like:


Sorry they are a bit blurry - 1 second shutter time without a flash...

Questions or comments? Feel free to ask! Link to this post often and please give it a thumbs up!!
 
See less See more
15
#3 ·
Did all of that plus ran a wire to the clock to bypass the burnt strip on the flexable connector. My volt gauge still registers wrong as does the one in my sons 93. they read 10-12v not 13-14v like it should. I also cannot figure out where it gets it's feed from. If you hook it to the battery it pegs the gauge.
Great writeup though! I would add that replacing all the bulbs is a good idea while you have it apart.
 
#7 ·
My volt gauge registers wrong too... and also pegs when I hook it to the battery, tried to figure that one out for a long time... mine reads 10 volts

Nice write-up. Not to Hijack or anything but the volt gauge has an adjustment inside the gauge to change the needle position. Mine always read well below 10v. Now it's pretty close to what is shown at the batt.
Would you elaborate about how to get to this adjustment? Do you know where it gets the signal from?
 
#5 ·
You can use a pencil eraser on the copper contacts to clean them. It works great and is easy on the copper too.
 
#8 ·
It's fed from the Ign Lps fuse. Looks like from the FSM it's the same feed for the Tach, Emission Timer, Rear Defogger, Indicator Lamps Etc. If I get time I'll snap some pics of the adjuster in the gauge. This looks the same for 87 to 90. 91 and up may be different.
 
#9 ·
I think, if it can be adjusted, that the best thing would be to measure volts at the connector and adjust accordingly... but not at the battery, my battery registers 14 volts at idle with engine fully warm, however the gauge connector only registers 12 volts.

I wonder if this is normal, my Jeep has had its gremlins too... :confused:
 
#11 ·
The whole gauge board can be replaced, now that the part is available (through a forum member) I would replace the whole thing, just because it is easier than rewiring everything.
 
#12 ·
I just soldered a light gauge wire across the burnt part of the run for the clock. Make sure you use a low watt soldering iron so you don't destroy the trace on the board.

While I had my gauge cluster apart, I cleaned up the clear plastic with Meguiar's Plastx and got the nasty scratches out with Turtle Wax polishing compound. BE VERY CAREFUL! That clear plastic lens is very flimsy and looks like it could easily snap in two. The clear lens really cleaned up nicely, looks new again, and took all the "fogging" off the surface.
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Going to add this to the FAQ write up section.

One small note that you may wish to edit, or I can, is it is good practice to disconnect the batt before you start this project.

When one has a problem with the printed board and is not too careful, you can ground it out on one of the copper runs to the dash and fry it.

I DID THIS MYSELF LOL.

So it is good advice to just disco the batt from the get go.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bharris68
#19 ·
did you disconnect the battery before you pulled the gauges? The clock has 12v constant and it's real easy to have the contact hit the dash and blow the radio or dome fuse in the fusebox. If the fuse is good see if the ribbon connector strip is melted for the clock. Always disconnect the battery before pulling the gauge cluster!
 
#30 ·
My clock only works when the headlight switch is on. I guess I need to go back in there and reclean. I did this once about 2 years ago but don't think I did as well as I could have. More work.
 
#33 ·
Most of the time thats the sending unit in the tank. Its either corroded or the bowl is interfering with the float. You would need to read the resistance on the center pin on the fuel tank connector to ground when full and empty to be sure but my bet is on the tank
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top