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Speedometer/Odometer Not Working

2K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  abbottmg1 
#1 · (Edited)
So I have been reading posts to try to find a solution to the problem that I have facing. I recently took the Jeep to the dealership to have them troubleshoot a turn signal gripe and now my speedometer/odometer does not work. I have removed the cluster and noticed some corrosion. Is there anyway to check this without having to replace the cluster so I am not shotguning parts? I also have a oil pressure sensor that does not work on an additional cluster. Any help on these two items would be greatly appreciated.

*I forgot to add one last note and that is before I took it to the dealership the speedometer and oil pressure gauges were working fine. They were looking at a right turn signal not lighting in the dash and the fuel gauge not reading.
 
#2 ·
I would be having a nice discussion with the service manager at the dealership if it was mine.
 
#3 ·
Welcome to the forum. There is a better way to use google to search the forum. It will cut down o your agrivation and give you access to some great pics and advice:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f12/forum-search-google-1003734/
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f12/advanced-google-search-yj-tech-forum-992517/

On your oil pressure check the sensor wire. Its near the did stick, single wire. If it is connected touch it to ground and see if the gauge deflects.
On the speedo can you take a pic of the corrosion? Clean the corrosion off with some contact cleaner or some alcohol. Can you solder and do you have a meter?
 
#4 ·
Check the screws on the back of the speedometer. There are two screws (I think off the top of my head) that go through the ribbon cable and hold the speedometer in the cluster (these probably werent touched by the dealership) and one for the ground - definitely touched by the dealership bc you cant remove the cluster w/o unscrewing it. If they werent put back in tight enough this could cause you problems. This just happened to me. Speedometer stopped working all of a sudden after I had replaced some bulbs. Tightened the ground wire and made sure the other two screws were tight and everything came back.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Okay so here is where I stand now. I got a multimeter and shot continuity from the oil pressure sensor to gauge checked good, then checked connection on cluster which checked good. So I decided to replace the pressure sensor since I thought it was that or the actual gauge. Still no oil pressure so I am thinking the gauge on this one. Tried the recommendation for grounding out the connector to the sensor to see if it would spike the gauge and nothing happened.

Update with speedometer. I used the multimeter to check continuity of the righ turn signal and checked bad...One of the original gripes with the vehicle. I shot continuity of the speedometer on the orange/white wire and checked good so I concluded that the sensor was bad. Got a new sensor but cannot remove the old one from the housing. So I pulled the entire assembly out of the transfer case. I could not get the case at the auto store. I was able to locate one through online. At the same time I lined up to get used cluster tomorrow for $50 but not sure it it works. I have read that I can test the speed sensor with a cordless drill to see if that fixes the gripe. Has anyone done this and does it matter which way I spin it. I plan on swapping out the speedometer cluster as well hoping that it not only fixes the turn signal gripe but the speedometer as well.

I am at my wits end on where to go I do appreciate all the advice that I have gotten so far.
 
#7 ·
I have used the drill trick, go clockwise, it's a simple thing to do. The hardest part is making sure you have it clocked right when you reinstall the VSS. As for the cluster fixing anything, I have to ask what is going on with the turn signal? Just the light in the dash not working but the actual turn signal lights are fine? I would suspect nothing more than the bulb went out there, and that should have been an easy fix. Since the fuel gauge is in a separate cluster with the oil pressure gauge and you are having problems there I would check all the connectors, grounds, and ribbon.
 
#8 ·
The entire instrument cluster and lighting system was designed for only one thing, that is speed and economy of assembly when the jeep was built.

They are in no way a robust system.

Every time I had my cluster out to fix one glitch, I had at least one extra one when I reinstalled it. The last time I worked on it I had to install it 3 or 4 times before everything worked right. Mine is fine now, but I am sure it is only a temporary situation.

The next time I have trouble, I intend to hardwire everything as per the writeup here on that.

My guess is you still have voltage drops across the many connections between the wiring, the gauges, and the ribbon panel.
 
#9 ·
The turn signal is just the light in the dash not working and I swapped out bulbs to no avail. I have a 41 tooth gear installed and the VSS is positioned on the 39-45 tooth setting. So this should be good. When I run up the VSS can I do it with the key on or do I have to crank the engine.
I do agree that this was build to save money and is a poor setup electrically. Just FYI the past guy installed a custom stereo and left all the old wiring hanging so I wrapped each wire up to prevent arcing or shorting out. Another round with the jeep today....
 
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