help a little girl?

[antsinmypants]

RE: BDS lifts

okay so i was driving home and my airbag light came on, went off came on and my engine light came on. then my spedometer and my rpms all went to 0 and my km's read out "no bus" or "no bu5" i'm not 2 sure which way i should read it. keeps going off for a bit and coming back on. dad thinks its probly just a short and i should take it to the dealership to have them fix it.. but i'd kinda like to fix it myself. is my dad probly right? and how could i go about fixing this.

 

[joedirt]

Is it something that has happen the one time or everytime you turn it on?

 

[Sparky-Watts]

If you're under warranty, I'd say definitely take it to the dealership. If not, I hate to say it, but yeah, take it there anyway. They'd have more of an idea (hopefully) than a general mechanic as to what might be causing it, especially if it's happened to other Jeeps before in that area.

 

[antsinmypants]

Is it something that has happen the one time or everytime you turn it on?

It happended again this morning when i drove to work a couple times but not when i drove home on my break, its kinda random. happened one night when i first got my jeep but never happened again, so i didnt worry about it. jeep still runs perfectly fine.. i dont hear anything wrong with it or feel anything.

 

[Utah_jeepster]

Finally!

Well it sounds like your puter is having a moment...tracking down a short or a computer problem is work for the stealership. I sounds like your computer is running through a self check while your driving, that shouldnt happen.

 

[Junkpile]

The dash cluster in the TJs seem to be problematic. I've heard of SEVERAL problems from local Jeepers, usually stemming from exposure to water. When I first got my TJ the turn signal indicators in the cluster would illuminate every time it rained :? It stopped after a couple of months though and I actually forgot about it until I just read this.

Has the cluster gotten wet lately?

 

[joedirt]

Its nothing serious if its just once in awhile and your jeep is running fine but there is something that is causing it.The tricky part is to find it.Pull your cables off your battery first let it set for 5mins put them back on try.If not check the dealer just to what they say.Good luck I hope it works out for you.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

RE: gear ratios

Well it sounds like your puter is having a moment...

I had a moment when I first saw her puter....... :twisted:

 

[PhattyX]

RE: Recharging the AC

It's a short in the wiring harness for the guage cluster. My '98 did it and was replaced under warranty as "a known issue". There've been a couple threads on here about the same thing, so I know others have had the problem. Mine did it a couple of times, then stopped for a couple months, then did it again just before my warranty expired. If you've got a warranty take it in. If not, tell them all your guages are going dead intermittently and you've heard there's a problem with the wiring harness. Ask how much it is to replace it. If it costs too much, leave it alone. It's always a thrill to have no idea how fast you're going.

OK, seriously, it's not very hard to get your gage cluster out, so take your dash apart, and take out your guage pod. There will be gunk on there, but don't clean it all off. It's electrical whosiswhatsits. Press gently on the wires going into the harness to make sure they're all snug. If there's globs of goop obviously blocking connection, clean them out with a toothpick or Qtip. Otherwise, push the plug together and pull it apart once or twice then put the whole thing back together again. If the short's at the pod side of the harness, this should take care of it.

-X

 

[flyboy]

RE: Easy 44 Swap?

My 99 does the same thing every once and a while and my cure is just pushing in on the instrument cluster and it goes for another couple months without doing it.

 

[antsinmypants]

well the problem seemed to magically dissappear again. didnt happen once today at all and i was driving all freakin day. so i'm not 100% but if it happens again soon here i'll definantly get it checked out

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Finally!

There is a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) issued by DC on this 'NO BUS' issue. The problem is with the BUS connector where the guage cluster plugs into the wiring harness. The dealership 'occasionally' repairs TSB's even if you're not under a warranty, depends on your service manager.

You can fix it yourself by pulling the guage cluster out and disconnecting it from the harness. Carefully bend each contact in the BUS connector in order for it to connect better. Reassemble with plenty of dialectic grease, and secure the connector together with zipties.

 

[felix_santi]

Or like me, a gentle tap and it goes away. Must work, hasn't reoccurred in a couple yrs. Like Bounty said, TSB on it and pretty easy to fix.

 

[TwistedCU]

Yup, very common. My XJ does it too.

A good hard whack to the top of the dash would be my solution. I must have hit it pretty hard last time 'cause it hasn't acted up in almost a year.

 

[Hampton]

My 99 Jeep Cherokee did the same thing just after I bought it (used). The air bag light came on and scared me to death. Then all the guages went haywire and went dead. My husband and my son and I would just hit the dash and sometimes it would work, then my husband started unconnecting the battery and then reconnecting and it would work fine for awhile. Now (after about 4 years) it just does not work. I never know how fast I am going. I also do not know how many miles I have on my car. I have never gotten a speeding ticket but i have run out of gas too many times. Did you get yours fixed ? As someone suggested I guess I need to take mine to a Jeep dealer. I would not get it fixed but my 17 year old needs to know how fast he is going !

 

[raptor_pilot]

My dad had this problem with his truck. Its either a short like many people ahve said, or if the dealership doesn't find a short, which is what happened to us, then it is a ground on the battery. Thats where we found the problem. It was corroded and not making a good contact. Fixed the problem right up.
Good luck.
Mike

 

[Roundlights]

You know, with all the posts I have seen on here, and all the replies, I am ashamed nobody has recommended the obvious to old pants on' er' ants..........


JUST KEEP HITTING THE DASH WITH A HALF CLOSED FIST UNTIL IT GOES AWAY!


No charge for the advice.......

:0)

 

[TwistedCU]

My 99 Jeep Cherokee did the same thing just after I bought it (used). The air bag light came on and scared me to death. Then all the guages went haywire and went dead. My husband and my son and I would just hit the dash and sometimes it would work, then my husband started unconnecting the battery and then reconnecting and it would work fine for awhile. Now (after about 4 years) it just does not work. I never know how fast I am going. I also do not know how many miles I have on my car. I have never gotten a speeding ticket but i have run out of gas too many times. Did you get yours fixed ? As someone suggested I guess I need to take mine to a Jeep dealer. I would not get it fixed but my 17 year old needs to know how fast he is going !

As Bounty Hunter wrote earlier in this thread:

You can fix it yourself by pulling the guage cluster out and disconnecting it from the harness. Carefully bend each contact in the BUS connector in order for it to connect better. Reassemble with plenty of dialectic grease, and secure the connector together with zipties.

There's your best advice once the whack on the dash quits working. It's an easy fix that can be done in an hour or less by just about anyone. Don't waste $$$ at a dealership until you try it first.

 

[Hampton]

Thanks all for your advice- the whack on the dash quit working long ago !

 

[TWDJ]

Not sure about the TJ, but my YJ had a similar issue with the instruments (tach, speedo, odo, fuel, oil, temp) dropping to zero and the panel lights going out, then on, then out, etc. Seemed the bumpier the road the less prone the issue.

Checked the good old FSM to see if there were any common B+ or GRD for all these functions and found power for all is at a common point at the fuseblock. The fuse was good, but then i wobbled it around while the engine was running and guess what? On, off, on ... found that the fuseblock "clips" (or whatever) were not holding the fuse tight enough. Bought new fuses, replaced them all but needed to solder a little bit on the fuse tabs to make them tight in place.

Don't use aluminum foil cause if it slips out you have real issues. This is until I replace the fuseblock in its entirety.