Author Topic: Strange electrical behavior after "Splashdown"  (Read 1089 times)

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Loke Groundrunner

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Strange electrical behavior after "Splashdown"
« on: February 16, 2008, 11:27:34 AM »
hit a foot deep "flooded road" puddle going about 35 the other night. water EXPLODED up and under the Jeep and rocketed "Old Faithful" style about 20 feet in the air all around. scared the cockapoopy outta me. the Jeep held steady and kept going...but all the gauges flatlined. the headlights, blinkers and dash "lights" all still functioned and she drove fine but RPM, MPH, GAS , BATTERY and PRESSURE gauges all went limp. ALSO,..the CHECK ENGINE  and AIRBAG lights came on...and the odomoter began to read "NO BUS". i figured it was just due to the water implosion and kept going. i made a quick stop at the store and upon leaving she cranked right up...but the same readings (or lack thereof) appeared on the gauges. on the way home i bounced over a speed-bump and EVERYTHING came back on and returned to normal. she's driven fine the last few days with no problems. Hmmmm.

well, today i decided to wash the old girl. gave her a good bath and then headed to the auto parts store for some supplies. guess what??.....all the ERRORS/GAUGE problems reappeared. drove all the way there and got half-way home when..AGAIN...i bounced over a speed-bump and everything returned to normal.

my initial theory was that this is a water/dampness related problem. now i'm wondering if something is "loose/jiggling" somewhere. any thoughts? AGAIN..all running lights, wipers, blinkers, radio, AC were unaffected and the Jeep drove as normal. ALSO,...anyone no what the "NO BUS" error in the odometer indicates?? thanks in advance. Cheers.
 

Offline Bounty Hunter

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Re: Strange electrical behavior after "Splashdown"
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2008, 11:36:56 AM »
It's common and is due to a poor BUS connection where the guage cluster plugs into the harness.  A good whack to the top of the dash usually corrects it, temporarily.

For a permanent fix, pull the guage cluster and bend the pins inside the BUS connector for more solid contact.  Reassemble with dialectic grease inside the connector and, if needed, secure the connector together with wire ties.

Bill M.

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Re: Strange electrical behavior after "Splashdown"
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2008, 02:05:14 PM »
Haha I can attenst to BH's quick fix.... My dash cluster dies all the time, so I smack it and it usually perks back to life...  :hitit:No biggie!

Loke Groundrunner

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Re: Strange electrical behavior after "Splashdown"
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2008, 04:29:42 PM »
well, I'll be damned. cranked it up again...got the "ghost in the machine" errors...roundhouse bit*h slapped the top of the the dash and everything reset. quirky old tub on wheels, it is...(looks good after a bath, though.....I love my 4-clanger). cheers! :beer:

Offline jfrabat

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Re: Strange electrical behavior after "Splashdown"
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2008, 05:22:58 PM »
I am a big Star Wars fan, and i got to say that Jeeps remind me of the Millenium Falcon...  You "Upgrade" something, and something else breaks (typically at the least appropriate moment).  But most problems can be "mended up" regardless of where you are, many times by getting up close and personally (read; Physical!) with the Jeep!
'94 YJ 2.5L with 4" RE lift, Superwinch EPi9.0, FoMoCo e-Fan, SD30 and SD35 w/ARB-5.13, 165A alt., 33" BFG KM2 on 15" AR wheels, Sony sound system, Pavement Ends Hardtop, Hydroboost

garydubf

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Re: Strange electrical behavior after "Splashdown"
« Reply #5 on: February 18, 2008, 09:08:52 AM »
I had the same issue while wheeling my air bag light came on!  I thought Holy Mackarel I'm gonna get blasted by my air bag. Next hard hit lights went off.  Got her home and pulled the cluster.  I used WD-40 on the pins and haven't had a repeat yet.

Offline stan98tj

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Re: Strange electrical behavior after "Splashdown"
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2008, 01:44:37 PM »
same guage problem happened to me the other day...lights worked but guages were flat..turned out i blew the fuse
98 TJ 35"Maxxis Trep.Old Man Emu 2.5""+1"BL,IronMan Fab control arms,4.56gears,Ford 8.8+ARB,Currie/IronMan steering, WARN VR10,HP D30 sleeved+ RCV,Body Armor Rock Rails WISHLIST:TDi.Girlfriend hates it :) If you can read this don't flip me over i dont have any $$ left to fix it