Clock wiring

[lcoutback]

Hey all,

 

My step son snagged two clocks from a wrecking yard, but neither my '89 or his '91 seem to have matching plugs in our dash wiring.  All I have is an '88 electrical manual, and a generic Hayes repair manual for schematics.  

 

Does anyone have a pin-out and color code to match these up?

[SatiricalHen]

I don’t remember where I found one, but it’s out there somewhere. I did some hard core googling to find it. The clock I ended up wiring in never worked 100% right though and I ended up getting the direct plug in for my year. If it were me I’d sell or trade that one and get one that’s a direct plug in swap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[fiatslug87]

This has everything you need to know about the MJ/XJ clocks.   http://gojeep.willyshotrod.com/HowtoDashClock.htm

 

very easy to swap clocks from different years, I would recommend making a harness with the correct ends so you don't have to cut the vehicle's plug.

[lcoutback]

32 minutes ago, fiatslug87 said:

This has everything you need to know about the MJ/XJ clocks.   http://gojeep.willyshotrod.com/HowtoDashClock.htm

 

very easy to swap clocks from different years, I would recommend making a harness with the correct ends so you don't have to cut the vehicle's plug.

Awesome and complete feedback.  Thanks!

[87MJTIM]

That blue connector is from an 86 XJ/MJ.  I pulled a similar one from an 86 MJ.  My 87 has the black connector.

[Minuit]

The black connector is an Aptiv Metri-Pack 150 series connector. My 89 had that connector, but you might have to dig to find it.

 

I prefer the older clocks. The bottom one if I remember correctly has an LCD with a bulb behind it. It's impossible to read. The older ones have very bright vacuum fluorescent displays.

[fiatslug87]

I think the 91-93 one has the brightest display and I like how it has five sections to it that matches the panel on the left side. I've put the 91-93 clock in my 88, 89 and 90.

[Minuit]

2 hours ago, fiatslug87 said:

I think the 91-93 one has the brightest display and I like how it has five sections to it that matches the panel on the left side. I've put the 91-93 clock in my 88, 89 and 90.

The 91 is a nice bright green display too. Anything but the 88-90 clock is a good choice IMO. I'm kind of a sucker for a nice vacuum fluorescent display though.

 

Here's the '91 (not entirely sure what kind of display it is, maybe an LED?):

 

Here's the 88-90 (LCD, but with an incandescent backlight.) Note that this much easier to read than it is in real life:

 

Here's the 84-87 (VFD). This clock was pulled from an '87. It has the Metri-Pack connector like the 88-90 clock but looks just like the 84-86 otherwise. It has very bright, sharp digits.

[schardein]

As the previous post show, the clocks changed almost yearly.  It annoys the heck out of me when I see one on ebay for sale, and listed as "fits all XJs and Comanches".  Absolutely not true, at least without re-wiring.

 

Also, I have a 93 XJ parts rig, and went searching for the clock connector.  Not there.  I always thought XJs were wired for the factory clock up to the last year for 1st gen, 1996.  But now I am not sure.

 

I pull every clock I come across.  I currently have an example of each version.  Had planned to do a complete write-up in the future.

 

I have noticed a small percentage that I have pulled don't work.  The most common problem is the little push switches to adjust the time get jammed up.  They are the kind that you insert a pen into to adjust.  Probably damaged from people being ham-fisted when setting the time.  Sometimes this can be corrected, sometimes not.  Something to consider if buying one used.  I would demand that it be tested and pics provided of it working.  If buying from a junkyard, I would test it before buying.

[Minuit]

1 hour ago, schardein said:

As the previous post show, the clocks changed almost yearly.  It annoys the heck out of me when I see one on ebay for sale, and listed as "fits all XJs and Comanches".  Absolutely not true, at least without re-wiring.

 

Also, I have a 93 XJ parts rig, and went searching for the clock connector.  Not there.  I always thought XJs were wired for the factory clock up to the last year for 1st gen, 1996.  But now I am not sure.

 

I pull every clock I come across.  I currently have an example of each version.  Had planned to do a complete write-up in the future.

 

I have noticed a small percentage that I have pulled don't work.  The most common problem is the little push switches to adjust the time get jammed up.  They are the kind that you insert a pen into to adjust.  Probably damaged from people being ham-fisted when setting the time.  Sometimes this can be corrected, sometimes not.  Something to consider if buying one used.  I would demand that it be tested and pics provided of it working.  If buying from a junkyard, I would test it before buying.

All of this is true. The clocks are generally very reliable (not much inside to go wrong, I guess) but those switches can become a problem. I'd read the hell out of that writeup.

 

As to the clock connector - the radios had clocks starting early on in the '92 model year. I believe they also made significant changes to the dash wiring for the '93 model year. Wonder if they decided to axe the clock connector around this time. Both of my MJs were wired up for the clock (the 89 has the Metri-Pack connector, the 91 has... whatever it has), but in 89 and 91 the radios did not have clocks yet.

[SatiricalHen]

The clock I had was backlit with a bulb, and it never told the right time. I don't remember if it was fast, or if it was slow, but it would be off a few hours by the end of the day. It never dimmed so it was hard to see in day light and too bright at night. All three of the ones I have now say Quartz on then and both of the ones on the shelf are the black backed ones. I don't remember what the back of the one in the truck looked like, but it was plug and play for my 87.

[schardein]

23 hours ago, Minuit said:

As to the clock connector - the radios had clocks starting early on in the '92 model year. I believe they also made significant changes to the dash wiring for the '93 model year. Wonder if they decided to axe the clock connector around this time. 

This makes a lot of sense to me.