conrad_the_mj Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 I put a gauge cluster from a 1988 Jeep Cherokee into my 1989 comanche and everything except for the temp gauge works great. I really wanted the tachometer, but now without a temp gauge I’m screwed and I’m going to have to put the old one back in. Is there a way to make the 88’ work? Or are they just incompatible? Is it worth it to get a separate tach to mount on my dash or should I look for another OEM one with the tach. The temp gauge sometimes seems accurate, but other times it just keeps rising, it’s not overheating because it’s on my short drive to work that I’ve never overheated on and when I pop the hood it doesn’t even feel that hot. Let me know what you guys think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEmptyEveryPocket Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 They should be plug and play. So lets see whats going on. Did your old cluster have a temp gauge? If not, did you replace the temp switch with a temp sensor? Are you sure the connectors on the back of the gauge are fully seated and clipped in? Check operation of the gauge by removing the wire from the temp sender and seeing what happens on the gauge, then ground out the wire and see what the gauge does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Is the cooling system filled properly, and the thermostat opening properly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Mesa XJ Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 The the HO (91-94-95) Cherokee there are two temp sensors/senders one for the pcm and one the the dash gauge. Renix I’m not sure.On the 2.8 v6 all that was required was remove the idiot light temp sensor and install the temp gauge sender. To me it sounds like you’ve got the wrong temp sender. Or air in the cooling system line Eagle said Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 12 hours ago, conrad_the_mj said: I put a gauge cluster from a 1988 Jeep Cherokee into my 1989 comanche and everything except for the temp gauge works great. I really wanted the tachometer, but now without a temp gauge I’m screwed and I’m going to have to put the old one back in. Is there a way to make the 88’ work? Or are they just incompatible? Is it worth it to get a separate tach to mount on my dash or should I look for another OEM one with the tach. The temp gauge sometimes seems accurate, but other times it just keeps rising, it’s not overheating because it’s on my short drive to work that I’ve never overheated on and when I pop the hood it doesn’t even feel that hot. Let me know what you guys think. First question: What cluster did your MJ start with? The idiot light cluster, or the cluster with gauges but a large gas gauge instead of a tachometer? (Sometimes referred to as a "3/4" cluster.) If you started with a 3/4 cluster, then you already have the correct sensors to work with gauges. The temperature sensor is a variable resistor. The ratings are 1600 ohms at 100 degrees, 309 ohms at 180 degrees, and 113 ohms at 240 degrees. So a quick test would be to remove the pigtail from the sender. With the pigtail not contacting anything, that should cause the gauge to go to cold with the ignition on (engine NOT running). Then touch the pigtail to a good ground. The gauge should swing to the HOT side. If the original cluster had a temperature gauge, have you tried swapping your original gauge into the "new" cluster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conrad_the_mj Posted June 22, 2020 Author Share Posted June 22, 2020 It originally had the 3/4 cluster with the large fuel gauge. I actually won't have time to get back to my truck until Tuesday, but I'll test it against a good ground then to see if it swings to hot. The cooling system is filled properly, but I'm not sure if the thermometer is opening correctly. Since the engine doesn't seem to hot after driving, and the fact that it wasn't overheating before I put the new cluster in, I'm inclined to believe it is the actual cluster. I haven't considered just swapping the gau 6 hours ago, Eagle said: First question: What cluster did your MJ start with? The idiot light cluster, or the cluster with gauges but a large gas gauge instead of a tachometer? (Sometimes referred to as a "3/4" cluster.) If you started with a 3/4 cluster, then you already have the correct sensors to work with gauges. The temperature sensor is a variable resistor. The ratings are 1600 ohms at 100 degrees, 309 ohms at 180 degrees, and 113 ohms at 240 degrees. So a quick test would be to remove the pigtail from the sender. With the pigtail not contacting anything, that should cause the gauge to go to cold with the ignition on (engine NOT running). Then touch the pigtail to a good ground. The gauge should swing to the HOT side. If the original cluster had a temperature gauge, have you tried swapping your original gauge into the "new" cluster? ges on the clusters, is that difficult? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 11 hours ago, conrad_the_mj said: I haven't considered just swapping the gauges on the clusters, is that difficult? Nope. Guages attach to the printed circuit board with two or three nuts. Temp gauge I think has three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conrad_the_mj Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 I swapped the two gauges and now neither of them will work 😅 any suggestions?? On 6/22/2020 at 7:49 PM, Eagle said: Nope. Guages attach to the printed circuit board with two or three nuts. Temp gauge I think has three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 40 minutes ago, conrad_the_mj said: I swapped the two gauges and now neither of them will work 😅 any suggestions?? Neither gauge works, or neither gauge works in that cluster? Have you downloaded the electrical manual yet? If not, you need to find it and download it. That's where I copied the quick test procedure from. Did you run that test? What were the results? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conrad_the_mj Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 So I've narrowed the problem down to the actual guage. The temp sending wire is working and so is the temp sender. If I got an aftermarket one, could I just splice it into the temp sending wire because it is working? I've looked into it a little and it looks like you have to splice into one of the hoses and have get a whole new temp sender set up for the after market ones, but is there a type/way I could just splice it? If anyone has done this a link to the one you bought would be super helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 The gauge in your original cluster worked. Why not just move it to the new cluster? You're overthinking this. If the temp gauge in the original cluster worked in the original cluster and doesn't work in the new cluster, it stands to reason that the problem isn't the gauge, it's the cluster. Probably the printed circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conrad_the_mj Posted July 12, 2020 Author Share Posted July 12, 2020 On 7/9/2020 at 8:29 PM, Eagle said: The gauge in your original cluster worked. Why not just move it to the new cluster? You're overthinking this. If the temp gauge in the original cluster worked in the original cluster and doesn't work in the new cluster, it stands to reason that the problem isn't the gauge, it's the cluster. Probably the printed circuit. I have the original in right now and it isn’t working anymore. Idk what I messed up when I switched the working gauge from my “old” one into the new one and back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now