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I am out of town on a long road trip and I am having an issue with the gauge for the Alternator. Recently I had the check gauges light come on. It sometimes goes off while driving it and when I start up the truck the light is off. A few miles down the road it comes on and the needle goes to the left. I have only driven it a short distance so I do not know if the battery is effected. Any ideas?
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Alternator maybe?
any rattling noises?
check for current output!
Check out my Jeep Cherokee
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There are many possibilities... obviously, your alternator or battery
might be bad. However, there's also the possibility that you got the
"dash gremlins"... common in XJs '97 and up.
Lucky for you, you got the '97 ECM which allows you the
turn-the-ign-key-three-times-on/off instant diagnostics.
What code do you get?
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may be as simple as ur battery not being grounded or terminals
loose/dirty/corroded. have u checked those?
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The corroded terminal issue a good bet it may fix not only your dash gremlins, but also your transmission issue (noted elsewhere).
I just researched this dash-gone-haywire-issue myself a little, because my '97 XJ is struggling with this as well. However, mostly affected are (apparently) '98 and '99 XJs and TJs. In fact, there's at least one TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) out there on this. I found a link that may help you a little:
http://www.justanswer.com/questions/1t4 … sport-ever (This link may give some extra ideas what to Google for).
Anyway, seems like a good thorough cleaning of the (engine bay mounted) ECM connectors contacts is most likely all you'll need to take care of pretty much all your electrical issues. At least, let's hope!
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It turned out to be the alternator failing. I pulled into the local Auto Zone and had them check the battery and Alternator. The first worker said all was ok but I pulled out the FSM from the rack and what it said did not jive with her volt meter. I had the asst. manager check it to confirm my option. It was the alternator. We swapped it out and the gauge cluster has been fine since.
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it's awesome that they helped ya, not everyplace would. good find on the test procedure, too.
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Good lord must be that time of year, my 90 XJ alternator went out Sat night while on the road. Unfortunately it was midnight and since Sat night NOTHING was open. Fortunately I was only 5 miles out of town and found a motel for the night. I always take tools and when Autozone opened up at 10 the next morning I swapped out the Alt and on the road again. Temp there wasn't 10 but it was 19 and snow and ice on the ground. By the way, changing out an Alt on a XJ 4.0 is a pain in the ars!!!!
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