Electrical Fuel/temp/oil gauges not getting power

[Patty.icee11]

Im new to the forum so forgive me if this is posted wrong.

All of my gauges were working just a week ago, my oil pressure gauge quit on me so I tried replaced with a aftermarket one and now none of my gauges are getting power. (My fuses are good) I disconnected the aftermarket oil pressure gauge and still nothing. I have power at the ignition switch and have power at the ignition LPS fuse block. (12v at each) my voltage gauge isn't working but is getting power. That is probably just a faulty gauge and not related but thought I'd mention it.

I'm lost here. What am I missing that needs to be checked?

Thanks in advance

(1980 jeep CJ7 with AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l , T-176 and Dana 300 )

 

[007]

I’ve not done any work back there but every post I seem to recall on here seems to indicate that grounds are both difficult and about 80% of the power problems with gauges on these CJs.


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[Manic Mechanic]

what he said. grounds are usually the issue. however I had the same problem as u with my 85 i tried the aftermarket parts (omnix ada complete trash never buy them) i managed to get my fuel working again with a new gauge cluster however my temp and oil never worked again. oil i went old school and used a mechanical unit. as for the rest im going to send out my original cluster for a rebuild they will test it and return it done with a warranty.

sorry I don't have a better answer but start with the grounds u may get lucky

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[Patty.icee11]

I appreciate the feedback. Grounds are definitely what I'm checking next. I just didn't know if there was something obvious I was missing

 

[007]

If you find it’s an issue, might be worth putting a block under there with a dedicated ground to the battery. Then ground each one individually.


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[Patty.icee11]

How would I ground the gauges though since they grown onto the panel when tightened down?

 

[007]

How would I ground the gauges though since they grown onto the panel when tightened down?

Well I’m a bit out of my league having not done it but IF it’s necessary it’s a matter of getting a wire on the gauge chassis. Never hurts to make a bare metal spot on dash and tack a ground on it.


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[hollasboy]

I grounded my dash by drilling a bolt hole in the lower lip of the dash (along the bottom edge there was a ~1/2" wide fold in the dash sheet metal that curved back toward the engine). I then secured a dedicated ground with a small bolt. Of course, my dash is stainless steel so no paint coating to prevent an electrical bond, so that made it more effective. All of these tasks (changing gauges, adding grounds, etc.) are made 1,000x easier by removing the entire dash - even if you just pull it forward a few inches you can access and see everything a lot easier. Worth the extra effort to pop out the dash for this IMHO.

 

[j6824]

Yep...

One handy way to do it is pull one of the screws and thread match a few 6" carriage bolts to it...will allow you to move it out toward you to make room behind while still supporting it

 

[CJ]

I may have missed this but do you have a DVM or even a simple meter.

With that you can check conductivity.