99 Cherokee "no bus" Error

[forishm]

I have a 1999 Jeep Cheroke 4wd w/ a 4.0

MY wife was driving down the highway with the cruise control on. She came to a stop light, then started again. As soon as she started driving again, all of the gauges dropped to 0. A few seconds later the "Check Engine" light came on and the odometer switched to a message reading "NO BUS".

Now, every time I start the thing, the gauges stay at 0, and a few seconds later the "Check Engine" light and "NO BUS" return.

I looked at every fuse in the fuse box under the kick panel in the passenger side floorboard area and all looked fine. I don't have the owner's manual (didn't come with it), so I don't know if the proper fuse is located elsewhere.

My father loaned me a Continuity Checker to make sure all of the fuses were ok, but I haven't had a chance to use it yet (will do so after work tonight).

Any other suggestions? Anyone know exactly which fuse controls these items, and where it might be located if it's not in the fuse box?

Thanks for your help,

Matt

[xj31]

next time it does it smack the top of the dash and the gauges should start working .there is a known problem with one of the cluster connectors getting oxidized.there is a bulletin to replace the connector but sometimes you can clean it.it just looks like thin black stripes on the terminals but its enough to cause problems

[forishm]

Any links to more information on this problem?

[forishm]

The "Smack it on the top of the dash" fix has not worked. I am unable to read any gauges at ANY time. We have to keep the gas tank full so as not to run out of gas, and follow the flow of traffic to avoid speeding. (A risky venture in itself).

Does anyone have any other useful suggestions?

Thanks,

Matt

[rctrex]

I had the same problems with my '98 cherokee. All of the gages would drop to 0 and I would loose my dash lights. the connectors on the dash cluster had oxidized and needed cleaning. I had the same problem with my power window switch cluster. You will have to disconnect the cluster and clean the connectors with electrical contact cleaner, then put some dielectic greaseon them to prevent this.