Np 242 indicator switch

My mode indicator light for my 242 case has become inconsistent. I was going to clean out the switch while I was changing the fluid. All the threads I found about this said it was a 3 wire switch on the front left side. I only have a 2 wire switch on the back left below the speed sensor. The threads i looked at were all for 97+ and mine is a 95 but shouldn't it still have more wires? And before anyone asks, yes im sure its a 242, I use the full time a lot, part time some, 2wd mostly. All modes work correctly, the lights just works when they feel like it.

242 uses the transmission for a ground, so it only needs two wires for part-time (red/black) and full-time / neutral (yellow/black)

Uncle wolverine - I've been trying to resolve this same issue for some time now and as we both have a '96 with a NP 242 transfer case I wondered if you ever resolved it?


Over the 6 years of ownership I've tried 3 different switches - assuming that was the issue - including a NOS mopar one (altho' strongly suspect seller put an aftermarket one in a mopar box :shocked. Yet the issue persists.


I've also checked and changed all the dash bulbs - using both standard and LED versions - nada.


The 242 is shifted via a Novak cable conversion which works as designed - good, positive shifts.


The only thing left is the under dash ground wire fix (cruiser 54's tip for renix XJs) but my record on successful electrical fixes is woeful.


Originally it was only the part-time warning light that worked but after removing the dash to try LED bulbs both worked for a few weeks and currently only the green full time lamp. Both LED bulbs do work - tested recently.


Odd and frustrating but that's Jeeps for you and only makes the final fix all the more satisfying :yelclap:

No, I never made the lights work consistently, but my problem at this point may be slop in the case itself, it's worn to the point that I can't get it to go in 4 low anymore.

Sorry to hear that - I'll let you know how i get on trying to resolve mine:cheers:

Over the years I've learned to accept that these lights can't be relied on to work all the time, if at all.

These vehicles are 20+ years old, if all that's wrong is that a light (or 2) that aren't really needed don't work then, so what?

Oh, yeah, the switch, it's position, how it was tripped and the connector (can't remember the number of wires) changed '96-'97 but, in my experience, none of that improved reliability.

Some people just like every thing to function as it should. Some areas with rigorous inspections may require all indicators to function correctly.

Yeah, I used to be like that - then I bought a (v. cheap) Cadillac Seville STS! I immediately realised that I'd never fix the electric headrest that didn't work, then it shed comfort & convenience features & functions like they were going out of fashion & I was cured or, at least, re-educated as to what was important. I would still like both lights to work on both XJ but, realistically, it ain't gonna happen &, fwiw, only one works on my 2004 KJ DD, so after a 20 yr production run Jeep still couldn't solve the problem & let it roll over to the later model.

The inspection point is a good one I'd not thought of, as I get the impression that, generally, yours are easier than ours but as no part of ours involves selecting 4WD the tester would have no way of knowing if lights they didn't know existed worked or not.

fenns7 said:

...
The only thing left is the under dash ground wire fix (cruiser 54's tip for renix XJs) but my record on successful electrical fixes is woeful.
...

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You are assuming all your wires and connections are good. Reading your symptoms it sounds more like a connector that is going bad, a wire that is going bad, or both. Have you pulled the connectors and cleaned them out? Have you inspected the wires (especially near the case) to make sure they are not cracked and corroding?

Unclewolverine said:

Some people just like every thing to function as it should.

Click to expand...

I'm one of those people and it's frequently my undoing :banghead:So, for unclewolverine & XJI6191:


Well, I finally managed to get both Full & Part Time warning lights working ..... well, at least for now.


To recap on previous attempts :

- Changed original (20 year old?) Mopar switch for quality replacement (MWP?) - no effect.

- Changed all dash bulbs to LED equivalents - all warning lights now much brighter (and learned that there are large differences in LED bulb quality) - Full Time light still only one to work regularly *altho' it would still sometimes flicker rather than stay solid green.

- Novak 231 & 242 transfer case cable fitted as I suspected perhaps shift was sufficiently imprecise for switch to register correctly - still no Part Time warning light but shift definately improved !

-Swapped out previous replacement switch to Mopar OE - no difference.


Next I tried crusier54's suggestion of improving the earth connection under the driver's dash with an additional jumper wire (*I don't have the link to his "Mostly Renix Tips" but Google will no doubt pick it up). Found it:


http://cruiser54.com/?p=110

Incidentally, I found two black wires connected to the metal tab near the hood release rather than just the one in his description but suspected one was for an accessory so chose the black wire coming from a wiring loom as most likely to be the one to make a better contact, per his instructions. Rather than connect via the existing screw mount I connected this wire directly to the jumper via crimped spade connector and then protected that with shrink tubing and bolted the end of the jumper to the metal strut per his guide.
Result - no difference :bawl: Still, at least I have an improved ground to go with those in the engine bay and thats never a bad thing!


Last attempt: I removed the guage cluster' (yet again!) and replaced the Part Time LED bulb with a standard 1.4w incandescent bulb. For good measure I also used a new bulb holder altho' I had replaced all the holders with new ones when I'd converted to LEDs.

Result: amazingly it worked !! Both Full & partTime warnings lights now work correctly :worship:


I don't know why this should be - perhaps it's a resitance thing but it matters not - I now have warning lights to show what mode the 242 is in and altho' its only been a few days it seems to have finally resolved this irritating issue that's bugged me for the last 5 years (*the LED was in the correct orientation to light up btw).


My only annoyance is that afterwards I realised the bulb I used was one of the originals I'd removed rather than one from the pack of new ones I purchased so it's probably going to blow soon. Why would this be so irritating? My UK spec. Limited XJ has a Fancy Dan wood veneer on the dash facia which both stiffens it and adds about 2/16" to the depth meaning removing it and especially reinstaling it is a nightmare and invariably results in some damage to the wood veneer every time. Not ideal.


Anyway, just happy to have worked a solution which may assist someone else :cheers:

100% agree on these rhds being an absolute pain to remove the instrument cluster on. It's the main reason I haven't taken any more stabs at fixing it. I wonder if they accidentally mounted the steering column up a hair higher than the lhds.

So you find removal (& worse the replacement of) the facia surround on your RHD a complete pain too unclewolverine? Interesting. I suspect you are correct in that case since all the videos of US XJs otherwise make it look a simple job.
Bloody Jeep !:confused1

Next time I pull it off i was considering taking a grinder to whatever it keeps catching on! I cracked a perfectly unscratched clear gauge cover installing it last time!

Which just goes to demonstrate why, even if it's something a simple as a bad bulb*, I won't be investigating, much less fixing it.

* which seems unlikely as none of my Jeeps have had both lights working consistently.

:thumbup: :rof:I'm going to have to be very bored ..... and irritated by the light not working, before i do it again, believe me!

It might not be such a performance on my '98 - but, then again, it's not so obvious one light doesn't work as it was on the '96 (no, alas, reduced to "parts car" - just don't ask for any dash parts )

fenns7 said:

...My UK spec. Limited XJ has a Fancy Dan wood veneer on the dash facia...

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Would you mind posting a picture? That actually sounds super cool...

I assumed that was part of the Ltd trim package, not an export model thing although, of course, most exports are Ltds (at least in the UK) because that's what the target market expected.

My Japanese export spec is faux wood grain too, but I've had it in lhds too. I've never seen an export that wasn't fully loaded.

Options are marketed very differently here in the UK, you don't start with a blank sheet & an endless list of tick boxes but a certain trim level with a few options, such as leather seats & a better stereo, with or without CD multichanger.

When you used to see XJ's on the road over here, there were a few Sports (the only other trim level available, I think) but I'm pretty sure they were (nearly) all diesels, which were aimed at a different market.