My uncle has a '96 opentop and his odometer started acting up last week. It works 80% of the time, and some times the needle will not move at all. He was told it could be a couple of different things, has anyone had this problem and what did you do to fix it?

I have had this problem a couple of times. I have a '95 Diesel.

Under the dog house, there is a converter that takes the signals from the speed sensor in the T-case and converts it to whatever the speedometer needs.

There is a computer-type connector on the adapter. It is white plastic (on mine, at least) with several long, square pins inside.

This type of connector is not suitable for use in a vibrating environment (such as a motor vehicle) because of a relatively low contact pressure.

My treatment was to slightly bend the pins in opposite directions, such that when re-connected, a higher contact pressure was created.

I had this problem chronically during my first year of ownership. Since I figured out the problem, I had one brief repeat which was quickly fixed by a repeat of the above fix.

Procedure for problem isolation: when the speedo is failing, reach inside the dog house (remove the glove box to facilitate this) and wiggle the wire and connectors. You should be able to quickly identify where the problem is.

Dave Breggin
'95 Diesel Wagon