awsgrayrd

I've always wondered why my airbag light comes on and causes my gauges to die and such. I recently came across a tech write-up and found out that it's possibly the clock spring.

So the next time I drove the XJ around the gauges dropped and airbag light came on as usual, so I honked the horn(horn worked), and the gauges came back to life and the light went off. Before honking the horn, I would just slightly push on the gauge cluster and it would work as well. So with that being said, this leads me to suspect that replacing the clock spring and some dielectric grease on the plug will fix the problem.

I've done some shopping and it seems like Morris 4x4 Center has the only cheap price online. At $190 which is still steep! Anyone know of a cheaper price? This is definitely a product that I will not get from a JY to see it happen again or even buy a used one on eBay.

I appreciate all of the help.

V/r,
awsgrayrd.

eriejeep

i had the same issue - no gauges and air bag light on - here was my FREE repair
Remove dash cover, and remove the gauge pod, being a 98 yours should just have a big plug in the back. Clean all the contacts and put a touch of dielectric grease on the pins.

did mine a while back and have had no issues since.

Well it wasn't totally FREE - did have a few BL-Smoothies while tinkering.

BotakBeng

If cleaning doesn'tt work, best place to get a clockspring would be from the JY or look up sale section for members who are parting out.

Here are a couple of write-ups if you are interested.
• http://www.links4jeeps.com/writeups/clockspring/
• http://home.myfairpoint.net/m_levesq...ssite/id2.html

awsgrayrd

Recently I was helping a friend with his WJ, for some reason it was hitting the rev-limiter. So we tried swapping the TB out to see if it was the sensors. Well ever since then my cruise doesn't work. It turns on in the cluster just doesn't activate when trying to set??? Could this clock spring be the issue? It finally died?

Thanks.

V/r,
awsgrayrd.

Mudderoy

Yeah I agree, I don't think this is the clock spring. It's a well know grounding issue. My 1998 does this usually when it is cold out. I used to just pop the dash above the cluster to make the speed and rpm gauges come back to life, but found recently that resetting the trip odometer had the same effect. Now I just push on the cluster on the rpm gauge side.

My fist and dash like this much better!

awsgrayrd

Thanks!

Well I guess before I jump to conclusion, I'll clean the contacts in the connections and slap some dialectic grease on it.

V/r,
awsgrayrd.

Knucklebuster

Also clean the grounds in the engine compartment. The big strap block to firewall and the grounds on the right rear of the engine block near the dipstick tube.

awsgrayrd

Well, I just gave this a shot. Used a write-up that provided step-by-step instructions of removing the dash and finally getting to the gauge cluster. Wiped and cleaned up some of the dust build-up. Took a CPU aerosol dust cleaner and sprayed the contacts where both connections interlock. Took a small paintbrush and dabbed some dielectric grease on the contacts. Popped the gauge cluster back in and went ahead and conducted the self service check on the gauge to reset it all. It did its thing and slapped everything back together and drove it to the gas station. Everything worked fine, but hopefully I won't encounter this issue again. Once again thanks, I'll keep you all updated.

V/r,
awsgrayrd.

awsgrayrd

^^^Just wanted to update everyone like I mentioned. Everything works great, no issues at all with the airbag light or the gauges dying on me. Thanks everyone for saving me a couple hundred dollars!

V/r,
awsgrayrd.