Airbag control module swap
 

hey all,

having some issues with my airbag light staying on. need it to get registered so the light is a pain. clockspring is fine, seems like it's the airbag control module. ordered one off of ebay and it should be coming in soon. aside from disconnecting the battery, is there anything else I need to do in regards to the swap or is it pretty straight forward?

thanks!

When I installed cruise control in mine I let the Jeep sit for about 20 minutes after disconnecting the battery.
Figure better safe then sorry.
When you start the Jeep for the first time after the install do it from the passenger seat.
See line 2. LOL.

haha will keep that in mind! thanks

You said the clockspring is fine, how did you go around testing it?

Grab a multimeter and check the connectors on both sides of the clockspring for continuity thru the spool.

my mechanic did it, like fb97xj1 said - multimeter

Digging up an old thread, but I am curious how this turned out. I have an airbag light on my 97 XJ and the dealership confirmed it's the airbag module. They can't find a replacement, so I tried a junkyard one and it didn't work. I am not sure if it was a bad module or what. Did you just buy the same part number off eBay and toss it in and it worked? Did you have to have the VIN programmed to the module? The dealership says I likely will need to, when I find one that works, but from what I've read online, I see many people suggesting that perhaps you just toss a new one in and it should work.

What was the error code? Sure it's not the wiring to the module that's damaged?

to be honest I just bought a module that was titled for 97-01 XJs on ebay. didn't have to do any programming or anything, just plugged it in and everything was good! I'd check the wiring harness to see if there's any issues

Awesome, that's all I needed to know. The dealership I took it to said they ran a bunch of diagnostics and are certain it's the module. They said they had their longest-tenured techs who remembered all the recalls that they had to perform on these modules 20 years ago working to resolve it.

I asked them about the harness, ground, etc and they kept saying it is the module. The one I swapped in was a junkyard pull, so who knows if it was already a dud.

I mainly wanted to know if they work without any VIN programming because the dealership kept implying that could be an issue for me when I try another module. I got another replacement off eBay a few days ago and the seller claims it came from a working vehicle and that it's functioning normally.

Any tips on the install? I read through the safety precautions - unhook battery for at least 30 minutes, unplug yellow connector under dash, then swap it out... duck and cover during first startup after installing? ;)

perfect! hopefully that module is all you need to get going

yeah I was super nervous about setting the thing off, so I was fairly careful about everything -- battery off for about half an hour, then the module is plug in and play, fairly simple. I was hiding underneath the steering wheel when I started it again haha

let us know if everything works out for you!

Thanks! Did you end up unplugging the plug that is under the dash or just unhook the battery, wait 30 minutes and unplug the module itself?

I just did the battery then went for the module

It worked! Airbag light is off now. :)
Thanks for answering my questions! I appreciate it.

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