Just started, when i crank up my jeep the airbag light stays on and when i turn the wheel the horn blows. After 30 secs the light goes off but will come back randomly and blow again if turned while the light is on. Im thinking clock spring right???

 

Short in the column.

 

That's what it sounded like to me but clocksprings are a mystery to me as all I have had was 2 renix manual transmission and one HO manual, which don't have clocksprings if I recall reading somewhere

 

No any steering wheel with a air bag in it has a clock spring in it now.

 

That would have me worrying about whether it might set off the airbag or not... lol

 

definitely bad clockspring. They're expensive, too. I think mine was $260 from the dealer.

I'll buy cheapo sensors, mounts, etc, where it makes sense but anything that might have to save my life one day I buy the good stuff.

 

Ahh that's the difference... Haven't had airbags in two of three jeeps

 

Disconnect the battery and wait a couple minutes before servicing an airbag or any of its components. Remember, there are two clocksprings. One with cruise, and one without. Before removing the steering wheel, point the front tires straight ahead and do not move them until the new clockspring has been installed. Place the airbag face up on a non conductive surface once you remove it. When carrying an airbag, keep the face pointed away from you.

If you know how to take a clockspring apart you can usually fix the wiring, but its easier to replace than repair as the wiring is very thin. More often than not they fail just inside as the wiring can be folded over itself pretty hard. Time takes its toll. If youre curious, you can check the continuity of each terminal, from one end to the other, using a multimeter. You can also check one terminal against another to see if one has shorted internally, which is very possible. This comes in handy at the parts yard should one try to save money with a used clockspring. Grab more than one tho if you do this as they could fail at anytime. Because of this, new is always best, but if youre in a pinch, there you go.

The clockspring is a spool of wire, and looks just like an IDE ribbon cable for an older computer. There is enough ribbon to turn the steering wheel lock to lock, plus a little extra. But not much. That ribbon contains seperate wires for the horn, cruise, and the airbag circuit. When you turn the steering wheel to the left or to the right, it unwinds. Turn the steering back to center and it rewinds. You can lose just the horn, just the cruise, or just the airbag circuit, or any combination of the three depending on where the ribbon fails. And the first airbag for the XJ was 95.

 

Dorman's clock spring is surprisingly well made and under $60
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...ckspring,10480

 

Check Amazon for price, I got mine WAY cheaper than stealership price.

 

THAT is a prefect explanation! Thanks, makes total sense to me now, both on what it does and how it works. And easy to see how this fails so readily as well

 

Thanks man went with the dorman one fixed it!