I am so sick of this GD Jeep. 2000 xj in amazing condition with 183k. I already got a no bus, no gauges. Had to replace the connectors on back of gauges. Fixed problem. Now have P1698 and P1694. There are no wire issues. No dirty connectors. All grounds are clean and tight. I have ****ing had it with this thing. It just breaks with no clues how to fix. Guages are erratic, airbag light comes on and off. CEL is on. No blown fuses. What the hell is going on???!!

SOLVED:

I spent 2 days, about 16 hours hunting down invisible squirrels. No joke, I really think I have read every post on the internet regarding the issue. And it was.... the connectors behind the gauge cluster. Yep, the connectors again. I just replaced the connectors,m about 3 weeks ago, C1 and C2 behind the cluster and really didn’t want to pull it apart for the third time. Broke down tonight and inspected again. Decided to make shims out of zip ties and slid the pieces behind either side of the clips, making them sit firm. The cluster seemed to seat with an affirmative click. Turned on Jeep and all was back to normal. No error codes.

To confirm for all future readers, the CEL light was sending code P1694 and P1698. Intermittent airbag light. Intermittent gauge functionality. I guess the good thing is I know that all the fuses are clean, grounds are clean and tight, plus I inspected and cleaned many components along the way. And a new battery.

I drove it for 3.5 miles. Everything seemed normal. Will update if necessary.