frankjc

Today while driving, the instrument cluster went crazy...all the lights lit up, the tach and speedometer were pinned. Also, there was a loud CRACK through the speakers a couple of times. Before this happened, the check engine light was on, and there was a code: p0161. The CEL is now off, and the code is gone. The other thing is that the air bag light is coming off and on. I was pretty sure that is was the spiral cable causing that, but haven't replaced it yet. Now I am wondering if this is all related. After this happened, we let the Jeep sit for an hour or so, and then drove home from shopping about 5 miles, and it hasn't happened again. The airbag light is still coming on though. It's a 1999 Grand Cherokee Laredo, 4.0. Any ideas? Thanks.

ol"blue

I know very little about electrical systems.
Sounds like you might have a short somewhere. Specially by the crack noise you heard. Or a bad/loose ground.
I've read on here that the clock spring can cause issues with the airbag light.


That code is for an O2 sensor:
P0161 (M)
O2 Sensor Heater Circuit (Bank 2 Sensor 2)
Oxygen sensor heater element malfunction. O2 sensor voltage greater than 3 volts for 60 to 240 seconds.

frankjc

i thought i read something somewhere about a bad connection to the instrument cluster. it's making me wonder if the airbag light and craziness are related? probably not. it hasn't happened since.
i already have the sensor for the code that the vehicle "had". the mystery is why did the code go away? that is making me think somehow the vehicle lost power and the code is erased? i am going to replace the sensor, regardless. i may pull the cluster out and inspect the connections.

ol"blue

This is about the "BUS" connection. It might be related to your issue. http://jsautosource.com/my-projects/...art-no-gauges/