1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Airbag Light On?

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MrseMustang

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My husband called me the other day complaining that the airbag light on the dashboard would intermittently turn on and off while driving the car. Sometimes the light will stay off for a week at a time, but other times, it will repeatedly flash on and off throughout the entire trip.

Two or three days before this happened, my husband backed into a mailbox and it left a small dent in the plastic bumper, which my husband pryed out that same day.

I've done some research, and I've heard that the clockspring is a VERY common problem in the 1999 Jeep GC, usually going out around 100,000 miles, but the proximity of the dashboard light to the mailbox incident has me wondering. Also, with the airbag light on, the horn and the cruise control BOTH work.

Is there a sensor in the back bumper that (if dented) would cause the airbag light to flicker on and off? And if so, how would I go about fixing it? What (other than the clockspring and maybe a fuse) would cause this problem? And is it possible for the clockspring to be broken, but the horn and cruise control function normally?

Any help is greatly appreciated, but please don't tell me to take it to the Jeep Dealer. $108 to put the truck on a computer and read a trouble code is absolutely ridiculous. I'm just looking for advice from Jeep owners and mechanics who may have had similar problems with their truck in the past.

Thanks again!
 
neg post pull - pos post pull (battery )
weight 2 minutes or more
put wires together (the clamps) that's a reset
put back start and see

no baby's near air bags
 
try having the computer scanned first on it if its a bad sensor it will tell you for sure this way you wont start throwing parts at it that it might not need,if he hit something with it chances are one of the sensor is bad,or it could be a clock spring bad but if this started right after he hit something chances are its a bad sensor causing this too happen to it,i run across this a lot on those vehicles,good luck.
 
the airbag sensors are in the corners of the bumpers.
the horn and cruise control are a different circuit/switch so those wouldn't be affected.

when the airbag light comes on, it means that usually the airbag computer can't get a good signal from a sensor(s).
Resetting the light probably won't fix the problem. the problem will go away when the sensor(s) are fixed.

Since the rear bumper was "impacted" you can look under the bumper and inspect the sensor and its wiring. the wiring could've gotten loose or got skinned when the bumper got pushed and is partially grounding out.

Personally I would take this to the dealer because if you accidently mishandle the sensor you could pop your airbags and that'll cost you a lot more than a sensor, including a ride on the tow truck.

Your safety equipment relies on that sensor working properly.
The only reason I goto the dealership for anything is for parts that I can't find anywhere else, airbag light and sometimes ABS light if it's more indepth than a wheel sensor.
 
Auto Zone, NAPA or most any large auto parts store will check for a computer code for free.
 
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