Airbag light

2005 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE
89 MILES • 6 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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GREENCHEVYMALIBU
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why does my airbag light come on and off?

The light is on every time the driver seat is moved. I noticed if i move the wire loom under the seat the light turns off? Is there an airbag senor in every seat? I was told it could be my clock spring in the steering wheel. Is there a way i can test the spring? Should i have a check engine light stored on my computer? What can i test?
Jul 20, 2011 at 3:57 AM
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GREENCHEVYMALIBU
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I was told that if the clock spring is at fault that my cruise control wont work. Is that true?
Jul 20, 2011 at 4:00 AM
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CARADIODOC
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Yup. The clock spring is a wound-up ribbon cable in a plastic housing under the steering wheel. It has circuits for the air bag, horn, and cruise control switches. They don't all break at the same time but as that cable continues to break, eventually all of those functions will stop working.

Based on your observation about the harness under the seat, it's more likely there's a bad connection in one of the plugs. Check those first with the ignition switch turned off. If that doesn't appear to be the problem, the dealer will connect their scanner to the Air Bag Computer to retrieve the stored diagnostic fault codes. That will determine the direction to begin troubleshooting the system.
Jul 20, 2011 at 4:22 AM
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GREENCHEVYMALIBU
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So there are airbag wires under the seats?
Jul 20, 2011 at 4:34 AM
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CARADIODOC
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Some vehicles have weight sensors to vary how hard the air bags deploy. They also have little explosive charges built into the seat belts to tighten them during a crash.
Jul 20, 2011 at 5:46 AM