Keyless Entry...97 XJ Sport

Hello everybody, I'm brand new to this forum!
I've been searching but haven't found what I'm looking for.
I recently bought a 97 XJ Sport, power everything, 2WD. Was originally white but some retard got a hold of a spray gun and "painted" it red. I got the build sheet from Jeep and, like I suspected, it was originally equipped with Keyless entry. I have the little plastic thing attached to the roof between the visors. The Jeep doesn't have a headliner so I don't know if it was supposed to cover the receiver or not.
My question is what other parts should I look for in my Jeep that belongs to the keyless entry? Something was mounted under the driver seat. Is that part of the keyless system? And once I find the missing parts, should I just go to the dealer for the fobs? Since they have to program them anyway.
Another question completely unrelated to the Keyless stuff. Are heated mirrors plug and play? Do I need the entire door harness to make it happen?

Thanks

The bracket under the seat was the original location for the airbag module, which should now be under the console. I believe the heated mirrors are plug and play; they run off the defroster circuit IINM. Not sure about the keyless.

Cool, thanks for the info. I ran across a heated driver mirror in the junk yard and nabbed it.

The easiest thing for you to do would be to find a keyless entry brain and matching keyfob at a junkyard or on eBay, Craigslist, etc. Then it would be plug and play, you just plug the computer chip brain in to your current harness and the fob (as long as it's matched to the board) will work. Otherwise just grab any 97-01 XJ keyless board and remote and take them to the dealer to have them programmed.

Where do I find the keyless brain? I've hunted around but can't find a description of where it is located in the Jeep. If is found the brain, I could probably track down a fob with matching numbers.

It is located in the front dome light or overhead console assembly.

Okay, so that is the brain. I thought that was just the receiver to it.
Thanks for the info!

I also went to the dealer and they gave me the part number for the fob, they wanted $100 for one. I found one on eBay for $20. I have to take it to the dealer for programming, and they charge $45 to do so.

You will need to go to some sort of Chrysler Dealer to get the RKE module programmed to accept the Key Fob you get. It takes the Factory DRBIII tool to get the job done.

My local Jeep Dealer did it for free and told me to come back when I had a "real" issue for them to deal with.

Not all Dealers are Stealers...

Yeah I went to an actual Jeep/Chrysler/Dodge Dealer.
I might be able to squeeze a free programming out of them. I am getting another fob before I take it in so I can have one for the spare key.

O-Gauge Steamer said:

You will need to go to some sort of Chrysler Dealer to get the RKE module programmed to accept the Key Fob you get. It takes the Factory DRBIII tool to get the job done.

My local Jeep Dealer did it for free and told me to come back when I had a "real" issue for them to deal with.

Not all Dealers are Stealers...

Click to expand...

Nice. The two different dealers I went to to have keyfobs programmed, they charged $70 each time (for up to 4 keyfobs), and they said they can't guarantee that the eBay ones I bought would work (they did though).

Also if you ask around there are members that own DRBIII's that can help you out with fob programing.

We have two Jeep Dealers here in town. The nice guys, that I use, and the Stealership.

A side note here on parts. If the part in question is shared on a Dodge platform, it will cost less to buy it from the Dodge Dealer than a Jeep Dealer.

Leastways, that is how it works here...

Nice info. The Jeep dealer closest to me is also a Dodge dealer...
Once I'm ready to get them programmed I will hunt around other dealerships.

Like all manufacturers, Chrysler shares as many parts as it can across the product lines. The trick is in identifying them...