Help! Guage problems

Last summer a few times my guages would not work and the airbag light would stay on on my 99 xj. Now again it has started and my guages are all dead to the left while the airbag light is on, the cruise contro loight does not go on and it sucks. Also, it used to work again when i would hit the turn signal or turn the wheel or raise/lower the steering column, but now does nothing. What could this be????????????????

Quick fix more or less, remove the instrument panel and clean the self docking connectors behind it. Takes about 20 min or so to get it out. Two big connectors that are attached to the dashboard and the gauge pod attaches to them. Supposedly they had that fixed by 99. The dealer will also do it by replacing those self docking connectors with 'improved' ones. My 98 did it and I pulled it, cleaned the pod and tweaked the pins just a hair, almost can't see it, so they fit in a bit tighter. Tweak too much and they may bend when reseating it so be careful. A little dab of dielectric grease on the pins will also help.

Thanks Rich, Im gonna take a look at it tommorow ASAP

if you remove the cluster, dont waste your time cleaning the connections for the cluster. it will just return again. for about $20 the correct repair is to cut out the connector on the right side (usually green) and replace it with the upgraded part any jeep dealer has in stock. this was a common problem and just removing,cleaning,and reinstalling the cluster only prolongs the inevitable. if you choose to replace the connector, you must solder the new connector to the original harness. it is so much easier to do this right the first time then to be patching it over and over again.