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98 xj wrecked and blown bags, no start and no guages??? please help

KCsurfer420

NAXJA Forum User
Location
EL Paso TX
So its been a whils since ive posted any thing but maby the jeep gods here can help me out.

So today i bought a 98 xj with a 4" lift and 33. picked it up for 800.00
the PO had hit a wall with it on the driverside busting the header panel, and the drivers fender along with the bumper, after closer inspection its all cosmetic damage.

now my problem is that both of the airbags blew with the wreck, PO also stated that the jeep has not run since the wreck. I loded it up on the trailor and brought it home. I have allready ordered both the airbags, i will order the control modual and the clock spring soon.

After geting the jeep off the trailor i decided to put a batery in the truck and crank it, but as soon as i turned the key i noticed that none of the guages came to life including the odometer. i cranked it but nothing happened then i noticed a black wire coming from the ignition switch start to burn like it had grounded out. thats where i stoped for the night.

I was wondering what role the airbag system plays in relation to the rest of the electrical system and if this is whats causing the grounding out isue. I pulled the lower dash and dident see any questonable wiring so this leads me to belive that it all has to do with the air bag system.

Tomorow im going to replace the wire that burned and remove the airbags, clockspring and the control modual. but before i go any further im going to wait for some one to give me a heads up in this system.

And if any one has a fsm for a 98 i would GREATLY apreciate a coppy of it so that i can trace that black wire down.

My plans for the truck are to get it running good and then gut it and swap everything over to my 88 MJ (doors, wiring and computer, dash and guages and drive train)

please give me a 101 on this system and whats going on here.
 
The Jeep will run and drive with a blown airbag. You have to assume there is other damaged that is electrical in nature. Find whatever is causing the black wire to short circuit.

Since the damage was on the drivers side, pay close attention to the PCM on the drivers side fender. No gauges points to a CCD Bus short, a broken CPS, or a failed/damaged PCM.

Consider grafting the back of the cab and the pickup box onto the 98 chassis and cab. It has been done before and is probably less work that what you propose.
 
hey thanks for the reply,
it might be the pcm as that was where the blunt end of the smack was, ill have to throw another pcm in it and check after i get that wire sorted out, do you know if a pcm from a 96 will interchange as i have on in my yard that runs, its an obd 2 set up as well.... as far as grafting my mint mj bed on to the xj..... no way... Im going to swap every thing, Its been done before and when im done it will look like a factory 99 comanche but if it were a rust bucket id think about it....
 
Check the ASD relay. I buy rolled/wrecked XJ's to part out and that is usually what keeps them from starting. Is the fuel pump working? There is an inertia switch under the dash that may be bad
 
You do not need the control module, only the new airbags and clockspring. Sometimes one of the airbag fuses will blow, but you do not need the control module.
 
the 98 is a completely different animal, the transmission control unit is in the PCM on 98 and later Xjs, the one from the 96 will not work.
 
If the airbags blow, the clock spring and the airbag controller both need to be replaced to restore the airbag system.

A 1998 needs a 1998 PCM. Substantial changes to the PCM were made in 96/97/98. The TCM remains a separate box through 2001. A 96 PCM might make it run enough to move around the driveway, and it might not.
 
If the airbags blow, the clock spring and the airbag controller both need to be replaced to restore the airbag system.


No, the airbag controller DOES NOT NEED TO BE REPLACED.

The clockspring does(which is also a good time to add cruise control if you don't have it)
 
Consider grafting the back of the cab and the pickup box onto the 98 chassis and cab. It has been done before and is probably less work that what you propose.

No, people have chopped XJ's to make them look like MJs with the steel hatch welded in as a bulkhead, but you're not swapping the bed from an MJ over to an XJ, that's ludicrous.


the 96 PCM is probably different than the 98, but it might be close enough to work. Can you open the hood and look at the old PCM? It might just be harness damage.
 
No, people have chopped XJ's to make them look like MJs with the steel hatch welded in as a bulkhead, but you're not swapping the bed from an MJ over to an XJ, that's ludicrous.


the 96 PCM is probably different than the 98, but it might be close enough to work. Can you open the hood and look at the old PCM? It might just be harness damage.

Actually one or two people have grafted the XJ firewall and floor back to the MJ roof and B pillar. Pretty crazy stuff and not something I would want to do.
 
Well I dident have any time today to realy dig deeper in to the wiring problems in the new xj because i am curently in the process of helping a friend of mine convert his 88 mj to a HO. When he brought the truck to my house it looked like he straight just pulled it from a junk yard so were striping a 93 xj for everything so i was busy today pulling a motor and the wiring harness.:repair:

Now that i know not to order the srs modul that saves me some time and money, I guess im now in the hunt for a 98 clockspring w/cruise. so do the closcsprings interchange between tj,xj,and grands of the same year?:read:

Now i dont want to sound stupid here but what is a CCD any ways?

After going over the harnes in the engine bay this morning i dident see any damage anywhere to the harness the only place that i see visibal damage is where the wire shorted out coming directly from the ignition switch (black wire).
Im heading to vegas in a few hours for the next few days so i wont be checking back in to this problem untill i get back but come thursday i will be going over the harness in depth. wntill then please keep shooting ideas at me so that when i get back i can take all and run with them and hopefuly get this thing running so that i can get it swaped over to my MJ.

Any one know where i can sourse a clock spring and a pasanger airbag cover, that wont break the bank?
heres a Pic of where my mj curently stands just for $hits and giggles.
and thanks for the help in advance as it is allways greatly apreciated.
GEDC1479.jpg
 
O I frogot to say that when i turn the key to the on position i dont get anything, no guages, no fuel pump buzzzzz, nothing except the light for the brakes iluminates but thats it then if i try and crank it the wire from the ignition shorts out.
 
ZJ clockspring will not work, TJ will.

97-01 clocksprings will interchange. You will need 97/98 cruise buttons to match the 98 ECU, 99+ will not work.

Ebay, craigslist, car-part.com , junkyards are all cheap places to pickup airbags, shouldn't run you more than $200 for both airbags and clockspring.

CCD bus is the "Chrysler Collision Detection" Bus, basically is the data bus that everything passes through on the 97+ Jeeps. Its a two wire data bus that got replaced with a single wire PCI bus in the TJ in 2002. Both are based on the J1850 protocol.

Also, TJ clockspring after about 2002 will not work either.
 
the 98 is a completely different animal, the transmission control unit is in the PCM on 98 and later Xjs, the one from the 96 will not work.
partly right; I plugged a 96 PCM into my 97 it will run but you have no gauges. I also have a complete 98 harness, the 97 TCM will not plug into a 98 harness, (both have the TCM under the dash) nor will a 97 tranny plug work with a 98 harness; the 98 has 7 wires and a physically larger plkug the 97 has 5 wires.


theres somethin different about the 98 vehicle spped sensor, something about being 4 vanes instead of single vane? IDK I have never seen a VSS from either yet... the rest of the info I put up is 1st hand info gained with my 97 garage ornament; the 1 vane vs 4 vane info was something I read on one of the Jeep forums, dont remember which one.
I guess the 98 harness will work with a 98 TCM and a 98 tranny also swappedinto a 97, along with the harness
 
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