96 xj wiring harness

What year wiring harness is interchangeable with the 96 auto if any?

Which harness? It isn't just one harness. It may take some research to figure out which harnesses are specific to the 96, like the right side (as you are sitting in the drivers seat) engine harness which is pretty much only for 96, if you want to keep the same connectors. And which harness may be used in multiple years, like the injector harness. There may even be some differences in early 96 and late 96. You may be able to splice your 96 connectors onto another harness.

Using my 96 as an example, the parts book may or may not be correct or even relevant. Finding parts for my 96 is kind of like trying shoes on, you try different parts until you find one that fits.

It is the main engine bay harness, they cut a section out just above where it splits to the fuse box up to the next split. It's about a 1 foot section. I found a 98 harness on eBay for $80 and figured I would get that if it worked to save me the hassle of soldering it back together. I just don't want to waste $80 on something that isn't going to work.

1996 is an odd year with earlier built models being more like 1995's, and later built models being more like 1997's. Extensive wiring upgrades and engineering changes occurred during the 1997 model year, and a 1998 wire harness may not be worth the $ 80.