Jeep Help!

[970TJ]

****WARNING* - I KNOW LITTLE ABOUT CARS ****

Hey guys, -I have a 2006 Grand Jeep Cherokee Laredo, and a few weeks ago the airbag light showed up on dash. I reset the battery and checked fuses and it will come back on when I power the vechical up. I went to auto zone to try and check codes, but nothing came back. However just recently my wife and I realized that when she doesn't buckle up, the annoying *ding* *ding* doesn't happen any more. Its almost like the seat is not recognize she is there, or buckling it in. I tried to put more weight in the seat (ie.. me) and nothing. I contacted the dealer and told them say thing, and they said its going to be a $115 fee to just check the car out. Does anybody have experience with this, or have some ideas. We are a bit strapped for cash right now, but I would hate to skimp out on safety to save a few bucks.

Thanks,

If you still had the "ding ding" seatbelt sound, I'd say look at the clock spring in the steering wheel. Jeeps, specifically Wranglers, are famous for the airbag light comming on because of the clock spring. But you typically loose one or more gauges as well. A tap or two on the horn usually takes care of it, for a while. Hell I don't even have airbags, and I've had this problem....

It sounds like the buckle is bad-the one that has the button to release the belt.
Theres a sensor and wiring in there that goes bad,pretty common on a lot of vehicles.
Also if the airbag light is on there could be a problem with the pre tensioner.Thats the belt part that is mounted to the b pillar-by the door

Try a scrapyard and see how much they want for the belts and buckles.

^^most likely the issue, but check the easy stuff before you start throwing money at it. Fuses, the plug/connector under the seat, debris in the buckle, etc. (all of which has already been mentioned)

jeepforum.com is an EXCELLENT resource for Jeep guys.

www.colorado4x4.org is a great resource as well. Digger would be the man to ask; he's an ASE master tech, and has forgot more about Jeeps than most folks will ever know. And most of the people are local and could point you to someone trustworthy to look at it if needed.

Flash codes typically went out of style when the vehicle went to OBDII but I am not intimate familiar with all makes and models. I know for a while Dodge was giving actual codes in the digital odometer display for a key one key off key on key off key on.

Pretty sure that stopped in early 1996 for Jeeps. I had a 1996 Cherokee that would still work with the key on off on off on method, my 1998 won't.
Good luck!