How to determine if clock spring is bad?

Chris Myers said:
Hey guys!

I have been following this thread as I had the same issues with the clock spring. Jeep was out in the rain overnight a week ago with just the sun shade top on. In the morning I noticed the air bag light stayed on for a while but then went out. Later in the day my wife said the Jeep was running like crap and would stall when coming to stops. My search began online for reasons why this would happen and led me to this thread.

I first tried replacing the TPS and had the same symptoms. I then noticed while troubleshooting, that my cruise would not work and each time I pressed the cruise On/Off button the idle would dip and if I did this when driving the Jeep would buck. So this led me to suspecting the clock spring.

We live in Hawaii, and parts are not readily available here. Shipping is expensive too. So before I just ordered a clock spring I decided to pull the current one and inspect it. After much effort, I finally got the steering wheel off. What an ordeal that was since I could not find the correct puller anywhere on island. I removed the clock spring and tested the idle, worked perfect. I actually opened the clock spring unit and noticed the connector going from the ribbon to the terminal contacts had quite a bit of corrosion. I did happen to have terminal cleaner and conditioner from working on an old console stereo a couple years ago. I cleaned and conditioned the contacts till they looked like new. Put it all back together, carefully mind you, and hooked it back into the Jeep. Started up and ran just fine! I made sure to give the ribbon coil enough space to turn in either direction, mostly guestimated to be honest. Got the wheel mounted, cruise, horn and air bag reconnected and took him for a spin. Stalling and idle issues are gone.

I just thought I would add all this to confirm that with some effort and careful handling, you can attempt to clean the inside contacts of the clock spring. Now that that is done I will make sure to not leave the top off when it is raining!

Chris
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Chris would you mind doing a write up on the clock sling disassembly, cleaning and reassembly process?

I need to either fix or replace mine and I would prefer to keep the original factory spring if at all possible. I think this would be extremely useful and may help someone come up with a novel solution to water entering the spring assembly in the first place. I have read that once they are taken apart they are ruined. Thanks!
 
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To be honest, the idea of the clock spring affecting the TPS or any other sensor would never have crossed my mind 20 minutes ago, until I read this thread.

That being said, I do have an issue with uneven power. It's barely what one might consider a stutter, but you can feel it. It's almost what you would feel driving on an uneven road. The horn, airbag, etc seem to work fine, but I have noticed that the cruise control can be a little finicky from time to time. Sometimes, I have to hold the buttons down an extra beat or two to get CC to activate, and every so often (but not always), hitting Cancel not only disengages CC, but it completely turns it off, which I wouldn't think is standard functionality.

In terms of environment, I'd say I've had more issue dealing with the Florida humidity and sky high dew points than torrential rain.

Could a bad clock spring be causing both the power and cruise control problems? Or maybe not even a bad one, but one that's getting ready to go bad.

Also, just the alarmist part of me thinking out loud, but could a stray signal from a bad clock spring accidentally fire off an airbag? Seems like one hell of a safety issue to me.

Tim
 
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Tim Redman said:
Also, just the alarmist part of me thinking out loud, but could a stray signal from a bad clock spring accidentally fire off an airbag? Seems like one hell of a safety issue to me.
Click to expand...

Obviously this is just a guess, but I wouldn't think so.
 
Out of the blue my 2000 tj horn just started going off after turning into a gas station. When i got home i pulled a fuse after reading up on it. Now my airbag light is on. My horn issue could be a bad clock spring? TIA.
 
I know this is an old thread but as of today, I am having a horn staying on problem. I have a soft top that is about a year and a half old and doesn't leak at all but it rained all last night and all day today. I got in the 'ol 99 model to run up the street. I get a couple miles up the road and the horn starts blowing and won't stop. I turn around and get it home and as I turn in the driveway it stops and starts blowing again. I was able to turn the wheel and found the sweet spot where it would stop blowing and cut it off. Does this sound like a clock spring issue? I'd like to narrow it down before I drop the cash on the clock spring and wheel puller. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi there Super Soldier. Yeah, it's your clock spring. You've got air bags in that thing right? What questions do you have?
 
If I remember right I cost me over $ 100. Can't remember exactly how much. Hang on, let me check. Ok, it was a Crown (manufacturer) Clock Spring that I bought from JC Whitney. Cost $ 105.00. Install was easy as shit. Just get the wheel puller, (rent it), make sure to handle the air bag with care and keep it in the upright position when removing and storing while replacing the clock spring. Then put everything back together and you'll be set. Takes about 30 minutes tops to complete the job, start to finish. Maybe a little longer if it's your first time. Good Luck.........:)(y)(y)(y)
 
I appreciate all the info. I will order a clockspring and get 'er put on. I found one on Rock Auto for super cheap. Tell me what you think.

ULTRA-POWER 525118 {Click Info Button for Alternate/OEM Part Numbers} Info
WRANGLER; w/o CRUISE CONTROL


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$37.79
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Wow, that is cheap. We're talking like under 40 bucks. But it says it might be re-packaged and could be from over-seas, (not that everything isn't :mad::mad::mad:). But with that said, the only concern I would have is the Air Bag. If you read this tread, you'll see lots of guys saying they worry about mess'in with the clock spring because of the air bag. I really don't think it would ever be an issue. Unless the whole damn clock spring is wired wrong or faulty. And I doubt it would be, they typically test them before shipping to wholesalers.
 
Wow, that is cheap. We're talking like under 40 bucks. But it says it might be re-packaged and could be from over-seas, (not that everything isn't : :mad: :mad: :mad: ). But with that said, the only concern I would have is the Air Bag. If you read this tread, you'll see lots of guys saying they worry about mess'in with the clock spring because of the air bag. I really don't think it would ever be an issue. Unless the whole damn clock spring is wired wrong or faulty. And I doubt it would be, they typically test them before shipping to wholesalers.
 
Make sure to let us know how it works after you've put it on and driven it for a little while. If it's a good part, with no issues, that'll be good to know for the future. Anytime you leave the top down and get water in the steering column, this sort of crap can happen. No biggy, unless a wire inside the dash gets shorted. Then it's a bitch. Parts like Clock spring are easily accessible and can be changed pretty quickly.
 
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Ok.....so I finally got around to replacing my clock spring. It was definitely the culprit. I replaced it with the one from Rock Auto that was less than $40. So far it's working fine. Time will tell.
 
Hi guys. I'm new to the jeep world. I have a 97 TJ and I think I'm having the same problem. I start the jeep and the airbag light is on and nothing works ie radio, turn signals, lights, wipers, heater blower, nothing. If I grab the steering column cover and give it a push toward the dash everything works. What do you think?
 
Hi guys. I'm new to the jeep world. I have a 97 TJ and I think I'm having the same problem. I start the jeep and the airbag light is on and nothing works ie radio, turn signals, lights, wipers, heater blower, nothing. If I grab the steering column cover and give it a push toward the dash everything works. What do you think?
 
Sounds like you got a loose/pinched wire. Most of those things don't have anything to do with the clockspring.
 
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