I ultimately came to the conclusion that my clock spring was not in fact bad (at this point) but rather had individual issues. My horn button was broken/stuck - I bought a replacement horn/air bag assembly and that fixed that issue. The air bag light was on in my dash due to the burned out bulb in the air bag on/off switch - I did the trick of getting a replacement bulb and soldiering it in. I did notice that I already had an aftermarket clock spring in the Jeep. So I’m still using it. Since I could find a new unit, I also ordered a used one (not the preferred method) from a specialty Jeep wrecking yard that was supposed to be tested, etc. I haven’t installed to see if it works though as I’m OK for now. One of the other ideas I was going to pursue was getting a clock spring out of similar year Cherokee from a pull a part yard. I actually found one when getting some parts the other day but didn’t buy it. I think they are $25 or something like that there. However, my understanding is that you would have to make the inside diameter of the center hole a little bigger for it to fit the TJ steering shaft.
If you have access to a wrecking yard, I would probably try the Cherokee part approach first. If not, you could also consider getting the available new aftermarket model for TJs with cruise that I mentioned previously (with center diameter too small) and enlarging the center hole with dremel/file. Obviously the wrecking yard piece is a lower risk in case you mess it up due to lower cost - but of course it’s a used electrical part.
