Hey all,
Since I bought my 99 GMC Jimmy SLT about 2 months ago, its had the airbag warning light on. Could someone point me in the right direction for diagnosis? Don't really want to pay the stealership a fee to plug in their scanner and tell me whats wrong.
Also, the temperature gauge needle is pointing straight down (6 oclock). Is this something that I would need to replace the whole instrument panel for? Or do you think I could maybe take a tiny long wire through the trip reset hole and poke it back? I would've just tried it myself but Ive been so busy repairing everything else. Penny for your thoughts.

 

My airbag light had been intermittent for around 2 years. Cleaned the body ground point under the battery tray and it's now lit steadily. I've been told that the front sensors are most often the problem, but I don't want to mess with it. Mid-grade scanner doesn't show a fault. I'm sure the high-end ones at the dealer will...

Sometimes after disconnecting the battery, gauges go wacky like your temp gauge did. I've gotten them to spring back by rapping on the front of the instrument cluster. If nothing you try works, I'd try taking the cluster apart and resetting it. It's not that hard... You might crack the clear plastic trying to get a wire in there. It's quite thin.

 

yeah mine has been on always, it will blink at startup and stay illuminated. are the sensors in the front under the radiator, and are there two? another thing I've heard is that keyless entry and automatic start systems could cause it, like if someone messed something up in the wiring...because the previous owner had that installed. maybe they nicked a wire? I don't know...


as for the temp gauge, when I connect the battery you can hear a "clicking" sound inside the cab. I found once or twice the speedo had went all the way to 100mph and stuck there until I went at least 20mph. how hard of a job is it to get at the cluster? if its excessive, I might just have to deal with it. I know that my engine temp peaks at 198F due to looking at freeze frame data.

 

Yup, that's them... They have yellow connectors. I found this article which may be helpful: http://www.justanswer.com/uploads/SK...r_bag_sens.pdf

I'm sure that's possible. I'd be more inclined to look for broken wires down by the sensors. Disconnect the battery when working on it so you don't set the darn things off...

The cluster is easy to remove on my 2002. You remove the bezel from the dash, then a few screws and the electrical connector to get the cluster out. I've had it out to replace bulbs and to fix cold solder connections. Not sure if the '99 is the same, but I had mine out in a few minutes.

Let us know how it goes.

 

I will let you know how it goes if I can get around to it tomorrow. Only a high of -4 degrees tomorrow!