Just recently my airbag light came on and my cruise control will not work. No blown fuses for either system and can't pull the airbag code due to my scan tool not being advanced enough. Anything I should look into to track the problem down? I'm leaning towards clockspring but the horn buttons still work in all positions of the wheel. Also my truck is a 1996 5.2 4wd Dakota

 

You can test the clockspring with a multimeter, but you do have to remove the airbag to do that, so that might not be the best thing to do.

Or at least pull the wheel itself.

Does your speedometer work properly? If so, it's a safe bet that the VSS in the diff is working properly. Not a 100% guaranteed item, but still pretty safe.

I'd pull the service manual out of the FAQ here and go through its troubleshooting tree for the airbag light first.

RwP

 

Speedometer works properly no jumping around or dead spots. My possible thought is something broke when I changed my steering gearbox. Maybe the wheel made one too many turns and broke a connection? Might have to go the route of taking the steering wheel apart and see what's going on inside.

 

You may also be able to check continuity from below without removing the wheel.

Again, grab the FSM. It even has the values of the resistors switched in for the cruise control as various buttons are pushed; you can check and see if you get them when buttons are pushed.

RwP