Fire-formula 93

iTrader: (1)

I had to remove the steering shaft when I put my hooker headers in and after about 5 minutes of driving the car when it was all finished up, the steering wheel made a click/pop while turning and the AIR BAG light came on. Since, my controls on the steering wheel do not work or light up now either. I have checked fuses, what could be my problem?

wabmorgan

Not sure if related or not. But I do know these cars were RECALLED for the steering wheel controls wiring to be re-routed to prevent possible air-bag deployment.

Fire-formula 93

iTrader: (1)

I think the horn, controls, and air bag are on the same circuit. I just dont know what happened.

618HAWK

iTrader: (361)

By chance did you turn the steering wheel when you had it out and disconnected? Or not get the steering wheel back in the same spot when removed. The harness for the airbag is a coil type setup, sounds like it was over wound which caused it to brake.

Could pull the air bag and then disconnect it, and the connector under the dash do a continuity check to see if you broke it. Sure sounds like what happened. Note this is the small yellow 2 wire harness.

If it broke the airbag sensor-control unit is seeing that and turning on the light.

Fire-formula 93

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the help. That sounds like it could be the problem. Is this a dealer only part or can I get this at an auto parts store? I heard it was fairly expensive.

618HAWK

iTrader: (361)

I would try in the parts wanted section. Some one probably has one laying around. Or parting out a steering column.

Would go that route before heading to the dealer.
Where-who ever you get one from, make sure it comes from a column that had not had the air bag go off. Because when the air bag deploys the connector usually melts from the heat of the airbag on deployment, a you will have a hard time reconnecting it.

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

Are there any pictures of this? I had the same exact **** happen to me a few months ago. Airbag light is on and steering wheel controls don't work. How do I remove the plastic cover on the steering column? Do I have to remove the steering wheel? What tool do I need to do that?

here are some pics of where I quit 5 minutes ago:

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

I got the steering wheel off but that doesn't help much. I can't get anything else. Does anyone know anything?

Ok after telling some service guy that I'm pretty sure I know what broke, seeing as how both devices failed simultaneously (airbag + buttons), I got this part number for the "steering wheel arming coil" for steering wheels with radio controls: 26072753. GMPP has it for $147.75 shipped which isn't bad, but could be cheaper...

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

Ok after buying the wrong part from someone on this site, I decided to pay the (now) $152.something for a new coil.

...and since I can't find anyone who's done this before, here is my write up. Please correct me if I'm wrong!



Park your car with the steering wheel as straight as possible. Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery and/or pull the air bag and radio fuses.

Loosen the two T25 torx screws behind the steering wheel to remove the air bag unit. (Figure 1) Disconnect the air bag harness (yellow wrapped green and white wires) from the unit. (Figure 2) It's a two step process. First, a tab/plug needs to be pulled from the back, then you can pull the connector out. Place the air bag in a safe place facing up. (Figure 3) Remove the spring loaded wire connector for the horn (red and yellow wires) by pushing in slightly and turning it. It'll pop out (Figure 4). Disconnect the connector for the radio control harness, four wires, yellow, green, gray and black, protected in a gray shield. Remove 3/4" hex bolt holding the steering wheel in place. Install a steering wheel puller (available at AutoZone through their loan-a-tool program) and remove the steering wheel. (Figure 5) Once the steering wheel is removed you'll find the steering wheel module coil in the column. Remove the copper colored retaining ring keeping the coil in place. (Figures 6 and 7)

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

Remove the knee bolster hiding the steering column and other wiring under the dash. It's held in place with two phillips screws and two 7mm bolts. Be careful when pulling it out, the trunk release button is connected to the panel. Find and disconnect the air bag and radio control wiring connectors. (Figure 8) Pinch the two tabs (Figure 9) to pull out the clear plastic piece (Figure 10) holding the steering column wires in place. You may have to disconnect more wires for extra room. Pull out the old, broken coil which will pull the wires along with it. The connectors gave me trouble halfway up, so I snipped them off. Remove and save the yellow, plastic cover found on the black connector for the air bag. I needed mine for the new coil, the one supplied didn't fit!

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

I bought a new coil from GM Parts Direct, so the wire connectors that need to be run down the steering column came in a little plastic sled. (Figure 11) There was no way in hell that thing was going to fit, it's too big. I used a straightened wire hanger to jam the yellow wires down the column. (Figure 12) Since shoving one set of wires down the column only made the smaller, the connector for the steering wheel controls didn't fit. I used a pin to remove the four terminals from the connector (Figure 13) and wrapped them in tape so they wouldn't get caught on something while going down the steering column. I made a point with the tape so it'd be easier to push down. (Figures 14 and 15)

Once the two sets of wires were down, I put everything back together. For the steering wheel control harness connector, the yellow wire terminal goes into slot A, gray in B, green in C, and black/white in D. Slide the clear plastic piece (Figure 10) back into place. Slide the yellow, plastic cover from earlier onto the the black connector for the air bag harness. (Figure 18) Reconnect everything you disconnected.

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

If you bought a new coil it will have an orange, plastic clip. (Figure 16) The clip keeps the coil somewhat centered after it was assembled and during shipping. You have almost nothing to worry about. If you bought a used coil, follow the instructions (attached, step #5, other pages are too large... >100 Kb) for centering your coil properly. The instructions mention a "centering window" and "service lock." The coil used in my f-body didn't have a centering window, but it does have the service lock on the back. (Figure 17)

While inserting the new coil into the steering column, make sure the small tab covered in some felt is up, in the 12 o'clock position. There is a black triangle/array on the coil that should be roughly in the 7 o'clock position. (Figure 19) The coil may have to rotate slightly depending on how straight your steering wheel was when you parked. Mine was off just a tad, but the yellow arrow on the coil should line up with the black. If yours is new, it'll be covered with the orange clip. Make sure the small, square tab on the clip is just above the black arrow.




Reinstall the retaining ring and remove the orange clip. Reinstall the steering wheel. It should only be able to go one way since the small teeth on the shaft have an slight anomoly in them, found in the 12 o'clock position. Toruque the steering wheel bolt to 32 ft/lbs. Reconnect the air bag and radio control connectors, and insert the spring loaded connector for the horn. Installation is just the reverse of removal. Push in and twist till it locks into place. Reinstall the air bag and tighten the two bolts found on the rear of the steering wheel. Reinstall the knee bolster, and don't forget to reconnect the trunk release button! Reconnect your battery and put back the fuses.

So far mine works! 6 months without radio controls has been so annoying!

2thousand2

is that called a "clock spring"

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

That might be a name for it, but the first page of instruction booklet reads "Inflatable Restraint Steering Wheel Module Coil Replacement." The captions for the illustrations call it a "Service Lock," but other than that I don't see "clock spring" anywhere.

sercastiK

iTrader: (11)

clock spring and airbag coil are one in the same

gi8e7oi825

iTrader: (32)

Thank you, topgun, for pointing this out... (verification of the part numbers ordered vs received). Yes, I definitely ordered my clock spring under GM#26072753. Luckily I took a picture of the part before installing it, and behold... a mismatch! GM#26069709 = #26072753, despite what all your fancy education and/or logic tells you. Pictures before/during installation:



I can't believe it's been almost five years... **** I'm old!

DAVE00

iTrader: (10)

HOLY CRAP!!!! You replied to a thread you started and last posted to over 4 years ago. Now that's dedicated and/or delayed work.

topgun1851

Excellent write up!

My original part number was 26069709, but was "discontinued" with GM Parts Direct and through dealerships. GM customer service recommended part 26072753 to fit my car, so I ordered it. But part 26069709 showed up at the door.

With the help of this write up, everything install went perfect. Now the airbag light is out (works I assume) and steering wheel controls are operational again. Thanks gi8e7oi825!

ZexGX

iTrader: (28)

Thank you for posting the P/N and install procedure. Wish I had seen it earlier when I did my steering wheel radio controls conversion on my car. Would have referenced it earlier in my guide: https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...-controls.html

I am adding a link for this to my guide for reference and to help people with the installation of the SIR coil.