Steering Wheel Controls: A Different Problem
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 779
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From: Laguna Hills, CA
Steering Wheel Controls: A Different Problem The bulb on the right side steering wheel control went out, so I followed the guide on here to replace it. Now none of my steering wheel controls work.
Can anyone give me a voltage reading off of Pin 14 of the radio harness & Ground for each button (Vol +/-, Play, Mute)? I'm only getting about 3.7V max for all of those buttons.
Can anyone give me a voltage reading off of Pin 14 of the radio harness & Ground for each button (Vol +/-, Play, Mute)? I'm only getting about 3.7V max for all of those buttons.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,334
Likes: 347
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Each switch is wired with a resistor in series so that the resistance is cumulative. The left and right switches are then wired in parallel but that shouldn't matter because you normally wouldn't press one from each side at the same time. Here is a link to the schematic for the controls (it's not a large file to download but it's a pretty big image). I'll leave it to you to do the calculations. To get the actual voltage change you would need to know the current involved but you can determine the relative voltage change for different switches by just calculating with a standard current such as 1 amp.
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 779
Likes: 3
From: Laguna Hills, CA
I understand all that, but I'm not sure if my circuit is actually functioning correctly.
For Vol+ I'm measuring about 3.7V at pin 14, which is a 8.3V drop if you plug into V=IR
R = 1270 and solving for I = less than 1mA, not even sure if thats right.
For Vol+ I'm measuring about 3.7V at pin 14, which is a 8.3V drop if you plug into V=IR
R = 1270 and solving for I = less than 1mA, not even sure if thats right.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,334
Likes: 347
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
How about using your multimeter to directly measure the resistance? Locate connector C217 under the steering column. It's a 4-pin connector with yellow, gray with black, dark blue, and black wires in it. The gray with black and black wires are for the steering wheel switch illumination. The yellow wire is power input to the switches and the dark blue wire is the output to the radio. Unplug the connector and test the resistance across the yellow and dark blue wires as you press each switch to see if they are within specs. If not then the switches may be bad or the airbag coil may be introducing additional resistance.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,334
Likes: 347
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Originally Posted by FBDYLVR
Hmm, I'll try that tonight. Also, have you ever taken apart one of the switches? If so, What's the function of the diode that's in there?
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 779
Likes: 3
From: Laguna Hills, CA
Originally Posted by WhiteBird00
No, sorry, I haven't. However, I would guess that a diode would be to prevent backflow and inaccurate resistance values if more than one switch was pressed simultaneously (since they share common inputs and outputs).
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