2001'SE- Has anyone had their steering wheel buttons go bad? At a certain wheel position my radio controls don't work. Any suggestions?

 

Sounds like a loose connection to me... I'd try taking the wheel off and double-check all the electrical connectors.

 

I have the same problem in my '01 AE. If I turn the steering wheel back and forth I can get them to work. They seem to work better when it's warm out. I asked my local dealer and they said they have not seen any 5th gen Max with the problem.

Today I took the control unit off the steering wheel and opened it up. Not much inside other than a circuit board with rubber contact buttons that the plastic buttons push down on. The contacts were clean and the only other thing on the board is a logic chip. Everything looked good.

I disconnected the clockspring and checked the connectors. They were clean and tight. I decided "what the heck" so I opened up the clockspring assembly (yes, the yellow sticker says not to). All that's inside is a long section of ribbon cable wound around the center. I checked the connections inside and they looked good.

So the control unit is actually hard-wired to the steering column through the clockspring (which is not really a spring, but a wire). The only thing I could think of was a break in the ribbon wire inside the clocksrping. I can get the controls to work at any position of the steering wheel if I turn it back and forth so I don't think the wire is broken. It acts like a dirty connection but I can't find any.

I put it all back together and it's doing the same thing, maybe a little better, but not correct. I'm digging around to see what I can figure out.

 

Typical BS from a Nissan stealer. Most of us have the same issue, although few have taken it appart.

 

Same problem in my AE, only way I can get them to work sometimes is by just holding the button I need down for a while until it responds, otherwise its just a terrible way of finish on Nissan's part.

 

Steve,

It sounds like your switch may just be dirty. If they work with constant pressure, maybe cleaning the contacts will help. You have to take the airbag module out of the steering wheel because the two switch mounting screws and the wiring connector are inside.

Once you get the switch out, gently pry the back cover off and remove the two small phillips screws holding the circuit board on. Once you've done that, you can use conatct cleaner on the board.

A new switch is about $45 so it may be worth trying that if the cleaning does not work

Good luck

 

probably a bad clockspring, does it happen to the horn?

 

Horn works fine and so does the cruise control. They probably use different wires in the ribbon anyway. The audio control uses a 4-pin connector for all the functions so the chip on the internal circuit board must encode and decode the signals coming from the head unit.

 

I broke down and ordered a new steering wheel switch. There are 10 possibilities so you need to give the dealer your VIN. The new set works perfectly! I still can't figure out how something without any moving parts would only work with the steering wheel in certain positions.

The good news is that a $50 switch solved the problem and the controls work at all angles and even while turning the wheel..Ya hoo!

It was a 5 minute job to replace it. You do need the T-30 "security-Torx" driver to remove the two screws holding the airbag assembly to the steering wheel. Once that's off, turn it over and remove the two phillips screws holding the controls and remove the 3-wire connector.

 

Hey tonyw......My 01 max gle clockspring was "reconnected" by the stealership but only worked for 2months..My airbag light is blinking again and I don't want them to "fix" it again..I want to take my steering wheel off so I can get to my clockspring..I can hear that it is disconnected when turning because I get a clicking sound..I took off the two small "quarter" size plastic pieces on each side of the steering wheel to reveal the torx screws you are talking about...Do I disconnect these to get to the clockspring??? Please elaborate how you did it so I may stop the annoying airbag light..I am about ready to take out the led light in the cluster for this but don't want to compromise my safety...Also did you disconnect the negative on the battery while doing this????Thanks.......Paul

 

Wow, Paul. It came on again?

 

Here's how to get to the control switch pods and the clockspring:

First you'll need a T-30 Torx driver with the hole in the center of the bit. They are called Tamper proof/tamper resistant/security Torx bits. You'll also need a phillips screwdriver and a 19mm socket (preferably 1/2" drive).

1 - Disconnect the battery and let it sit for 5 minutes to let the airbag capacitors dissipate

2 - Make sure the steering wheel is set straight ahead (this is very important if you are removing the clockspring

3 - Remove the small round access covers on the back-sides of the steering wheel

4 - Remove the square access cover on the bottom-back of the steering wheel

5 - Disconnect the two wiring plugs inside the steering wheel on the bottom-back. Make sure to press the release tabs to unlock them before pulling them free.

6 - Remove the two Torx screws on the side-back of the steering wheel

7 - The airbag pad assembly will come out as a unit. If you are replacing a control switch pod (they are attached to the airbag pad unit), disconnect the wiring connector and remove the two phillips screws to remove the switch pod. If that's all you are doing, reverse the order to re-assemble, if not, read on.

8 - If you are going to remove the clockspring, set the airbag pad assembly aside.

9 - Remove the phillips screws holding the top and bottom half of the steering column covers onto the steering shaft (the covers are where the ignition switch and headlight/wiper control stalks are). There should be about 6 of them, all on the bottom section. Once you have the screws out, Take the two halves apart and set them aside

10 - Loosen the 19mm nut in the center of the steering wheel. Back it off, but don't remove it yet.

11 - Grab the steering wheel at the 9 and 3 position and wiggle it while pulling it towards you. It will pop off its mounting shaft (and if you removed the center nut, hit you in the face).

12 - Double check that the steering wheel is set straight ahead and now remove the center nut and washer. Remove the steering wheel.

13 - Take a look at the clock spring and notice it has a set of marks at about the 7-o'clock position. Make sure those marks stay aligned.

14 - Remove the phillips screws holding the clockspring assembly and pull it off the column disconnecting the wiring plug on the column side of the unit.

15 - The clockspring is just a plastic housing holding a section of ribbon cable. The cable is wrapped inside the housing with enough slack to allow the steering wheel to turn lock-to-lock without binding or snapping the cable. That's why it's so important to keep those marks aligned. There are instructions on the clockspring unit talking about proper alignment of the marks.

16 - I took my clockspring apart, keeping everything aligned, to see what was inside. It was a simple ribbon cable wound up inside, not much that go wrong, unless the cable breaks. Unfortunately it's a $190 part, so be careful!!

17 - Reverse the above order to put everything back together. The small round access hole covers get installed with the flat spot facing up.

 

thanks for the post tonyw helped me too.

 

yeah, mine is doing the same thing.. seems to happen usually when its cold out.. i dont know about having the wheel in different positions.. i havent really tried that.. but it's very annoying.. like, i'll have to press really hard on the buttons or a couple times before they start to work.. then they'll stop again.. its so annoying!!

 

THANKS ALOT tonyw...This will surely help me out to get to my clockspring...Your detailed instructions are awesome and I appreciate it...Paul

 

Wyche89, That's exactly what mine was doing, in addition to the steering wheel position thing. All the problems went away with the new switch!

Rosenthal Nissan-Mazda www.mazda-parts-dealer.com (they sell Nissan parts too) had the switch for $55, or $60 shipped to California, That was about $30 less than what my local dealer wanted for the part.

 

Hey Tony,

That's a great write up but I think it's missing something. I'm almost sure that you have to replace a set of screws when putting the airbag and steering wheel cover back on. You can't or shouldn't use the same screws due to safety concerns with the airbag. Man, I wish I could remember more.

Edit:
I knew I read this somewhere. From the FSM.
"The special bolts are coated with bonding agent. Do not use old bolts after removal; replace with new coated bolts."
The special bolts the FSM is referring to are the Torx bolts removed in step 1.

 

Supposedly you're supposed to replace the security torx bolts every time, but I can't see them becoming a large safety hazard from reusing them just once.

 

Same thing worked for me. I replaced mine a while back and for some reason, that solved it. Still doesn't make sense how replacing the buttons work when the wheel is turned...

Here's my write up
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=335056

 

Apply some thread lock and you'll be fine.

 

Hmmm...since the FSM is pretty insistent about replacing the bolts I would. I'm not sure of the consequences of the bolts coming loose. I highly doubt that the airbag would go off accidentally but imagine if it did...

 

The issue of the bolt coming loose would be solved if you applied some thread lock on the bolt before putting it back. I dont think these are stretch bolts (which would obviously need replacement after removing), but I could be wrong..

I had asked my dealer about these air bag bolts a while back..he said it was ok to reuse them as I was just replacing the switch.

 

The bolts already have threadlock on them. I just put them back and they are fine. The FSM wants you to replace them for liability reasons