I have seen a few threads on this topic, but nothing with in-depth procedures. I was poking around the other day and it seems to me that in order to remove the controls you have to have a speciality tool to remove the air bag unit... Anyone have any photos or a good tutorial of the process, as I don't really believe you need to take off the air bag unit to take off the audio controls. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the help,

-Rob

 

audio controls are mounted to the air bag = remove airbag to remove the audio controls. You need a special tool to remove airbag bolts. You can buy it at sears tools department, comes as a set of "secret hex" (i think thats how they're called) make sure they have a hole drilled in the center.

 

Why? Aftermarket stereo? There's adapters for that. Or are yours broken?

 

Mine is broke, or progressively getting worse... works about 10% of the time now.

 

Excellent, that answers my question. I guess now I need to call DaveB on Monday and have him ship a new unit out.

 

security torx bits is what they are I believe

 

I have the same problem, flaky controls. I was wondering if it could be the clockspring, but I talked to my local dealer and they said they have only replaced one clockspring in many years.

Given that info, what size Torx bit do I need? T-20? I'm looking to see where I can get a security Torx driver. Sears calls them "Tamper Proof Torx"

Thanks

 

What size of Tamper proof torx do we need? Something in the back of mind tells me that I once saw T-23... can someone clarify?

 

actually maybe it was T-30

 

It's a T30

 

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.

 

awesome, thanks for the info guys!

 

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Fyi, my airbag did not have the security torx, it had, I think 10 or 12 mm bolts. Just thought I would share that.

 

Costee: another question for you. Since this repair, my moonroof does open. It goes up and down but will not slide backward. id this a function of removing the battery? If so, how does it reset?

 

Mine seems to be doing the same thing. I tried it awhile back and I could not get it to slide back. I'll have to look more into it later.