Air bag light & Steering wheel controls

[Xerroz]

My Airbag light is flashing - it flashes twice then briefly stops then flashes three times. After driving for a while it sometimes stays on and sometimes just stops. The horn is not working and neither are the radio control buttons on the steering wheel. I have checked wiring harnesses which seem to be ok and no fuses are blown. Anybody, any ideas??

[TwistedEL]

Welcome to the forums

It sounds like you need a new clock spring, pull the airbag and steering wheel off and see if the ribbon cable underneath has come undone.

[Xerroz]

Thanks, i'll try that. Is there much chance that i will accidentally set off the air bag? I haven't pulled the steering wheel of an airbag equipped car before.

[TwistedEL]

If the clock sping is in fact stuffed then as a precaution I would disconnect the battery, and leave it off for 5 mins before starting to pull the airbag off.

By the way you need a special bit to get the airbag off, it's a 5 sided security torx bit, or you can use a flat blad screw driver with a notch taken out of the middle

[Mechan1k]

If an airbag light flashes .. the airbag system has been disabled to start off with ... you still do need to be careful with it though ... as a precaution disconnect the battery.

But I have seen Ford airbag equipped wheels been removed many a time without having to have the battery disconnected.

[TwistedEL]

Yes I have done it many times without disconnecting the battery.
However if the ribbon cable has come undone it would be very easy for 12 volts from say the horn circuit to find its way into the airbag... boom.

[Cooper69S]

bit of thread-mining here...
but i'm interested in the comments about the ribbon cable coming undone. I've bought a momo wheel and need to fit it but was planning on buying a new clock spring first as i'd been told its the cause of the airbag light+no audio controls+no horn thing.
If it could be just the cable loose then I wouldn't want to waste money on a new clock spring.
the symptoms i had were that the audio controls on the steering wheel became a bit intermittent then after a few weeks stopped working altogether. dunno when the horn stopped as i rarely use it. The airbag light issue didn't start until a coupla months later.
Does that sound like a stuffed clock spring, or a loose cable? or could it be either?
I spose i might just have to pull the airbag off and see but i didn't want to have to do it twice...

[TwistedEL]

Yes it sounds like the clock spring to me. It's not actually a clock spring like the days of old, but rather a ribbon cable that's wound around in a circle so as to allow the steering wheel to move without losing connectivity.

The ribbon separates and the wires begin to touch.