Help!!! Car playing funny buggers...

[Mikal52]

Hi everyone I need some help.

I have an AUIII xls 5.0L manual. During the week I fitted a set of 220kw extractors to it. other than that nothing has been changed for ages.

Now today while driving to the shop my horn suddenly decides to go off and on without me touching it. Then turns on and stays on. I pulled over and the only way to stop it i ripped the battery lead off. as soon as i touch the battery terminal again the horn goes of.

I disconnected the horn to stop that. but now when I start the car the Overspeed alert keeps flashing on and off at me and nothing I do will stop it. It adjusting itself and continuously beeping. Also the airbag light is flashing at me.

I'm going to reset the ECU and see if that helps but does anyone have any other ideas whats going on.???

Thanks in advance
Michael

[JMO]

maybe the extractors have damaged some of the wires in the engine bay?

[Mikal52]

I thought that aswell but had a look and nothing seems to be anywhere near the pipes. definately cant see any melted wiring or anything.

Thanks for the idea though... keep em coming lol.

[FTe_XR8]

might be the clock spring?
my bro had the drama with the airbag light coming on sometimes all he could do was take it to ford to get it reset on their computers.
did it make much difference with the new extractors?

[Mikal52]

Sorry but whats the clock spring????

That'll be a real pain as we dont have a Ford dealer up here anymore!!!!

Extractors are awesome mate pain to fit but worth it... Bit louder and soo much smoother to drive! pulls quite a bit harder too which is always good

[FTe_XR8]

great to hear your happy with em.
i know some other places have the comp to check it out? my bro has a portable carputer that plugged into to mine and i checked out all my error codes and stuff and cleared them. but he's in tom price so bit of a trek!
the clockspring is in the steering wheel, i think theres a pic of it in daniels thread bout his terminator... it is a bit weird for it to give up just after changing the extractors though.

[mik]

you did`nt accidently short anything out while fitting extractors by any chance?

[Mikal52]

Not that I know of..... But I have a theory now...

I think the clock spring has broken. coz when I turn the wheel I can hear clicking noises coming from inside the wheel. And once it snapped I think the wiring inside the wheel may have been crushed and shorted causing the horn to go off, Overspeed to keep turning on and off, Cruise control isnt working and stereo control isn't working.. Can someone tell me if they think I'm on the money or something else is going on???

Now I have another problem. I just reset the ECU and since that the car is really jerky to drive. when I put the foot down it doesn't pull smoothly at all anymore. I have a Flash tune in my car so I'm wondering if I should put the standard tune back in and and re-flash it?

Sorry for all the questions. Good learning curve I guess.....

Michael

[b2tf]

Going by that it sounds like the clock spring. Talk to philstoj, he had similar issues and I think he may have even replaced it himself so he should be able to help you out.

[Mikal52]

No worries thanks. Will head to the wreckers first thing tomorrow and see if I can get one off another AU there.

Anyone have any ideas about the way she is running now also????

Thanks
Michael

[FTe_XR8]

only thing is you'll need the special five pointed torx bit to get the airbag off, such a PITA! but once u get it out just replace it with some allen key head bolts or something.
did u go through the "run in" procedure once u reset the E.C.U? can be found in here somewhere or on aufalcon.com

[Mikal52]

Yeah I did the run in thing when I reset the ECU. I might do it again and put the standard tune back in to see how that goes.Maybe it needs to be re-flashed or something I dunno....

Going to the wreckers now to see if I can even get another clockspring (wreckers up here aren't the most helpful people....) Then I'll set about looking for this infamous 5 sided torx bit.

If I have any more questions ill be back!

Thanks for all your help

Michael

[The Monty]

reset the ECU then reflash it. It will flash in the proper codes it needs to run properly.

[Mikal52]

Thanks for that.... Ill do it after I fix the first problem n see how she goes....

I can get the 5 sided torx bits from conventry's but have to order them in so hopefully get them tomorrow.

If I get a clockspring out of another AU that has been crashed from the wreckers would it more than likely be broken also? How will I be able to tell by looking at it? I ask bcoz I cant get mine off yet so I dont know if its obvious to see its broken or not.... And I dont wanna buy another one thats also f*ked.

Sorry for all the questions and if they seem stupid but its hard doing things up here with no ford dealer and no companies who will give you the time of day let alone help out...

Thanks
Michael

[b2tf]

Michael personally I'd be going for a brand new clock spring. Just parts like that, I prefer to use brand new stuff.

[Mikal52]

Yeh I think thats what ill do.... Unfortunately that means I wont get to drive it again till next year as I go away on thursday until after new years.... Well ya get that.

I'm going to order one from FTG today hopefully. So unless it gets here by wednesday the utes parked up for some time now.

I'll reset the ECU and re-flash it before I go but dont wanna drive it so I wont know if it worked for a while..

I hate cars sometimes :togo:

Michael

[Mikal52]

Ok got the infamous tool today. got the wheel off and the clockspring is definately rooted.

How do I get the plug off the back? Does it unplug directly at the clockspring or is it the plugs a bit further back in the loom?

Sorry for the dumb question just dont wanna break anything more than I already have.

Michael

[JC]

The clockspring plugs in about halfway down the steering column. I broke one once, and spent 3 hours fixing it; worked though!