jlostlen

I recently had my steering shaft disconnected while I was working on my truck. While it was disconnected, I spun the wheel, and apparently this breaks the wires or connectors for the horn, and airbag: Seeing as how neither work now. Further, these wires or connectors are found in what is called a clockspring. I have removed the airbag safely, (though i doubt they can easily deploy without power...) And have removed the steering wheel as well. All that is accessible now is the spiral cable. Where is the clockspring, can it be fixed? Please do not tell me that i have to remove the spiral cable assembly. please.
Any reply appreciated. Thanks guys or gals.

I have a 97 toyota t100 extra cab 3.4l 2wd automatic

Elton

the clockspring cant be fixed so you have to buy a new one

profuse007

yeah those wires on those ribbons looks pretty thin to work on. id rather go to a junkyard and get another one. usually, these things are at profuse amt.

when re-installing, turn the lil wheel and see maximum # of turn you can do and turn back half of it (w/ ur wheel centered), then put ur steering wheel back on.

BruceTS

I totally disagree....... I've fixed mine when I did something similar, you'll have to disassemble the housing strip back the insulation on the ribbon wire and carefully solder them together......

jlostlen

Ok, is the clockspring the same thing as the spiral cable? It looks like the wires go into the spiral cable at the bottom of the backside, and they connect to the top of the frontside. If so, how do i remove the spiral cable assebmly. It seems like this is a touchy device, it centers the wheel. And also, how can you dissasebmle the housing on the clockspring, I like that idea.

BruceTS

the housing snaps together, you'll have to carefully press each clip in, to separate the assembly. At least Toyota has indicator marks on the outside of the housing, so it's simple to align after reassembly. I forget how many turns it was to center, fortunately you can shorten the cable to re-solder and still have plenty of travel..... There's a small plastic piece inside that most likely broke off, don't worry it'll work fine without it. Solder the wires and place a piece of electrical tape to cover the connections....

BajaRunner

Sorry, I know that can be a pain the ass...

But, I couldnt help but start laughing... "I spun the wheel". That's something Id do for sure... :pat:

Good luck to you!!

jlostlen

Great, thanks BruceTS. I have it apart, and i see the cable. Im gonna try a pen solder gun. I feel like im working on an RC car with these wires, that or a computer cable...

"But, I couldnt help but start laughing... "I spun the wheel". That's something Id do for sure..."

yeah, live and learn.....

jlostlen

Hey thanks for all the replys everyone, I fixed it! The ribbon wire in the clockspring (spiral cable) was snapped at the connector with about an inch of wire left, so with some leet soldering skills from a buddy, we fixed it. Not to mention all the help from you guys. Thanks alot, saved me 300 dollars, and now i can help someone else.

James

amorphous

think this may be my prob...subscribe!

mt_goat

You realize you just subscribed to a nearly 4 year old thread right?

MillerPKA

Prime example of utilizing the search function....I dig it!

amorphous

yah....i searched...then subscribed so i can *remember* it later when i'm at home...

mt_goat

Gotcha

BTW if you take one apart and resolder it would you mind taking some pics and sharing?

amorphous

yah, i could swing that!

JBurt

So I have a broken clock spring and I have to pass a safety inspection. I found this thread and saw that no one had ever posted pictures of trying to solder a broken clock spring. I thought I would try it before spending $$ on a new clock spring. Here is how far I got. Photo disclaimer: I don't have much experience soldering. What do you guys think? Should I tape it up so the wires don't touch and reinstall it? What do you suppose that the getting fit in the face randomly with the air-bag risk with this would be? Any soldering (or just any) tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

chip_byrne

I was thinking about making a similar repair and it occurred to me that one could use liquid electrical tape to seal the connection. I believe they have it at Homer.

mt_goat

That would be a good application for that product.

mt_goat

That looks a little scary, some connections look very close to touching. I'd probably remove all that solder and redo it myself, but I know I could do a better job than that.

Some tips would be use a small tip soldering iron, thin 60-40 solder (something like .032"), keep your tip clean with a wet sponge, use good light, only use a hot iron, and you want the solder to look shiny when finished, not cloudy.



Use a good clean, well lit work area: