Volvoish Airbaggery

[Shep Shepherd]

TV2's replacement steering wheel arrived today:

 

 

Although it has clearly seen a lot of use (it is from an ex police car, after all), it's in far better condition than the car's original wheel, which is suffering from serious deterioration to the rim's covering, leaving it rough in some places and sticky in others, making it quite unpleasant to hold for any length of time

 

I envisage a lot of fun fitting it, though, due to the airbag (I want to re-fit the car's original one, as opposed to the one which came with the replacement wheel), which will either work perfectly, lead to the perpetual illumination of the 'SRS' light on the dashboard, or - worse still - will go off when I turn the ignition on. Wish me luck!

 

Has anyone had experience of successfully replacing a 'bagged' steering wheel? The Haynes comic makes the job sound quite straightforward, but I doubt that it will be, knowing my luck. In any case, I won't be disturbing anything until the car's battery has been disconnected for at least 12 hours...

[254575]

meh, I changed an air bagged 1999 megane steering wheel over a lunch break after disconnecting the battery at 9am. no SRS light on afterwards either.

 

had to disconnect the airbag on a c200 to change a stalk and the light came on after.

 

in conclusion. = inconclusive

[mk1_4dr]

Yeah, airbags are a bit of an unknow quantity, although I was under the impression that if the battery is disconnected it can't go off. Never heard of needed to have it disconnected for hours on end:?

 

I'd just make sure the battery is off, take your time and try not to disturb anything else.

[Richard]

Static is more likely to set off the airbag than anything in the car's electrics, this is how I would do it.

 

Disconnect the battery, don't be clad head to toe in nylon, grip the door before touching the airbag to discharge any static. Park the car outside and stand outside the car as you do it- it's highly unlikely to go off but you don't want to be in there if it does.

[oldford]

Beneath the airbag, within the confines of the steering wheel, there will be electrical plugs for the horn wires and the airbag wires at the airbag. They will likely go into one loom and be connected in one block under the wheel. This connection is at what is known as the slip ring AKA spiral link or clock spring. The steering wheel should pass over this connection when removed and the electrical plugs should be able to go through it, so there is no need to unplug them at the slip ring.

 

Slip rings are fragile, expensive and if faulty will cause the light to come on. When the wheel is removed, do not turn the slip ring. When replacing the steering wheel it is best to have the road wheels in the straight ahead position to ensure that the slip ring is centralised.

[Shep Shepherd]

Thanks for the advice, chaps. I'll let you know how I get on

[Volksy]

When working for Fiat when funbags first came about, the guidelines were to disconnect the battery at least half an hour before removing the Airbag unit, always stand outside the car when unscrewing the retaining bolts with you hands/arms well away from the unit. Once loose, unclip the wires - (normally yellow) and remove the unit, place it face up on a surface - so the side that faces you in the car is uppermost - as if they set off face down they can fire about 50ft off the floor taking whatevers in the way with them.

 

Refit in the same way, reconnect the battery and initally turn the ignition on from outside the car once the unit is fixed to the wheel.

[Barry Cade]

 

[Renault18]

Done loads of Meganes. Disconnect battery and have a brew, then undo the screws and release airbag. On the Megane - and I'm sure all makes will be similar, the connector is designed to eliminate a short or static discharge. I always ensure that the airbag is facing well away when I reconnect. Once done it's a case of refitting and putting the battery back on. I always start the car by reaching in to start it, just in case. Never had any problems - famous last words

 

On a related issue, some people seem to think that airbag lights on Meganes can be reset. They cannot. The light comes on because one of the microswitches in the airbag control unit in front of the gearlever has been triggered. Replacing that is the only way to do it.

 

You should be fine with the Volvo.

[fiatdaft]

as long as the splines are the same as the old one!

[ashmicro]

Put a leather rimmed job on my Rover. Procedure as follows.

 

Disconnect battery earth lead, leave well alone for 1 hour

Disconnect airbag multiplug, and remove the screws from the back of the steering wheel to allow airbag removal

Remove wheel

Fir new wheel

Fit airbag

Reconnect battery

 

The Rover RAVE instructions are a bit more verbose, but that's the gist of it.

[Albert Ross]

This is going to make you laugh...

I sit in the car with the battery connected, and pop them off, drop them in the passenger footwell. We get a few faults on the recent Astras where the radio control and horn button loom chafes on the sprung baseplate. We do it the quick way to make bonus and therefore not keep the customer waiting. WIN!

 

I will let you all know if one goes off and I end up cleaning my glasses with a pipe cleaner up my nostril.......

[Shep Shepherd]

Thanks for all the advice, chaps

 

Managed to successfully fit the replacement wheel this afternoon, which, along with a few bits of plastic that I obtained from a Volvo breakers in Bedfordshire (Lakes) yesterday, has made the car's interior look a little bit nicer, and in the case of the wheel, has made the car feel much nicer to drive :

 

 

After circumnventing the airbaggery, which really wasn't anything to be afraid of, the old wheel was easily removed and the new one was just as easily fitted in its place. Upon reconnecting the battery (I disconnected it yesterday evening, just to be on the safe side), the airbag remained in its benign state, the SRS light on the dash came on and went out as it should and the horn worked.

 

The only casualty was the steering column rake/reach adjustment handle, which broke when I removed the steering column lower shroud, which was real bastard to get off. After a few scary minutes, I managed to lock the adjustment mechanism with an open-ended spanner, so the car's still drivable, but I will need to replace the handle as soon as possible. However, as it looks like the upper part of the steering column will need to be removed from the car to fit it, I predict a heck of a hassle for the sake of a push-on piece of plastic that will cost me £1 from the aforementioned breaker and operates a facility that I don't need and don't use, but might be used by someone in the future. Ho hum.