andydbutler

thankyou 2late4u - I am of the same mind BUT here is a question 2late4u..... clockspring??? does clockspring also handle the left & right levers (multi functio switches)??? I know clockspring handles stuff on the wheel so contact was made while turning the wheel... but the turn/highbeam and wiper handles don't move so do they go through the clockspring too?? As for a different mechanic.... not too many options around here - especially for electrical problems.

I agree with you. Since the only things not working are associated with the steering wheel... I believe the fault is there. This first thing I did was remove the airbag to get a good look at the clockspring and surrounding wires. I didn't see any faults. Without a schematic, I don't know how the "headlight wire" gets to the battery and the headlight itself. Gone are the days where it is a straight run - battery- switch- light. Nowadays it has to go through 1/2 dozen black boxes that all have computer-ish type stuff in them. Without a "map/schematic".... &%$^&*. I understand "sniffing a bus" (my computer background) but I don't have "car" tools to do it, and I don't know which wire.

I, myself, looked at the wiring in the steering column and didn't see any issues.... my background is computers so I know what to look for in the case of bad wiring. What I don't have is a good schematic of all the wiring. This is causing me problems which is why I brought it to a mechanic. I guessing that one wire is carrying a signal (bus) and this is causing the problem... I just have no idea of what wire to look at.

One day all instruments on the steering wheel stopped working at the same time - horn, cruise, high beams, compass, wipers, radio. Radio works fine at the mid console. Door windows, convenience lights, radio, heater adjust, seat adjust all work fine. Speedo, tach also work fine and ther are no "NO BUS" messages on instrument cluster. Brought to mechanic shop that specializes in electrical to get a computer scan (more than my little ODB2 scanner). Their computer gave a code "cannot read high beam multi function switch'. The switch (handle) was replaced. No improvement. Here is where it gets strange.... they unhooked the 'instrument cluster' and the steering wheel "kind'a" started working. I say kind'a because you can turn on the lights and wipers, but they would not turn off (this is what the mechanic said). Now they want to replace the cluster - that cost a lot of money and they are "fixing" by replacing.... they don't have any idea what is the root cause of the problem. They don't think it is the fuse box, sorry, TICM or the clockspring. $400 later and still no idea of a solution. Any ideas?????????