Hi, need a little help here...
95 Impreza
Air bag warning light and horn stopped working simultaneously.
I checked horns, relay, circuit to horns, all ok.
Checked to see if horn relay received a ground from the horn button on
steering wheel and no ground.
Took steering wheel airbag off and checked wiring in steering wheel ok
Looks like I have an open in the air bag area down through the wheel into
the horn relay wire.

What to donext? I have to see where the open is from the wire in the
stering wheel for the horn to the connector at the horn relay.

Any suggestions?

PS I bet the connector that is bad is giving me the warning in the air bag
system also....

Mike

No suggestions here - just a report of an almost identical situation on
my last car (a 1990 Mercury). When I bought the car, there was a piece
of tape on the dashboard that I didn't notice. When I took it off, I
saw that it was to cover the airbag light, which was always on. A few
months later the horn started to not work all the time. The horn just
kept getting worse, until it stopped altogether. Also, the cruise
control stopped working. The common thread was everything on the
steering wheel - horn, airbag & cruise - stopped working.

I don't work on cars much, and this was beyond what I could fix. The
electical connection between the car and the wheel was shot. The garage
ended up replacing the steering wheel (including the airbag). Cost $250
or so.

kl




M wrote:

kl wrote:
So you had an opportunity to get a better steering wheel and get rid of
three useless options and you blew it :-)

I would like the horn to stop working on mine. I've used it half a dozen
times so far and only by accident. I'll probably end up disconnecting it.

OK I found it it is the clockspring or as Subaru calls it, the roll
connector. It is a flat delicate ribbon cable that transmits electrical
signals from the horn, airbag, et al, rotating parts of the steering wheel
to the chassis. It is wound like a watch clock spring and installed in the
middle position when the wheels are pointiing staraight ahead. If you put
it in wrong it will tear and break.
What appears to have happened here is the ribbon cable was bent and failed
dut to fatigue.

Big bucks to replace so I took it appart and resoldered the ribbon cable at
the end where it broke. Keep my fingers crossed and it will save me $300 or
so since it is only sold as part of the combination switch on the streering
column.

Yhe unit was taken apart once before and I supect it was reinstalled out of
adjustment and placed strain on the ribbon cable.

Thanks,
Mike


<kl> wrote