Electrical New Clock Spring nothing works on steering wheel still

79pace

something stupid will fall out of my mouth
Founding Member
Jul 21, 2000
239
33
38
Tulsa, OK
I have a 93GT which is a one year only clock spring. nothing on my steering wheel has worked in a long time and my air bag buzzer goes off often and is annoying as hell. I sourced another clock spring that was known to be working, installed it and no change at all. I have not found any fuses blown. Any idea what to look at next? I have no horn, no cruise and my air bag light always blinks so has to be something with the clock spring but if its not the clock spring itself what else?
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Unfortunately I do not own a foxbody with an airbag but I do own a few sn95’s with them. Does your airbag light blink a code number you can reference? Second question is if you have checked continuity on the replacement clock spring? You should be able to check pin to pin with DMM and verify if the clock spring is good. If one of the lines is open then the clock spring is no good. Hope this helps some.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
The little harness that runs up to the clockspring might be no good (short 14 inch harness)
We used air bag simulators to aid in diagnosis (they plug in to the little harness at the bottom)
I tried to sell a few years back and had no takers (they came in bags of 5 or 6 simulators) (I have 30 or so)
The simulator mimics the air bag and if the lamp goes out you need either a clockspring or the airbag itself
Never had to replace an airbag that was not deployed first
You had better check the clockspring for continuity like Tigger advised
Buy a new ford one if yours is crap (it's your life at stake)
 
Unfortunately our 93 clock springs are no longer avalible. Now there are some who have used 94-5 clock springs with some rewiring.
Do a search you'll see. Now my situation is just the opposite , all on wheel works but I got a blinking airbag light,seems I need a control box that is no longer aval.
 
Simple first step. The horn shares the same fuse as the cigarette lighter. Look closely at the lighter socket and be sure there isn't a coin or washer laying in it.

The horn circuit has a button that supplies ground, a relay that uses the button to switch the horns on and off, and two horns. The relay reduces the current that the horn button has to carry. This makes it possible to use a small and simple switch and slip ring on the steering wheel.

Note that the horn ground is built into the horn mount bracket, so the horn must be mounted on metal with a good connection to the car body.

attachments\50337





The horns typically develop an internal short to ground, which causes the fuses to blow. :eek:

The horns are located under the car on the driver's side, forward of the front wheel well. Disconnect BOTH horns, replace the fuse: if the fuse blows immediately, the problem is most likely in the cigar lighter circuit. If not, then press the horn button on the steering wheel: if the fuse blows the problem is in the wiring between the horn relay and the horn. If doesn't blow when you press the horn button, connect ONE of the horns and try again. If it still doesn't blow the fuse, connect the other horn. Chances are that the first horn you re-connect will blow the fuse. Whatever horn blows the fuse at this point has an internal short and is trash. Time for a trip to the junkyard... :crazy:

Horn does not honk, but does not blow fuses:
Run a jumper wire from the battery positive terminal to the horn input connector: the horn should honk. If it does, then your problems are in the other parts of the circuit. If it does not honk, replace the horn.
Use a test light or voltmeter and connect one lead to the horn wire under the fender and the other to ground. Push the horn button: you should see 12 volts or the test light will turn on. If it does not, check the fuse. If the fuse is good, check the relay.

The relay will click and honk the horn if you short the Yellow/Lt Green wire to ground. If you have a test light connected in place of the horn it will light. If it does not activate the horn or test light, look for 12 volts at the Lt blue/white wire. No 12 volts at the Lt blue/white wire, you have fuse or wiring problems in the circuit that supplies the 12 volts to the relay. Good 12 volts at the Lt blue/white wire and the Yellow/Lt Green wire shorted to ground and no honk or flash of the test light, replace the relay.

The rubber foam usually deteriorates over time and that is what makes the horn switch fail. Take it apart and replace the foam with some from packaging material. A little creative engineering may be required, but you can do it.
 
  • Like
  • Useful
Reactions: 1 users
I will check the lighter harness out. I have the LMR cup holder console with the usb plugs in it so no lighter for coins to go in but I did notice it doesnt work either. My mirror switch has power but the usb plug ins do not work. The fuse for the lighter is good though. I have checked it out. I did not check continuity on the clock spring but it was known to be good when it was pulled from the donor car. Doesnt mean its good but I trust that I was not lied to on it. I am not great with electrical crap. I can fumble around but I am definitly not an electrical guru.
 
79pace,
You said the air bag buzzer goes off
Must mean the key in ignition buzzer?
That is the little brass tab on the Ignition lock cylinder that is broken or bent
Did you check the flashout code for the air bag?
You really need an NSG scan tool to get to the bottom of any air bag issues
That said the only parts I ever had to replace were clocksprings and the occasional backup power supply
You need to start any supplemental restraint (air bag) diagnosis with the code
Best way to retrieve the code is with a NGS on your 93
It probably has a rash of B and U codes related to your issue
 
The later cars actually have an air bag buzzer. Its a blue box up under the dash and it makes a lovely sound when it senses that the air bag is disabled or non functional and I get that there may be airbag codes but my guess is they will be cured if I can figure out why nothing that is related to my clock spring works which would include the airbag. I dont believe its an airbag issue but the airbag is a symptom of the larger issue. If I get the horn and cruise working and the air bag buzzer is still giving me fits then I will try to trace that down. To be honest I am not a fan of having a 30 year old functional air bag sitting near my face so that not working is a good thing really. But I do want my horn and cxruise working.
 
Well to me the blue box is the backup power supply and I have never heard one buzz before
Learn something every day even as a master
That means you are on to something
You had better check all the fuses and the blue box may be the problem
Back in the day after a deployment the power supply would burn a diode inside and we would have to replace it too on any wrecked carts that got new air bags
There are at least two fuses to run the airbags. Do you have the schematic for your car?
 
I have the owners manual and a few haynes books but following that stuff is tough. I hate electrical stuff. lol I have not pulled out all of my fuses one at a time or replaced them all for grins but it may be time. Like I said, everything else works on the car other than the cig lighter power and the steering wheel stuff. Oh and here is another thread about that blue box with some descent info on it.

 
79pace,
1993 GT right? I will try to find you the pages out of the EVTM
The horn and brake lights and lighter fuses are in on the air bag power
So is the ignition switch
You learn wiring as you go
So when you pulled your steering wheel off you were looking at the sliding contact only right?
Meaning you saw no other contacts there? (the earlier ones had a black plastic plate that were the horn and cruise rings)
I would have you find a air bag simulator for your car and plug it in. I would send you one if I knew which one fit a Mustang (I have some)
Never plugged a resistor in but they are the same thing. We were told in school that the simulators were just a real good qualilty 1.5 ohm resistor
If that solves the air bag module buzzing Great! But I think your backup power supply might be more likely the fault
You should ohm out the clockspring before you spend too much time chasing your tail but get the fuses all checked first
That is why you need the schematic is to see all the fuses and grounds for that circuit
 
There is no sliding contact on the later cars. The clock spring took its place unless your meaning something else and I am misunderstanding or I just didnt see it. it thought the clock spring took the place of the brass sliding one. But yes, I had one plug from wheel to clock and another plug from clock to column and both looked fine and I plugged both in and got the same results when I fired up the ignition after. Since the new spring didnt solve anything and since they are such a limited item I did keep my old spring safe and sound. I will try to figure out how to work the ohms side of my meter and test the old spring. If it all tests out fine I will probably sell it to someone that needs it considering its a one year only item and I have another nice leather airbag wheel I can pair it with.
 
Here’s the cruise/horn wiring off the clockspring. If you pull the column shroud you should be able to find these plugs. I believe it’s 2 separate plugs into a single 4-pin plug.


ACDBAFFE-1DFB-4390-9B12-6624AC8B6B97.jpeg



Yellow/light green is your basic powe in from the cig lighter fuse. You should have 12v to ground here.

If you unplug the two plugs, you can use your DMM to verify you have a connection from
The switches to the plug after the clock Spring.

Easy one is yellow/LG to the black wire. Set your meter to continuity and press the horn button. You should have it.

You can also test the cruise buttons just to see if you have them as well by using the resistance setting on your meter
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user