How To Repair A Steering Wheel Clock Spring Airbag
(Updated on January 10, 2022)
Ever wonder how the electronics in your steering bicycle maintain their connexion when you can plow the steering wheel several times in each direction?
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If normal wires were run to the steering wheel controls, they would eventually become tangled up and break, just from everyday apply. This is exactly what a clock spring is designed to forbid.
Because the airbag in your steering bike is dependent on a functional clock spring, it'due south crucial that the clock spring is in good working condition. Keep reading to sympathise how a clock spring works, what symptoms of a broken clock spring are, and the average replacement cost is.
What is a Clock Spring?
A clock bound is a coil of flat wires wound inside an assembly in the steering wheel. One part of the outer assembly follows the steering wheel, and the other part attaches to the steering column.
This device is sometimes referred to equally a screw cable, airbag clock jump, steering wheel clock spring, clock spring assembly, cablevision reel, or contact reel, depending on the vehicle and where you alive.
The clock jump is not really a bound at all, but it gets its proper name from the look of the coiled ribbon within the housing. This coiled ribbon resembles the shape of a screw torsion spring, but does non compress and release stored energy the way an bodily spring would.
What Does a Clock Bound Do?
As y'all plow the steering wheel, the roll of wires within the clock spring winds and unwinds, maintaining an electric connection for the airbag and steering wheel controls.
Regardless of how much you turn the steering wheel and in what direction, you always keep a connection between the airbag control module and steering bike airbag, the radio and its steering wheel controls, the horn button and the automobile horn, and whatsoever other buttons or controls on the steering wheel to what they operate.
Y'all may be thinking that the clock bound plays a role in returning the steering wheel to a neutral position, but this is non the case. The reason a steering wheel returns to its centered position when you allow become of the wheel is because of the vehicle's pulley bending, non the clock spring.
Most vehicles have a positive caster angle. When the front end wheels are turned, a positive caster bending puts strength on the front end tires that makes them desire to return to their neutral position, pointed straight ahead.
Since the steering wheel is directly connected to the tires, the steering cycle is affected by this centering force. Too, a real spring this small would likely not be able to overcome the inertia of most vehicles' steering assemblies.
Where is the Clock Spring Located?
The clock spring is usually located on the steering column backside the steering bike. Almost every road going vehicle with a steering wheel has i of these devices.
However, if your vehicle has no airbag, steering bicycle controls, or horn buttons, y'all may non take a clock spring.
Bad Clock Spring Symptoms
Diagnosing a bad clock spring can often be pretty straightforward, depending on the symptoms. Y'all may notice several seemingly unrelated issues, such every bit steering wheel buttons that don't work accompanied with an airbag warning low-cal, stability control light, or Service AdvanceTrac warning low-cal.
Sometimes these components will work when the steering wheel is in one position, but end working every bit soon equally you touch or turn the steering wheel. An intermittent connection could manifest every bit a flickering warning light or sporadic, inconsistent functionality.
You may also hear a rubbing, scraping, or grinding dissonance coming from inside the steering bike if the ribbon has asunder from the terminals and is rubbing against the side of the housing.
In some cases, a frayed or broken ribbon cable could go stuck betwixt each half of the clock spring's casing, which would brand the steering wheel a bit harder to plough.
If you notice these symptoms it is all-time to accost the event as soon as possible. A bad clock bound can afflict y'all with more than than broken volume controls.
You could be left without cruise command, a operation horn, or most chiefly, a performance airbag. In this state of affairs, you would exist unable to alert an inattentive driver and the airbag may not deploy in the event of a standoff.
Some vehicles likewise use the bending of the steering wheel for traction or stability control calculations. A broken clock spring will leave these systems in a degraded state, if they continue to role at all.
Clock Spring Replacement Cost
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Clock springs are relatively inexpensive, running between $50 and $200 depending on the vehicle. Labor is adequately straightforward and should have 1-2 hours; look to pay up to $300 in labor.
If you lot attempt to replace the clock bound yourself, information technology is very important that you follow the manufacturer's instructions for safely disabling the airbag. Failure to do so could lead to an airbag detonation that may cause serious injury or death.
Consult your vehicle's factory service manual for details on this procedure. At the very to the lowest degree, the instructions volition likely ask you to disconnect the battery and wait at least 10 minutes to ensure the airbag system has been disarmed.
See Also: Average Airbag Replacement Costs
Can a Clock Jump Be Repaired?
While it is sometimes possible to repair a damaged clock spring, it is more often than not improve to purchase a new one.
Clock springs are inexpensive, and it'south of import to accept a reliable unit since they may be involved with the right function of the driver'south airbag, the horn, prowl control, and traction and stability control systems.
Tin Y'all Re-use a Clock Spring?
If you remove the clock spring while performing a repair, it is oftentimes possible to reuse the clock bound. Remove the clock spring while the steering cycle is in a neutral position and be certain not to turn the clock spring subsequently you remove it. Reinstall the clock spring in the aforementioned neutral position.
If you were to spin the clock bound a rotation or two and then reinstall information technology, you may not have plenty slack in the internal ribbon before the steering bicycle hits full lock. In this instance, you run the risk of stretching or breaking the internal wires and damaging a perfectly practiced clock spring.
If the airbag has deployed, it is best to replace the clock jump with a new unit of measurement.
Source: https://oards.com/broken-clock-spring-symptoms-replacement-cost/
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