Au Horn Pad Issue

[BF MKII UTE]

My 99 AU Forte with airbag and cruise control has a problem.
A few weeks ago i gave the horn a little goodbye beep,beep when the damb thing kept blarring away. Seems the pad is stuck in ?
Disconnected horn wires under bonnet to stop it.
Now what can be done if i remove the horn pad/air bag ? Does anyone have any advice on what may have happened? How does the horn pad work ?

Thankyou in advance
Alan.

[RspecAU]

I'n not sure what is wrong there but i do know under the skin of the cover there is a flexible circut board which connect the wires at the bace of the steering wheel unit. To remove the air bag u'll need a set of torx tools. sorry i can't help any more than that.

[BF MKII UTE]

Yeah the whole airbag going bang thing is a bit unsettling though, i need the TORX 30IPR bit to remove the pad just to even look at it. This bit is the 5 point bit not the standard 6 point torx bit which i'm having trouble getting in SA. Auto shops cant help ,hardware stores cant help so i'm trying specialised tool shops but a bit pricey for a once off job (hopefully).
Alan.

[sfr rob]

Damn i thought i was the only one with this prob!!

I was tooting mum as she drove past me the other month.. and the bloody horn wouldnt stop, so i had half of endeavour hills looking at my car with my horn blarring!
I found the best way to get it to stop is to really give the horn pad a hard straight punch...
It stops, but then, it might randomaly go off again, say around 4:30 am , then 7 PM the next day, in the end i have just un done the horns wires. so i dont actaully have a horn. :(

Cant really be too bothered about it though, not like i lean on the horn that often anyway.
: :togo:

[BF MKII UTE]

Well took the wagon into Maugthien Ford today, after 25mins they came back with "yep we've found the fault, it's quite common lately with AU 1's - the complete hornpad,airbag module is rooted. Cannot be repaired only complete replacement. Ford quoted $600 plus fitting.
I went to local wrecker this afternoon and they supplied and fitted a excellent condition one for $150. Well at least now i have a horn and cruise works again.

[sfr rob]

GEEE ford quoted ya that much?! HOLY crap that is a joke hey mate!?

Yeah i thought the whole thing was rooted.
maybe i might just buy a momo one soon then ey?

wonder why the problem has started to only happen though?


catch ya

rob

[BF MKII UTE]

Originally Posted by sfr rob

wonder why the problem has started to only happen though?
rob

Ford tech said he thinks they're just starting to play up now from age and wear and tear. How many K's on the clock sfr rob?
Mines done 120,000

[sfr rob]

hey, i got around the 160,000 km mark on the clock there.
the thing is, i hardly use my horn, so i dont know why it has become a prob.
strange one hey?!
other prob i have just this weekend, was my central locking on the drivers side.it wasnt opening the drivers side door, but the rest were, then my alarm would go nuts because it got confused arghhh!!!!
i HATE IT!

[LG]

Originally Posted by sfr rob

Yeah i thought the whole thing was rooted.
maybe i might just buy a momo one soon then ey?

Buying a momo steering wheel, won't solve the problem, as it's just the outer wheel. It doesn't include the center piece, which is the horn & the airbag. Just thought i'd let you know.

[CJ the Mack]

Yes this as well happend to me in a fit of rage i punched the horn and it became stuck
what it is, is the spring behind the horn goes and due to it being stuck down and also on the same cicuit as the cruise control you loose cruise control as well

unlike what for tell you you can dissasemble the airbag part of the steering wheel just dissconnect the battery and wait 30 min for all the capacitiors to discharge

then carfully remove the wheel and peel back the vinyl layers and repair or correctly position the springs

the reason why most mechanics wont touch this job is due to whole "dont touch the airbag" phobia several mechanics will do the job and its fairly easy and will cost you no where near the amount of a new module for the car

feel free to email for the number of the mechanic that did mine in melbourne pupkit@tpg.com.au

although he only knows how to do it as he was the ex head mechanic at the ford factory in geelong so im not sure if its a non widly known this can be done or its just easier for the mechanic to charge you more and plug and play

[AK]

My car came with a rooted airbag/horn so i bought one from the wreckers. $200 plus fiiting buy my mechanic. Just gave it a clean and it loked just as good as the old one.

[au2sw]

Originally Posted by sfr rob

hey, i got around the 160,000 km mark on the clock there.
the thing is, i hardly use my horn, so i dont know why it has become a prob.
strange one hey?!
other prob i have just this weekend, was my central locking on the drivers side.it wasnt opening the drivers side door, but the rest were, then my alarm would go nuts because it got confused arghhh!!!!
i HATE IT!

drivers door regulator has packed it in. get a new one (not from ford!) can be bought from repco or other reputable car shops.
the airbag doesnt go off that easily, as long as u keep static electricity to a minimum (place the airbag face up on a piece of cardboard - non waxed - and face up so if it does go off, it wont take off and damage u or ur pride and joy)

[TwistedEL]

BF_MKII_UTE have you tried testing the relay? It might be stuck. Also you can get the airbag off with a $30 kit from Bunnings. It comes with a flastblade screwdriver with a notch taken out of it. Also you can make one yourself but it is time consuming and a waste of a good screw driver.

I swear by it I have posted it up quite a few times.

[NC_Lane]

Hi Guys,

Im having the same issue. Hit the horn in rage and now it wont turn off. Has anyone got instructions on taking the wheel off and fixing it?

[Gaz]

I installed some momentary buttons behind the airbag and slightly off to the side from the normal horn position. They sit in the cavity next to the airbag.

[NC_Lane]

Hi Gaz, how do you get the horn pad off?

[my67xr]

get yourself some 5 point Star Torx bits like these,
http://www.amazon.com/Anytime-5-POIN.../dp/B0026WMIV4
i have removed the 2x screws using a normal Torx bit before, think it was a T27?
it doesnt fit perfectly but did the job at the time.

disconnect the battery for 1/2 an hour.
some say turn the lights on to drain any power from the system too.

then undo and the 2 Star Torx screws on the back of the steering wheel,
once loose, the airbag can be lifted off the wheel.
carefully unplug the wires to the clock spring and put the airbag to one side.
you can see the horn switches (red ones) in the picture above.

[Sox]

Originally Posted by Gaz

I installed some momentary buttons behind the airbag and slightly off to the side from the normal horn position. They sit in the cavity next to the airbag.

image

That's a good job you've done.

[tim_pato]

i got my 5 point bit set from the snap on bloke for $30. toledo brand i think. theres 2 plastic round push in buttons just behind the steering wheel pop them out out and you will see the 2 retaining bolts.

[tim_pato]

Originally Posted by LG

Buying a momo steering wheel, won't solve the problem, as it's just the outer wheel. It doesn't include the center piece, which is the horn & the airbag. Just thought i'd let you know.

no but they are comfy look good and dont get slippery when ya hands sweat. (no air con till next week)

[Gaz]

Cheers Sox.

my67xr - those are buttons i've installed. In the AU the horn pads are sandwiched between the front cover and the air bag. (EF/EL they were where I have mine installed, but a flat style pad button).

If you don't have the 5 point torx bits you can use some old flat screwdriver bits (don't waste a good screwdriver, I had heaps of bits lying around from an old cheap toolkit) and cut a groove in the middle with an angle grinder to get it over the point in the middle of the bolt. You will most likely break the bit though, I broke 3 getting the 2 bolts out.

[exrsix]

all replaced that air bag dova thing behind the sterring wheel,now horn and cruz worx and no airbag light on the dash cheers boys this is why im a member of the forum great imfo and advise on were to start to look cheerrrrrs happy new year