clockspring question

[berge]

2000 frontier crew cab.
no horn.
cruise control main switch on dash works, steering wheel cruise buttons don't work.
srs light comes on at start and goes off, exactly the way it should as per service manual.

does this definitely rule out the clockspring or not?
thanks.

 

[punisher]

It doesn't rule it out 100%, but I would certainly look somewhere else, like a horn relay or fuse first. Chances are if the cruise control and airbag are OK, the clockspring is good as well. Shouldn't be too difficult to troubleshoot a horn circuit.

 

[berge]

cruise master switch on dash works. it just turns the system on.
steering wheel cruise buttons, however, do not work.

 

[punisher]

I misread your post. I would still get a wiring diagram and test for continuity/resistance at the harness connector from the column to dash. If you can track down your horn relay, see if the horn switch grounds the primary side properly. I don't like to replace clock springs unless I absolutely have to. Look for any common power circuits/fuses and/or common grounds for the horn and cruise button circuits. A bad ground under the dash or kick panel could possibly mimic your symptoms.

 

[brianl703]

It's also possible that it's just a bad horn. That seems like the most likely culprit--it is, after all, exposed to the elements.

 

[andyd]

Never saw this term before. What the heck is a clock spring?

 

[medic]

The clockspring is the mechanism behind the steering wheel which allows you to turn the wheel without the wires for the airbag/horn/cruise control/etc... becoming tangled up in the steering column. It is usually a plastic disk with a hole in the middle to go around the steering column, a plug on the rear which stays stationary, and a plug on the front which turns with the steering wheel. The ones I have replaced vary in price significantly.

FWIW, I have seen clocksprings go bad and only affect one or two items while the others that use it remain to work flawlessly. Ford trucks have a airbag light that will blink anytime there is damage to the clockspring, regardless of which circuit is damaged.

 

[berge]

Quote:

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FWIW, I have seen clocksprings go bad and only affect one or two items while the others that use it remain to work flawlessly.

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exactly what I was asking.
thanks.

 

[berge]

this is funny.
I gave up on trying to find a T-50 torx bit with the security head and took it to nissan to 'check'clockspring.
they called me back to tell me they can't get at the airbag because they don't have a T-50 torx bit with security head.

 

[Sparkman]

I bought some security torx stuff from www.mcmaster.com, they seem to have the T-50.

 

[berge]

fixed.
corroded wires on harness, under relay box in engine compartment.