$20 paypal to help figure out why my cruise control dont wor

[CanuckQx4]

Hey guys, so long story short I bought a rebuilt 2001 Qx4 2wd and its got a few issues, one of them is that the steering wheel controls dont work. Neight the cruise or the volume, but I have an aftermarket deck with no adapters or anything so I dont expect to get the volume working. But I want the cruise control working.

The car was in an accident at the dealership where a pole fell on it, and was fixed by there service techs (not a nissan dealer)

Anyways I think the steering wheel internally might be the problem. My horn doesnt work how it should, you cant touch the steering wheel to make the noise, but instead they have it wired to a momentary push button on the left side of the dash.

Im thinking there may be a harness disconnected inside the wheel perhaps?? I suspect the airbags may not be functioning, as my airbaglight is always on.

Any help?? I feel comforatable doing any work, but I dont see how to get the steering wheel off, or if it could be anything else...

For starters Ive checked all fuses both underhood and in cabin and all are fine.

Thanks guys

[Densetsu]

There is one common harness for the driver's side airbag, audio controls, cruise controls, and horn. (The Z2 harness, to be specific.) See page EL-30 in the FSM. To get at this, see the steps involved starting at RS-17. You'll need a steering wheel puller and some tamper resistant torx bits to do it. Check every harness as you dig deeper... there's four or five of them, refer to the electrical schematic on EL-30.

With my Pathy, I've only gone as far as doing work with my combination switch, so I never went as far as pulling off my steering wheel to get at that "spiral cable" connector behind the wheel. I've done it on other vehicles though... a bit intimidating the first time, and my first drive afterwards I'm always a bit nervous. Two tips -- take lots of pictures at each step, and before you remove the steering wheel, make a pair of marks (on the wheel and on the base) so you can match them up when re-attaching the wheel. (I didn't see this step in the Pathy/QX4 service manual, but it's something I've always done.)

Edit: Bonus third tip, always assume the air bag will go off at any moment. Treat it like a bomb. Unplug it before you start any work (usually a yellow harness or wire, I'm sure it says how to unplug it on RS-17 or just after), and then take it right out of the vehicle and put it somewhere safe, like a workbench. Make sure it's oriented so that if it does somehow manage to deploy, it won't fly around and cause damage. I've been in an accident, and the air bag probably helped a lot, but those things still cause trauma like you wouldn't believe. My chest was purple and I had hairline rib fractures, PLUS the deep, deep bruises to my shoulder and hip from the seat belt. I wouldn't want to be working on the Pathy and all of the sudden have that sucker go off in my face.

There could be other causes for this failure, but if all the fuses are OK and this harness controls all the systems affected, then it's where I'd start.

[CanuckQx4]

wow taking out the airbag and steering wheel is inense eh!! aslong as the battery is completely disconnected nothing can happen though??

Do you really need a puller to take the wheel off?? I'll have to read more of those fsm links you posted and see if i can get access to this harness

[fueler]

the steering wheel is on there tight sometimes. you might need a puller, you might not.

what you can do, is loosen the main nut in the center of the wheel but dont take the nut off all the way. then yank it like a savage gorilla. The reason you dont want to pull the nut off all the way at first, is because ive seen guys pulling on the wheel as hard as they could only to have it pop off and slam them in the face.

[Densetsu]

Like I said, I haven't played much with my Pathy's steering wheel, so I can't remember off-hand if you need to actually remove the wheel to get at that Z2 harness. It's trivial to remove the air bag, though, so you could do that and have a peek underneath and see what you can get at without taking off the wheel.

We really should start up a picture database of various stages of disassembly, just so others know. There's photos in the DIY/how-to threads, but I don't recall seeing one of the air bag off.

[CanuckQx4]

Im lurking these diamgrams to see if I can even get access to that bolt lol

[CanuckQx4]

and I only have regular tor tools,, probly dont have "tamper proof' ones