AIR BAG disconnected!! No wonder!! Steering wheel removal

[Pathofinder]

My husband set out today to try and figure out why non of the steering wheel controls worked on our car, horn, cruise etc, and the air bag light was flashing.

Look what we found!! Im pretty sure this is the airbag connection, and its disconnected!!!



Can this simply be plugged back in?? Or would there be a reason for it to be disconnected? Im assuming this affects only the airbag and not of the steering wheel functions right??

He was trying to get access to the "spiral cable" to see if it was broken, or to see of any connection problems or such to make all the controls work. Someone mentionned a Z1 harness controlling everything. I was told we made need a special tool to move the wheel, a bit torx bit, but I couldn not find those bolts. Can anyone help us figure this out from here, this is what the wheel looks like right now





Thanks for any help, would be nice to have working cruise control atleast, and an air bag!!!

[ARKQX33V6]

The question is, How did it come apart in the first place and do you have a code displayed by the MIL light.
Check the electrical schematic showing this plug in your manual and heed any warnings written in your book.

[Pathofinder]

I bought the car used, and it has hidden problems that the used car dealer seems to have tried to hide from us. Even though we got a "great" deal, the problems are stacking up. Ive only owned the car 2 months. There is no check engine light coming up for air bag.

Car fax said the car was in a front end collision in 2004, but I doubt this connector has been disconnected for that long.

[Densetsu]

Without cruise or audio controls, it sounds like the spiral cable is to blame -- either an unplugged harness or the spiral cable itself is broken or was installed improperly. It also looks like someone was playing around in there, unplugged the air bag harness (which is standard procedure), and didn't reconnect it when the re-assembled everything. (Oh, and yes, the yellow harness with two wires is definitely the airbag harness.)

Take lots of precautions with the airbag. Never sit directly in front of it when you're plugging/unplugging the harness, and know that it can still deploy for a couple minutes after being unplugged.

[ARKQX33V6]

Pathofinder, there should be a MIL on for a disconnected bag unless like you say there are other hidden problems. But a dealer selling a vehicle with hidden problems unless disclosed it could still be their problem.

[Pathofinder]

My husband has taken the case to the lawyer after we discoverred a few undisclosed issues and the check engine light removed. Stupid us for not examining further

Do you guys happen to know which harness in the pictures is responsible for the operations of the steering wheels and its controls??

And how do I access that spiral cable??

I dont see a way to get any further in the disassembly, and I was told a special torx tool was needed to remove everything, but I dont even see that bolt head yet so I fugre Im still ways a away

Id love to get the controls working again, and obviously a working air bag. Still cant believe that was unplugged

[ARKQX33V6]

Do you have your workshop manual for your specific vehicle. Mine is under section RS and SRS specific to the steering wheel components with specific warnings about the air bag that you must read and understand.

The components are within and special tools are needed and if you look at the rear of your steering wheel you should see the type.

There are a number of warnings related to this type of job, please take them seriously.

If you are taking legal action, the tearing apart of this vehicle by laymen, non certified people will not help your case.

I know its a gamble but it might be time that an expert gets into this especially if you pursue legal action, since any work you are doing will be taken as destruction by the legal eagles and will come back to bite you in the a$$.

[Pathofinder]

Yes I read the airbag disassembly warnings, I know the battery has to be disconnected and like you said never sit infront of it during tamperring.

Were not pursuing legal action to give the car back or to have it reevaluated or anything, my husband is just very adament about reporting and filing this issue with the BBB and others. Fixing the problem is up to us, I dont like to hand my vehicle to shops, Ive lost trust over the years.

[ARKQX33V6]

Well welcome to the real world of fixing. With the work manual in hand and the correct tools for the job, take a deep breath, work in comfort and good lighting.
Remove the battery and recharge it while out.
Wait the 3 minutes and all components within the vehicle should die, you could short the + and - main lead with a jumper left in position or just leave apart.

With a bright light find the fasteners at the rear of the steering whell and loosen them, then remove and store

Remove all items carefully and do not bang them around and store in a clean oput of the way place. If too many wires mark them with wire markers and note and record, even take pictures if it helps.

Heed precautions about the bags and spiral wire and be sure the wheel is straight and in neutral position.

Follow the instructions and your gut, try to remember exactly what you are doing, make sure no interruptions and place removed items in a safe secure spot.

Take your time and record what you do, it will help when replacing stuff. If things must be torqued use a proper wrench, no guesswork.

Good luck!

[Pathofinder]

Im just going to wait until someone chimes in that has disassembled this unit already and can give some experience, maybe even a pic of the assembly, I dont want to go any further just yet after reading how crutial the reinstallation of the spiral cable is, and how to check if it is infact damaged.

I dont quite feel comforatable just unscrewing random bolts and seeing what comes off.

I also dont own the special tool I read was needed

[ARKQX33V6]

Remember that these bolts are coated and it is recommended they be replaced and do not stick anything in the holes after the bolts have been removed. Keep static electricity at bay when handling the bags as well as the ECU. Grounding of yourself is NB to keep field effects from you and causing stray unwanted voltages from harming the electric side of these components.

The tools are available but the techniques must be learned to remain safe and not harm other people and things.

[fueler]

if i were you id plug it in (very carefully) and see what happens. Chances are that the air bag light will stay flashing and you will have to clear the code using a special procedure, found in the Pathfinder service manual in the HOW TO section. When i unplugged mine, that light wouldn't go away until i reset it.

[Pathofinder]

But I want to actually further disassemble it. I want to see if this harness is broken or unplugged aswell, still dont know where the connection or which actual harness it is

I would love to get the cruise control working again, I'll plug in the airbag and inspect it when putting everything back together Ill do the reset procedure. Im just thinking the harness is maybe unplugged aswell??

[01silvapathy]

Sounds like a broken spiral cable to me, I broke mine when I did my lift and still have not had the time to replace it. As far as I know you need a t45 torx bit with a hollow tip also known as a "tamper proof bit" I have had issues finding the bit but I have a friend that has one. Spriral cable should set you back around 80 bucks.

[Pathofinder]

Was your wheel the same looking as mine?? Whats next to take off? The sprial cable houses the cables and wiring for cruise and everything?

Id love to know how to proceed in fixing this

[01silvapathy]

Yep, the spiral runs all the wires and power to everything on the wheel including the air bag as far as I know. I have yet to take mine off so I cant tell ya where to go. All I know is that you need a t45 torx to get the airbag off, then unbolt the actual wheel and access the cable.

[Pathofinder]

Really so that cable is even further in and even under the steering wheel itself

I wonder what caused this

[Chuck Tribolet]

Sounds like a broken spiral cable to me, I broke mine when I did my lift and still have not had the time to replace it. As far as I know you need a t45 torx bit with a hollow tip also known as a "tamper proof bit" I have had issues finding the bit but I have a friend that has one. Spriral cable should set you back around 80 bucks.

FSM Says "Tamper Resistant Torx (Size T50)", not T45. This is also known as "Security Torx". You can find them if you look a bit.
Google should make it easy.

[01silvapathy]

Sounds like a broken spiral cable to me, I broke mine when I did my lift and still have not had the time to replace it. As far as I know you need a t45 torx bit with a hollow tip also known as a "tamper proof bit" I have had issues finding the bit but I have a friend that has one. Spriral cable should set you back around 80 bucks.

FSM Says "Tamper Resistant Torx (Size T50)", not T45. This is also known as "Security Torx". You can find them if you look a bit.
Google should make it easy.

Maybe it varies by year, or I could be wrong... I dunno. And the spiral cable is not actually in the wheel rather behind it. Steering wheel has to come off to easily access it.

[Chuck Tribolet]

That was the '01 PF FSM that says T50.

[Pathofinder]

Which section does it show that? I cant find any info on the disassembly in the FSM

[Chuck Tribolet]

Section RS, restraint system.

It's not easy to find. The only way I found it was that I have the Adobe Acrobat product ($$) and it will build an index across multiple
files. But it is in the alphabetical index PDF under "air bag".

[01silvapathy]

Its actually quite easy to find, look in the fsm here http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/pathfinder/2001/rs.pdf And go to page 17 all the bolt location and pics are shown. Most important thing to remember is to align the wheel straight so that the cable does not break again.

[carnal_c30]

my guess is that if the harness for the airbag is disconnected, the dash light for the airbag has also been removed, does the airbag light illuminate for a few seconds when you turn the ignition to the 'on' position?

removing the airbag light is unfortunately really common, most people don't check when they buy a used car.

[Towncivilian]

It's not easily possible to remove the airbag light. It's an LED soldered to the gauge cluster circuit board.

[Pathofinder]

My airbag light still blinks, but like Town said you cant take that bulb out in our cars easily.

How would you guys diagnose this problem?? Should I continue to disconnect it further? Im stumped on how to get it apart and what I should be looking at / for

[Chuck Tribolet]

Its actually quite easy to find, look in the fsm here http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/pathfinder/2001/rs.pdf And go to page 17 all the bolt location and pics are shown. Most important thing to remember is to align the wheel straight so that the cable does not break again.

Figuring out that you need to go to section RS, page 17 is what's hard. Once you know to go there, it's easy.

[01silvapathy]

My airbag light still blinks, but like Town said you cant take that bulb out in our cars easily.

How would you guys diagnose this problem?? Should I continue to disconnect it further? Im stumped on how to get it apart and what I should be looking at / for

If you plugged in the plug for the air bag and its still blinking there should be a reset process in the fsm somewhere. Did you take out the airbag and inspect the spiral cable? Chances are if you connected that one plug but you still dont have power to the steering wheel buttons the spiral cable is messed up.

[Pathofinder]

I have not plugged it in yet, we wan to figure out why the cruise and horn dont work either. Assuming its this spiral cable or another unplugged harness, just dont know how to get there yet. Husband was asking the maintenance man at work tonight if they had this torx 50 bit.

[01silvapathy]

Click on the link I posted above, an scroll down it has pictures showing you EVERY step and location of EVERY screw