airbag/horn/steering wheel problem on a jimny

[mightyjimny]

hi all

pretty new to this site, but have have been at jimnyworld for about a year. ive got a 04/05 jimny (pre vvt) with a 40mm OME lift and 215/75 BFG AT's.

recently the airbag light has been coming on intermittently. now its on continuously and 2 weeks ago the horn stopped working. its getting looked at by suzuki today for the 2nd time.

other than a loose wiring connection somewhere, any ideas on what might be causing this? after a breif chat with the service dude, he seemed to think that it was a wheel alignment problem- something to do with when they tighten the steering wheel?? does this make sense to anyone? if this is the case then im sure he'll say it was caused by the lift or tyres and therefore say its not covered under warranty......

any help appreciated.

[Fourdogs]

Airbag control is situated in front of the gearstick so neither lift or tyres affect it. It can only be a stuffed wire or connection. So has anyone taken the steering wheel off, and why? You don't take it off for a wheel alignment.

May find there is crap between where the steering wheel touches the sensor ring (for want of a better description) on the steering column.

otherwise the other two connections for the airbag is at the bottom of the steering column (in yellow wrap) and at the control box.

[gecko270]

G'day MightyJimny...good to see you here mate. I hope Jimnyworld comes back on line soon too. As you probably remember my Jimny has been lifted too. I've had no such drama's with the airbags and there is no way you will with a suspension lift. If they try to pull that one tell them they need a better excuse. Bollocks to that answer.

The only explanation is a dodgy wiring loom or faulty air bag sensor. Have you got the service manual? Dunno if it's on here anywhere.

[Bad JuJu]

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... t=horn+rag

[sierrajim]

Many late model cars with air bags run a "clock spring" as opposed to an electrical contact ring.

Think of the inside of a VHS video casette. Its basically a flat tape with the loom printed on it. If this tape is over turned it will snap. The most common cause is the removal of the steering shaft without locking the steering wheel, it then spins past where it is supposed to and snaps/cracks the printed loom on the tape.

Note: I'm not 100% sure if the Jimminy has this system or not. If it does, hope its not broken as they are generally not a cheap item to replace.

[Squik]

My horn doesn't work either (mines series 1, no airbag) - wheel alignment caused the issues.

The wheels were badly out of whack when the lift was done, after the alignment they removed the steering wheel and out it back on straight......has been screw'd ever since

[mightyjimny]

My horn doesn't work either (mines series 1, no airbag) - wheel alignment caused the issues.

The wheels were badly out of whack when the lift was done, after the alignment they removed the steering wheel and out it back on straight......has been screw'd ever since

thats interesting. the only alignment ive had was over a year ago and the lift is nowhere near as big as squiks. airbag/horn issue only cropped up within the last 2 months....... maybe its a wear and tear issue as mentioned earlier. will be interesting what suzuki say this arvo

[robsjimny]

I would love to hear what suzuki says too. I have had My steering wheel apart lots of time for audio controls. Jimny is ok to play with. Some cars you loosen a bolt the air bag light comes on. Hopefully yours in under warranty. Sound like it's in the column the spin connections. The airbag sensor is a g meter type. No crash pads, So body lift and spring lift have nothing to do with it.

Jimnyworld would be great to see again but I think its long gone. If any one needs the service manual email me.

[robsjimny]

Horn not working check the bracket. Try it with the bonnet up. If works bend bracket back a little. Took me awhile to work that one out.

Rob

[lay80n]

Sounds like a clock spring problem as already stated. And yeah, not cheap to fix. Suzuki should be able to pick this up, as it should set an airbag code. Try holding the horn on and turning the wheel, see if it works on and off.
Layto....

[intens]

good luck with suzuki, my experiances with them has been shocking warranty claim that took months with back and forth emails, all they did was come up with bulls@#t excuses of why not to fix it under warranty

in the end i said that ide take it to VCAT and consumer affairs, then thay fixed it

[robsjimny]

intens good to see another jimny on here. What was the problem with yours. I've only done two clutches. But that the driver. A good cheap car overall.


Rob

[intens]

Robsjimny: it was the tailshaft but after all that with suzuki they had to fix it (have to say the wearst warranty department ever

other than that its going good, ive also lifted the suspension now, much better just need to align it, but thinking of selling it

[mightyjimny]

clock spring/ spiral cassette it was. unlikely to be under warranty as the mechanic who did the wheel alignment refitted it incorrectly (thank-you ARB). over $1000 to repair! very pissed off!

[robsjimny]

mighty Save the invoice. What have arb said. Why would to have to play with the steering wheel inside the vehicle for a wheel alignment.

intens good luck selling it. Once you find out what you'll get. You'll keep it. And with fuel prices going up. Trust me I been there.

Rob

[zukiny]

4 Dogs, Gecko,Squik, Robsjimny...........

It's kinda like a Jimny gathering.

Since the demise of Jimnyworld I've been on Boris's Jimny.se but you guys from Oz are meeting here....!! whoopee...........!!

MightyJimny,

Horn not working & ABS lite flashing are unrelated problems other than the fact they kinda share a common ''home'' in the steering wheel.

I risk upsetting some folks out there but it really gets my goat when like Squik related some ill informed wrench-hand straightens out a steering wheel by pulling it off and re-seating it in the 12 O'clock position.

While no great harm is done it at least affects your turn signals cut off. ....becos now either the left or right quadrant has more sweep since the re-positioned steering wheel is not at factory set 12 O'clock.

The proper way is to adjust the drag link and all will be sweet..!!

By virtue of the fact that our Jimny lateral or Panhard rod is attached to the chassis on the driver side and the axle on the pax side, any suspension lift will cause the steering to be biased clockwise.

What needs to be done is to reduce draglink length to straighten the steering wheel to the 12 O'clock position.

Might need a couple of attempts cos whats stright ahead on the stationary will not necessarily be that when you are on the highway. We have also experienced that with different tread patterns the steering pulls slightly left or right.

In our Team ,with any suspension lift we always finish up with aligning the radius arms or leading & trailing arms to the chassis rails by bob-line method then we do the drag-link adjustment to clock our steering wheel .

Hope all that helps.

Airbag lite flashing , likely a loose connection if steering wheel had been removed.

Horn not working, both ''buttons'' or just 1 ''button''...? Robsjimny pointed out an interesting but little known fact , the factory horn or for that matter vibrating diaphram horns cannot be mounted with solid ''straps'' cos without the ''buzz'' it'll not sound.

Happy Wheelin.............

Nice to see most everyone on board. Thks.

[robsjimny]

zukiny I agree with remove steering wheel to adjust the steering. Most tyre places would not touch the the wheel with airbags. Airbags cost around 2,500 per bag. And if the passage goes off. The window and dash may have to be fixed. So most will not. Y cound'nt the airbag and horn be related. The steering switch/ connection /clock spring as some call it. The airbag output and the horn signal go though it. If not a alined or broken both will not work. Right or wrong that my 2 cents.

Rob

[mightyjimny]

youre right rob. it is the clock spring in this case. which means the whole airbag assembly needs to be replaced. does anyone have a picture of this?

ps. rob you have an email.

[bozwon]

y would anyone pull the steering wheel off 2 fix the wheel alignment?
that requires more effort than adjusting the draglink which is the correct method.

good 2 see all the jimnyworld crew is finding their way over here.

[mightyjimny]

gday bozwon
not sure why youd take it off but im sure ive heard of it before for some instances of wheel alignments. but suzuki reckoned they had proof someone had taken it off by saying the screws/bolts had chip marks on them from when they were unscrewed. i asked to see the photo they took for warranty assessment but theyve never emailed it to me.

anyway they rang yesterday arvo and said theyd "give me the benefit of the doubt" and fix it under warranty.

cheers to all for the replies

[intens]

mightyjimny

The amount of bullS!@# the warranty department came up with for me was unreal, i think that they just want you to give up, in the end for me they said the same words

"give you the benefit of the doubt"

well done, as you can see dont like Suzuki warranty