Clock Spring?

My airbag light is on. My horn barely blows. Bad clock spring in a '97 SR5?

 

You'll have to pull codes out of the truck to know for sure. But if you also have horn issues, it's probably the clockspring.

Do you have cruise control issues as well?

Try rotating the steering wheel and if any horn, airbag light or cruise control issue appears or disappears, then it's 100% related to the clockspring

 

no issues with cruise control. havent used it much. airbag light has been on since i bought it. i'll try to pull code tomorrow.

 

i accidentally broke my clockspring when i was replacing my steering rack. i was spinning the wheel while my buddy tried to line up the steering shaft joint with the input shaft of the new rack. anyway did a lot of research on them and found that you only really have 3 options if you intend to fix the clockspring. super cheap Chinese knockoff clockspring which will be anywhere from 11 to 100 dollars(apparently some can break from normal use). new oem which is like 240+ . or what i did which was go on eBay and buy a used oem clockspring from a dismantler. 35 bucks shipped.

 

I wasn't able to get a code using a scan gauge, then I read that airbag codes use a blinking patter code. Mine stays on constantly. I read that this indicates a problem SRS ECU. I unplugged the ECU with battery disconnected, then plugged it back in, but airbag light remains on.
Searched for wires under the passenger seat to look for bad connections. Couldn't really find any yellow wires. Would they be under the carpet? What next?

 

pull the clock spring and check for continuity between connections to determine if it's bad.

 

Noting that the airbag light doesn't flash a code, I don't suspect the clock spring as much as I did in the beginning. I'd never dismantle a clock spring. If I removed it, I'd just replace it. for my next step, I'd like to check all the wires and connections, but I don't know exactly where they're located.

 

well when my clock spring broke it was a solid light but i didn't check the code. my horn stopped working and i knew for sure.

however you don't have to dismantle the clockspring to check if you have a continuity problem. i referenced the video because it simply explained how to get to it. once you get to the clock spring, just check continuity from one side to the other. there are 6 wires. two for the airbag. if you have a clockspring that is ABOUT to go then you might have intermittent continuity depending on clockspring position or maybe only one of the 6 wires is losing continuity. it's actually pretty easy to rule out. btw the airbag wires are the heavier gauge pins.

 

no SRS wires under the seats. the only wires you have are under the driver's seat and it's for the seatbelt indicator on the dash.

No, a solid light does not always indicate a malfunction in the ECU. As for getting a code, you need a scan tool that can read SRS codes. Or you can do it via the "DIAGNOSTICS" port in the engine bay by shorting the Tc and E1 pins together.

Anyway, with the weak horn it is probably the clockspring but before throwing parts at it, I would want to make sure

 

Check eBay for clock springs. I bought a used one there for like $30.
Here’s one-
https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/163533069098

 

Under the hood? I tried shorting out the 4th and 5th pins on the OBDII port under the dash as I saw done in a video for a later model tacoma, but I had no luck getting the light to flash a code. Could barely see if the pins were the same. Where's the diagnostics port under the hood?

Had it at the dealership today. They say "No communication with SRS ECU. Confirmed operation of srs light on cluster. Need to start with replacement of srs ecu." I'm not sure if I believe them. The guy said he spent a great deal of time looking for an ECU and he even check at Rock Auto, with no luck. They didn't tell me what the code was. They didn't charge me anything.

Replacing the ECU looks much easier than the clock spring, and it's something I can do. I see I can get my ecu reset, or a new one from my airbags.com. If I get a new ECU, will it have to be "matched" somehow with a new airbag?

 

The shorting trick does not work with the OBDII port below the dash. Only with the diagnostics port in the engine bay:



Tc and E1 pins. Make sure you short the right ones (diagram is inside the cover when you flip it open).

Light is going to blink in a pattern. Example:
blink - short pause - blink - blink - blink - blink - long pause - repeats pattern
this would indicate code 14

if you have more than one code, it will display a pattern for each one

I wouldn't believe the dealership untill knowing for sure what the code is and having actual proof the ECU is bad. It's rare to see ECUs failing. It can happen, but it's rare
And no, if you have your ECU reset or replaced, no need to replace the airbags (unless they were deployed)

 

awesome. Thanks for all the info. I'll give it a try soon.
That's one clean engine you got there.

 

2003 tacoma Limited Crew Cab 4x4. I also have an airbag light on the dash. I can't remember the code my friend pulled up, but googling it said clock spring. But my horn works, cruise control works, everything is fine except the light is on. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

It wish it was mine, but it isn't

you can have a bad clockpring without having horn or cruise control issues. These are just tell-tale signs. Refer to video in post #6

Oh and for both of you guys, something important:

Is your battery old? Weak or malfunctionning batteries can cause the airbag light to come on
Was the battery recently replaced or disconnected? disconnecting battery while the keys are in the ACC or ON position will trigger the airbag light and a random SRS error
Check battery ground and posts for bad connection

 

Looks like I've got two codes: 12 and 31. Here's the video.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/316920606

So what do the codes from the decoder below mean. What's broken.

 

I just did mine today actually, & my horn stopped working my cruise control stopped & my airbag light was on the way to tell if its your clock spring is turn the wheel to the right or left & see if u can honk the horn if so most likely its your clock spring to replace it its cheap around 15-30 for a Chinese one thats just as good as OEM which is $240 brand new if you have any questions about replacing it i can try & help

 

Thanks, I'll try that tomorrow.

 

I just purchased one of these (arrives next week). https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-TOYOTA...rentrq:e817af431680a9926f85b506fffe5b22|iid:1

I have a bad pre-tensioner code but want to make sure that's the problem before shelling out for a new belt. $10 and can be used to test pre-tensioners and airbags.

 

@Jonnyricogalabiz well I can turn my steering wheel and the horn still works. I've purchased an air bag control module, steering wheel, and clock spring, all oem from a parted out 2003. My steering wheel looks crappy, and I'm hoping the other two items fixes my Air bag issues.