Steering wheel crooked and ABS and Traction Lights On
 

So i was wrappinng my interior and took off the steering wheel to get the the cluter cover piece to wrap it, but what i didnt do was tape the steering angle sensor so it moved and now its all out of wack. So now my wheel is off by about 30 degrees and my traction control and abs lights are on. Also my cruise control works for changing between maps, but doesnt actually work as a usable cruise control which is kind of wierd. And when i tried to just make it straight the sensor moved to back to crooked. Has anyone experienced this problem and will i have to buy a new angle sensor or just have it reflashed? Thanks!!

There's a big chance you damaged the clockspring. Try and see if you can find a used one in a scrapyard.

Cruise control will be disabled if there are traction control or abs faults, but yeah, sounds like a clockspring. Did you do anything to prevent the steering shaft from rotating when you had the wheel off?

I would take it in to the dealer and see if they can re-calibrate it first. If they can't you need a new clockspring.

It's been said already, but definitely clock-spring.

I stupidly damaged mine a few years ago when I installed a Nardi wheel and NRG hub. I only had the wheel/hub on for about 2 weeks and decided to go back to stock, but when I put everything back together, my airbag light was on because the ribbon inside the clock-spring had been damaged. I'm not even sure how I managed this but must have just been careless with the install.

Somehow through a massive stroke of luck, the same guy who sold me the Nardi had an extra clock-spring laying around and gave it to me for free. I installed it myself in my driveway (which was nerve-wracking because I couldn't find a DIY for it so I basically just had to guess as I went along; it actually wasn't too bad), put it all back together, and thankfully the airbag light disappeared and has never come back again.

Scour local junkyards for a used part if you can; I have a feeling something like that could be expensive through the dealer.

Good luck!

No i didnt thats why its messed up. And i tried going 2 1/2 turns each way to find the middle and when i did it still didnt work. Do you think i would be able to go to the dealer and get it recalibrated or will i need a whole new clockspring? And when i get the new clockspring will i need to get ir recalibrated?

If the shaft rotated when it was disconnected, you definitely broke the clockspring. It will have to be replaced. They aren't made to rotate very far past the normal lock.

I've never heard of a clockspring needing calibration. But I've only replaced a handful on some Hyundais. Just make sure the steering wheel is centered. You will need to do a steering angle sensor relearn or your stability control may be erratic.

*UPDATE*
So i bought a new clockspring and installed it but it didnt solve the issue. So, i went my local subie dealer and got the steering angle sensor recalibrated which solved the problem. Whether i needed a new clockspring or not, idk. But it is fixed and straight now.:happyanim:

If you don't mind sharing about how much did that set you back?

YIKES! ...... clock springs ..... steering angle sensors ....... SMH

Back-in-the-day, I would just pop the center piece off the steering wheel, take off the nut, rotate the steering wheel so it was straight, push it back in the shaft, replace the nut and snap the cap back on ........ a one beer job.

Oh, leemie alone ....... the king pins were so wore out, that it didn't much matter to the alignment ..... :sigh:


humfrz

Sometimes it would even happen on it's own while you were driving. That was always a fun time.

Now, THAT brings back a back-in-the-day story.

It was a clear, cold, winter day in Connecticut and I was running low on firewood. So I loaded up my number one son in my 1956 Ford pickup and headed to this clear cut area for some firewood. The price was right, but the area was in rough terrain and the wood was mostly ugly.

(oh, I think I've told this story before ..... but. maybe Tcoat won't remember ..:D)

I had loaded up the truck and was on my way out when I hit a stump and the steering felt all funny. When I got out of the truck and looked at the front end, one front wheel was going right and the other one was going left ..... :mad0259:

So, I pulled the badly bent tie rod off and was banging on it with a large rock as it sat between two stumps. I wasn't making much progress, when a nice fellow, that lived near, offered to carry us and the bent tie rod up to his place and put a torch to it and beat it straight with a BFH.

Yep, put it back on and chugged back home.

THE END


humfrz

It was $205 total. $85 for the clockspring and 120 for the recalibration which is really overpriced but oh well.