98 Conti Electrical Problems

[stinkinlincoln98]

I have a 98 conti with issues.
None of the controls on the steering wheel work.
The Cruise, the Radio / Climate control and the Horn do not work.
The Radio / Climate controls work (very occaisionally)

Any suggestions are appreciated.

SL98

 

[mark0101]

I have a 98 conti with issues.
None of the controls on the steering wheel work.
The Cruise, the Radio / Climate control and the Horn do not work.
The Radio / Climate controls work (very occaisionally)

Any suggestions are appreciated.

SL98

have you checked your fuses

 

[stinkinlincoln98]

have you checked your fuses

Yes / Or at least the local mechanic said that he did.

 

[mark0101]

Yes / Or at least the local mechanic said that he did.

What about the one under the hood

 

[stinkinlincoln98]

What about the one under the hood

I'll check again. But the radio / climate controls work (occaisonally) and fuses don't. I'm thinking it's a bad ground or a problem in the steering column.

 

[aristo1963]

sounds like your air bag sliding contact in the column is bad.

 

[stinkinlincoln98]

sounds like your air bag sliding contact in the column is bad.

That doesn't sound very good.... Is this strickly a dealer thing, or can I get at it. I don't mind doing the work. but messing around the airbag area sound risky.

Anyone out there ever try to work on this?

 

[aristo1963]

That doesn't sound very good.... Is this strickly a dealer thing, or can I get at it. I don't mind doing the work. but messing around the airbag area sound risky.

Anyone out there ever try to work on this?

you can buy it from the dealer and replace it yourself,but you have to be careful as you are in the airbag circuit.

 

[stinkinlincoln98]

you can buy it from the dealer and replace it yourself,but you have to be careful as you are in the airbag circuit.

Thanks for the info. I double checked controls, if I turn the steering wheel (quite a bit) to the left the controls work, so I suspect you are right. If I can get some free time on a long weekend I might try it.... But I'll leave it as is for now.
If I decide to try and tackle it, I'd want to disable the airbag while I work on it. Does anyone know how to temporerily disable the airbag?

Tx

:give

 

[aristo1963]

Thanks for the info. I double checked controls, if I turn the steering wheel (quite a bit) to the left the controls work, so I suspect you are right. If I can get some free time on a long weekend I might try it.... But I'll leave it as is for now.
If I decide to try and tackle it, I'd want to disable the airbag while I work on it. Does anyone know how to temporerily disable the airbag?

Tx

:give

WARNING: THE BACKUP POWER SUPPLY ENERGY MUST BE DEPLETED BEFORE ANY AIR BAG COMPONENT SERVICE IS PERFORMED. TO DEPLETE THE BACKUP POWER SUPPLY ENERGY, DISCONNECT THE NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE AND WAIT ONE MINUTE TO AVOID ACCIDENTAL DEPLOYMENT AND POSSIBLE PERSONAL INJURY.

The air bag diagnostic monitor includes an internal backup power supply. This feature provides sufficient backup power to deploy the air bags in the event that the battery (10653) or battery cables are damaged in a collision before the crash sensors are activated. The backup power supply will deplete its stored energy approximately one minute after the negative battery cable is disconnected.

id personally wait about 10-20 min but thats just me :Beer