I am hearing a clicking noise in my steering wheel as it turns. Now the cruise control is not working and the failsafe engine mode verbiage is on the dash. Yesterday the horn would beep now and again by itself and then it went into full train mode and no matter what I did it wouldn't turn off until I pulled both fuses. The cruise control lights up red until failsafe comes on. airbag light stays on. horn blows like a train, had to pull the two fuses. Car runs and sound normal.
I have done a couple of hard starts but this doesn't help.
So, I removed the top and bottom cowling covers from the steering column and I can see that the black plastic cover which has the writing on it (center here) align tires in center etc. looks like it is supposed to be flush but it no longer is. the white part is pushing it out which is creating the noise. It is a wire (copper) that is white covered and it is unspooling. I believe this is the clockspring?? I do not know if I am able to pull the steering wheel so I stopped there. The wheel would have to be removed to get to these parts and replace.
So, am I on the right track? Is this what is causing the horn ablowing, the airbag light to shine, and the cruise control to shut off, and the failsafe engine light to come on?
Recent repairs are the octopus hose and rack and pinion steering column in last few weeks.

2002 Vanden Plas Super 8 (supercharged) 110,000 miles sarasota Florida

 

Sound like clock- spring could have been damaged during steering work. All sounds clock-spring related.

If shaft is over rotated while disconnected from rack it will cause damage in most vehicles.

 

Is there a How to for the clock spring removal / replacement?

 

Center the steering wheel
Disconnect the battery.
Remove the steering wheel shroud.
Use a black sharpie and mark the position of the steering wheel.
It does not require a puller
It is pretty straightforward, but it is easy to break other wires.
The new clockspring should have tape to center it.
A flashlight, small screw drivers, a magnet to help find dropped hardware all help.


I probably forgot a few things, but that should be pretty close.

 

Did you ever fix the honking horn, cruise control, and failsafe engine light...WAS IT THE CLOCKSPRING? I REALLY WANT TO KNOW BECAUSE ABOUT A WEEK AGO MY HORN STARTED GOING OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. THEN THE VERY NEXT DAY IT WOULD JUST CONSTANTLY GO OFF, SO I PULLED THE HORN FUSE...NOW YESTERDAY, INSTEAD OF MY CRUISE CONTROL NOT WORKING IT IS COMING ON BY ITSELF AND ACCELERATING WITHOUT ME DOING ANYTHING??? IT WAS A VERY SCARY SITUATION ...AND ITS VERY DANGEROUS...NOW IM SCARED THE AIRBAGS MIGHT GO OFF???

 

There are many threads on how to remove the airbag, steering wheel, and multifunction switch. My guess is you have a broken wire or solder joint in the multifunction switch.

You won't know until you pull the wheel and examine the parts. Easy fix if you have three hands, copy of the electrical diagram to trace the wires to the right post, and are very good with a soldering iron. Pay very close attention to alignment of the steering wheel before you pull it.

An eBay search for a new multifunction switch might be better than soldering it yourself.

 

Thanks for your quick response Jhartz, the same day that the cruise control was coming on by itself i took the steering wheel apart to see if the wires in there were messed up...and while doing that i unplugged the cruise control swith JUST TO BE SAFE...BUT ALL THE WIRES SEEMINGLY LOOKED GOOD...IS THE "MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH" YOUR TALKING ABOUT ALSO CALLED THE "CLOCK SPRING"?

 

NO, the clock spring is the piece that maintains electrical continuity when the steering wheel is turned. The switch is all the wires at the end of the left stalk.

Do a Google search against both. Also, check fuses.

 

JHartz,
Yes, my clockspring was the problem. You could tell quite easily though as soon as I took off the wheel I could see where the wire was broken. I replaced it and it fixed the issues.

 

HEY CURTISS,
WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR CLOCK SPRING AND HOW MUCH WAS IT...BECAUSE I AM MOST LIKELY GONNA NEED ONE...and did your cruise control ever come on by itself, or did it just not work?