Steering Wheel wiring assemblies

There are a dozen or so pictures of the exposed clock spring in this
album:

PriusChat Forums - northwichita's Album: spiral cable / clock spring

Beyond that, the only help I can offer is to say that if you use the search
function with "clock spring" you'll find some discussion of replacing one.
There appears to be some issues with connectors on replacement parts.

Hope this helps,

 

Presume you have checked the fuses?

 

I though there was some kind of recall for bad clocksprings...

 

yes please? for what models and where can i get this info?

 

I just replaced my '04 clock spring (210,000 miles) this week. The right side buttons use one single conductor in the clock spring to signal the Prius which button is pressed (as do the left buttons). It's not a 1 to 1 relationship. Several buttons use the same cable wire by applying different resistance values.

Changing the clock spring is not that involved but you should follow the safety rules below to avoid big problems.

You MUST disconnect the 12 volt battery and you WILL lose all your radio memories and auto up/down window settings. You cannot use a memory-saving battery as you must allow the airbag system's charged capacitors to discharge for at least 90 seconds to 'safe' the airbag system before tampering with the airbag. Airbags can be very dangerous!!! Make sure you 'safe' the system by allowing at least 90 seconds after removing the negative battery terminal connection before attempting to remove the airbag.

You MUST center the steering wheel in its travel by making sure the front wheels are pointed straight ahead and the wheel is centered before removing it. The clock-spring can only be turned 2 1/2 turns each way from center without breaking it so centering the steering will keep you within these limits (Prius wheel turns about 4 1/2 turns lock to lock).

Pull the two side covers off the back of the steering wheel. One is the panel that goes around the cruise control stalk. The other is a blank panel on the opposite side from the cruse control stalk. Remove the airbag by unscrewing the 2 captive T-30 Torx screws behind the access panels and folding the airbag assembly down to access the two plugs. Lift the locking pins from the center of the orange and black plugs then remove them from the airbag assembly. Remove the ground wire. Set the airbag assembly aside with the plugs DOWN, preferably outside the car. This is to prevent injury should the airbag accidentally go off. Laying the airbag on it face would allow it to become a missile should the airbag go off.

Unplug the cables from the clock-spring. You may or may-not need to remove the counterweight to access them - I didn't.

Next, remove the steering wheel. Mark the relative position between the steering wheel and the shaft with a scribe, paint, magic-marker etc. Loosen, then remove center locking nut and either use a wheel puller or use the nut (threaded back on but not tightened) and your socket/extension and a small sledge hammer to loosen the wheel from the shaft. Unscrewing the nut 3-4 turns and applying some pressure to the back of the steering wheel with your knees will allow you to hammer the nut (with the socket and an extension) which will eventually break loose the friction fit and allow removal of the steering wheel. Thread the 2 wires through the space below the counterweight and lift off the steering wheel.

Remove the two screws on the front face of the steering column shell. Release the tilt lever handle and remove the single screw beneath it to separate the top and bottom shells of the steering column cover. Remove the top half. Unplug the 3 plugs from the clock spring and remove it.

When installing a new clock-spring, it should come pre-centered and held in place with a clip. A used one may need to be centered before installing. Look at the front of the unit for a clear window. Gently turn it left or right till resistance is felt then reverse 2 1/2 turns. Look for the orange pulley through the clear sight window. When seen, you're centered (approximately).

Make sure you either transplant the steering sensor from the back of the old clock spring assembly or make sure your used replacement has it already installed. It indexes with the front half of the clock spring to tell the Prius which way and how fast you're turning the wheel. Make SURE you have this installed before re-installing the replacement clock spring.

Re-install the upper and lower covers. Install the steering wheel making sure to align it with the previously created marks and tighten the locking nut. Re-connect the ground wire and two plugs to the airbag and reinstall with the two T-30 Torx screws. Reinstall the covers, then reconnect the battery and make sure all buttons and the horn work.

You're done!!!

Total time about 1/3 hour to 45 minutes.

 

Thanks go out to st-bob! I took your write-up and got the job done. Took some pics and made a powerpoint (converted to pdf) and it is attached. Part was $65 from ebay.
TOYOTA PRIUS CLOCKSPRING NEW | eBay

Complete success. my right-side steering wheel buttons have been inop for a bit over a year, right at about 90,000 miles or so. Feels good to get them back!

A couple of disclaimers. I did not get all the pics that i wanted. So, if you have questions, just ask. The airbag plug (yellow) would not re-insert, had to align the pins carefully and it was fine. My part was claimed to be new, but I still 'centered' it manually using the 2.5 turns sequence in the pdf. Took 1.5 hours as i am not a fast installer, plus i had about 30 minutes hunting down tools in our moving boxes.

 

Bringing this thread back to life. So

Reviving this thread. So if the buttons work while the steering wheel is rotated, would that rule out "Switch, Steering Pad", as that indicates the switch is operational? And narrow it down to the Clock spring? Thanks.

 

How were you able to determine if it was the "clockspring" and not the "switch, steering pad, rh"? Thanks.

 

sometimes at a certain rotation of the steering wheel the right side buttons would work. so...when i turned left, i could hit recirc and it worked, but as i straightened out in the turn the buttons stopped working again. then after another couple of months, no amount of turning got the right side buttons to work. i also read how the buttons very rarely went out, but the clockspring was the moving part that would wear out.

 

Thank

Thank you!

 

Is it okay to purchase an aftermarket clockspring on ebay? Or should I go used OEM?

 

I purchased one from ebay...all works fine so far! Don't know about aftermarket with this type of part?

I will try to retrieve the ebay listing from my history.

TOYOTA PRIUS CLOCKSPRING NEW (320881061275)
Well, looks like not alot of info is available in the archive. this seller is not even an ebayer any longer.

...and below is a link to a current one:



Best I could find in 3 minutes or less! Mine was $70. 2 years ago. new.

Keep looking and maybe one will show up cheaper.

Best o' luck.

 

Where are these fuses and what volts/color do I need please? I checked the manual and could not seem to find anything for the steering wheel controls. I remember when I first got this car most or all the buttons on the steering wheel worked and were backlit. Now only the top left buttons and nothing is backlit anymore. I just ordered a new clock spring but would like to check that fuses first. Also is there a video that shows how to replace the clock spring on a second generation Prius, preferably the Touring Edition steering wheel version?


This is the strewing wheel I have.

 

I’d like to know if there is a fuse and the location of it for the bottom right button. Also

 

It is more than likely not a fuse. If one or more buttons stop working it is likely a fault that has developed in the clockspring cable.

Sometimes the button may work when the steering wheel is turned to a different position from its normal resting straight ahead position.

Use a genuine OEM clockspring cable from an online dealer's parts store. Olathe Toyota is one such place but there are others that can be cheaper.

Parts that are available from other online sources that are considerably cheaper are counterfeits and generally do not last long. It's up to you whether you want to do this job regularly. The OEM part lasted 16 years on your car, so there is that.

 

Some of the cheap ones might just be knock-offs and not counterfeits:

Knock-off: hey, don't pay so much for that Toyota part, buy this 3rd-party part for way less money.

Counterfeit: hey, don't pay so much for that Toyota part, buy this "Toyota" part for way less money.

Knock-offs are free enterprise at work. Maybe you'd rather save some money and see how long it lasts. Fair enough.

Counterfeits are scams, and buying them supports crooks.

Also, a legitimate 3rd-party knockoff might have some incentive to keep up their reputation and not sell utter kʰɹ̠æp. (Though if it's selling for $20 or something, I wouldn't expect much.)

A counterfeiter is just hiding behind someone else's reputation to begin with, and doesn't give two hoots what happens to you or your car after getting your money.

 

I replaced with known good clockspring. And was the same. Replaced controls as well. With known good part. Still no change. I sold car and it’s still inoperable. I work on these cars everyday. Especially 2nd gen. I’d say it was a problem a deeper than I wanted to go. Probably a mouse nibbled on a wire lol. Thank u for ur help tho. I’m a firm believer in oem parts


iPhone ?

 

I replaced with known good clockspring. And was the same. Replaced controls as well. With known good part. Still no change. I sold car and it’s still inoperable. I work on these cars everyday. Especially 2nd gen. I’d say it was a problem a deeper than I wanted to go. Probably a mouse nibbled on a wire lol. Thank u for ur help tho. I’m a firm believer in oem parts


iPhone ?

 

Oh well I replaced a bunch of these generally from other Toyota cars other Priuses and have never had a problem and the buttons almost never go bad especially if you can feel the detent. But a lot of you guys are in places where rodents like to eat your cars really strange I'd only heard about this phenomenon I never really seen it seen it in pictures on the internet probably but that's about it and that's kind of funny because I live in the woods.