Cruise control, airbag, wipers and horn are out

LANARRA

MEMBER
2000 CHEVROLET TAHOE
V8
4WD
AUTOMATIC
175,000 MILES

Hello, The cruise control, airbag light stays on and I haven't had an accident, wipers only work on high, horn is completely out and the tow haul light stays on. I noticed one day that someone had been in my vehicle and popped my steering column. A wire was cut, after that I noticed that my tow haul light stayed on. I went to a mechanic and he used electrical tal to keep the wires from touching, now I have noticed all of these other problems. Could they all be related to that one wire? Can I just put the wires back together with electrical tape? Or should I replace the whole thing? If so, what exactly is that part called? I looked up steering wheel column and it was only the shell.
Please help ;(

2 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,873 POSTS

Not sure about the wipers but the horn, air bag, and cruise control all have one part in common, that is called the "clock spring". It is a wound-up ribbon cable in a plastic housing under the steering wheel. It will be damaged if the steering wheel is turned further to either side than the normal 2 to 3 turns. A cut wire could also be coming down from that clock spring assembly. The proper repair for a cur wire is to slide a piece of heat-shrink tubing over it, splice the ends together, solder them, then slide the tubing down and warm it to seal it from moisture. Electrical tape is never a professional permanent fix because it will unravel on a hot summer day.