Airbag

II311HIVE

MEMBER
1998 PONTIAC FIREBIRD
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
11,200 MILES

On my 98 firebird I had to remove the steering wheel to fix a problem with my ignition. I strictly followed my haynes manual to remove and re-install the steering wheel and airbag. I then started the car and everything was fine until I pulled into the parking lot where I was returning the steering wheel puller. When I went to make the sharp right turn to pull into the parking space I heard a "click" and then My airbag light came on and is now staying on. My first question is, there is an airbag coil, it says in the manual that you may have to align the coil before you put it back in. Well, it says to turn the coil until you cant anymore then back it off 2 1/2 turns. Well first off I cant get it to stop spinning and there is no tension build up, I must have turned it like 50 times in the direction it says to. My second question is, would this cause my airbag light to come on, and stay on?

5 Replies

DAKUMANCHIK

MEMBER
5 POSTS

Yes, the strap broke in that coil. The same thing happened to my 97. Need to get a new/used airbag coil strap. What a pain.

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Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 AT 4:55 PM

TINYT

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Same thing happened to me. Very hard to turn after my mechanic put back on my steering wheel after installing a new windshield wiper switch and now airbag light on- and I’m hearing a clicking each time I turn the steering wheel. But also my radio controls on the steering wheel are not working now too (volume, mute, seek, etc). Will a new airbag coil solve all these problems? And is it an easy fix?

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Thursday, October 3rd, 2019 AT 11:12 PM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
48,505 POSTS

It sounds like the clock spring is broken internally. Here is how you replace the unit. They call it an inflatable steering wheel coil. Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know what happens.

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Friday, October 4th, 2019 AT 12:37 PM

TINYT

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Hi Ken. First, thank you for responding. So this sounds like the problem. Took the car to the mechanic today- he said the airbag clock spring is broken and the part is obsolete. So I’m trying to find an after market airbag clock spring with radio controls and am having a very hard time. I’ve checked eBay, etc, but no luck- seems the only ones are without the radio controls. And since I’m foreseeing spending way more than I wanted to to repair this, I want to at least get the correct part so everything works. Any suggestions on where else to look for the correct part? (Or should I be looking for an inflatable steering wheel coil)? Or are these the same thing?

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Monday, October 7th, 2019 AT 4:49 PM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Hi,

If I can jump in, if a part is obsolete then most times you will need to find one at a junk yard or salvage yard. More than likely you will be able to get the entire steering wheel and column as a complete unit rather than just a clock spring. Unfortunately there are not many options out there for this type of component. The reason is, not many people need them so that means the company that makes them won't sell a lot. If there was a large demand there would be someone that would make them.

This means we need to find wrecked cars that you can take this part from. Sorry I don't have better news for you.