Steering ribbon cable repair
Discussion
My recently purchased Cerbera was bought £1000 less because none of the steering wheel buttons operated and I was told by the garage that a controller was required.
Being electrically oriented, I had a look myself and soon found that the ribbon cable in the steering hub had cracked where it plugs on to the little pcb.
This must be a common failure as the car's paperwork notes that it had one in 2002.
If anyone is interested, I can describe in detail how I cut the plug off and soldered the ribbon cable directly to the pins at an angle that will not again crack. I also used a length of double sided tape to hold one turn of ribbon around the hub to remove any strain.
My question to other knowledgeable types is this. The wires from the buttons on the steering wheel run across the hub to the little pcb and get squashed when the wheel is re-fitted.
What is the correct way to fit the wheel and not crush the cables?
Being electrically oriented, I had a look myself and soon found that the ribbon cable in the steering hub had cracked where it plugs on to the little pcb.
This must be a common failure as the car's paperwork notes that it had one in 2002.
If anyone is interested, I can describe in detail how I cut the plug off and soldered the ribbon cable directly to the pins at an angle that will not again crack. I also used a length of double sided tape to hold one turn of ribbon around the hub to remove any strain.
My question to other knowledgeable types is this. The wires from the buttons on the steering wheel run across the hub to the little pcb and get squashed when the wheel is re-fitted.
What is the correct way to fit the wheel and not crush the cables?
The cable is folded right at the end so it passes through a slot in the bottom of the hub, the PCB is on the outside of the hub.
You wind the cable round tightly, put the wheel back on the boss and before it engages with the splines, wind the wheel back 1/2 turn to give it some slack.
PS Well done on getting a £1000 discount for a £10 fix
You wind the cable round tightly, put the wheel back on the boss and before it engages with the splines, wind the wheel back 1/2 turn to give it some slack.
PS Well done on getting a £1000 discount for a £10 fix
There isn't a slot on the back of my wheel.
The wires come out of the plastic cover on the back of each spoke and run across where the wheel clamps to the hub.
I tried running the wires around the hub but there isn't enough clearance and ended up putting tape on the wires to help protect them.
Could I be missing a plastic spacer for instance that would allow the wires to pass through?
The wires come out of the plastic cover on the back of each spoke and run across where the wheel clamps to the hub.
I tried running the wires around the hub but there isn't enough clearance and ended up putting tape on the wires to help protect them.
Could I be missing a plastic spacer for instance that would allow the wires to pass through?
Speed 6 W reg.
My feeling is that a spacer is missing from the back of the steering wheel that would allow the wires to pass through unharmed.
There has been a lot of silicon spread around, stuck on wiring etc so a bodger has been involved.
The design requiring a sharp fold on the ribbon cable where it joins the pcb was asking for trouble and has proved to be.
My heater fan doesn't work although oddly started to work whilst the dash and lower instrument binnacle were out.
Even odder is that it stopped working when I put the lot back together again.
Mend one thing and another stops!
My feeling is that a spacer is missing from the back of the steering wheel that would allow the wires to pass through unharmed.
There has been a lot of silicon spread around, stuck on wiring etc so a bodger has been involved.
The design requiring a sharp fold on the ribbon cable where it joins the pcb was asking for trouble and has proved to be.
My heater fan doesn't work although oddly started to work whilst the dash and lower instrument binnacle were out.
Even odder is that it stopped working when I put the lot back together again.
Mend one thing and another stops!
JensenA said:
I'm not too clear on what you are describing here...are you saying you have a ribbon cable that runs round the outside of the hub? You should have a ribbon cable thats about 2m long and sits [b]inside[/i] the hub boss, and exits out of the back of the boss through a small slot.
The ribbon cable is in its correct place inside the hub. What I was describing is a way to ensure it doesn't break again by using double sided tape to remove the 90 degree strain on the end of the cable where it connects to the small pcb.My problem is that at the moment the steering wheel push button wires are clamped between the wheel and the hub which cannot be correct. Is there supposed to be a spacer with slots for the cables?
I will probably make one myself anyway.
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