airbag wheel sticks and clicks.. Help!

[thebutcher37]

The past couple days my steering wheel has been feeling rough and kinda sticky.. I checked fluid and decided it was low for my liking so then I put a little more fluid in to get it level.

My turning had felt a lot easier but still feels sticky.. So I find out that now it doesnt seem to be my rack or pump.

because.... of what happend below.

Ok so last night i drove away, made a right turn and my airbag wire behind the steering wheel got caught up and got ripped out along with breaking my horn contact... leaving my horn beeping making me look like an idiot so im trying to figure it out by taking my wheel off. And I discovered that the previous owner had left the airbag unplugged.......
so the contacts were just laying around inside there...
I guess this finally got caught up when i was making the turn..

Now my problem is, I took off the wheel cleared up the area so it doesnt get caught up again and now that I put my wheel back on i have this clicking that happens about every full turn. and seems like it holds it in the same degree of the last turn i made, basically i have to return it my self to center. Just so you know its not the turn canceler thats clicking or getting stuck because i broke it off while putting my wheel on:(

So im thinking I just dont know how to do it right because im not sure that little black clip with the spring is or how its supposed to line up with the white guide in the back or even if this guide goes into the slot behind the wheel...
If you look at "guide placement" this picture shows the clear transparent circular plastic that looks like it has shredded paper in it, this piece spins around just FYI.

heres some info of pics:
Broken horn contact: ripped right off...
Ripped airbag wire: this looks like its gonna stay off..
White guide: i think this is whats making the clicking noise/sticking...
Black Clip: Im not sure how this is used?... any info?
Guide Placement: how do I line up the white guide with this slot?




Help, I have read the manual, ive searched threads.. ive put on the steering wheel and taken it off numerous times. HELP!

[hoyabmw]

in the pic of the ripped airbag wire--you see the white string behind the plastic? That's the power wire in the slip ring. It's hosed. It should be a nice smooth coil around the hub.

Here's what happened (I know, I did it before too):

You removed the wheel, and the ring which contacts the white guide pin was in the right spot.
You cleaned things up and reinstalled the wheel a tooth or 2 off, so the guide pin didn't line up. The guide pin can't reset itself if it's not in the slot when the wheel is installed.
You started driving the car. You started having notchy steering due to the guide pin not lining up and holding the slip ring in place properly. The wire ripped off due to the slip ring getting spun around too much.

You should be able to cut the rest of the power wire, reassemble everything and not care at this point. You won't have an airbag, but you didn't before anyway. After I pulled mine apart and cut the airbag wiring when this happened to me, the notchy steering went away. Then I replaced the wheel with an aftermarket smaller one.

Basically, you're screwed when it comes to the airbag wheel. If you want an airbag, you need a new wheel.