Steering Wheel Lights ?????

[MattStarr]

I have 97 xlt. I have a question about the steering wheel lights for the cruise control. The lights on the left side light up ("on" and "off"), but the 3 buttons on the right dont light up. Does anyone know if they are supposed to light up and if so is there a quick fix to change the light bulb or something. I no longer have a warranty so I dont want to go to the dealer. Please help. Thanks

 

[Robert]

Yes, the buttons are supposed to light up. There isn't a bulb you can replace though. You have to replace the switch. Mine still light up so I haven't had to do it yet, but supposedly the buttons just pop off.

12/05/02 edit -- Having just replaced the bulb in my cruise control switch, I can attest to the fact that the bulb is replaceable. I will post some tips that I found along the way at the end of this thread.

 

[MattStarr]

thanks for the input

 

[WannaXP8]

My on and off dont light up anymore, so what are you talking about the switch?

 

[MattStarr]

no, not the switch, i think its a light bulb or something

 

[VOATMJ1]

I just had my right side switch replaced under warranty last week because it did not light up, so trust me on this one. (2000 Sport).

The lights for both sides of the cruise control, are built into the switch, there are no bulbs.

If you want them to light up again, you have to replace the whole switch, which was $20.00 for the new switch, and 60.00 labor install. (Warranty covered it).

 

[schadler]

I just tried to repair this myself. THe rubber cover came off the right hand switches OK, but won't go back on. I will try the battery-disconnect/steering wheel removal and pray I don't deploy my chute!!

The bulb is supposedly not a separate part. This is a total Joke for 2 reasons...1) the part comes off, so how come Ford doesn't want to sell it? 2)The service guy at the dealership showed me (teased me) with the bulb assembly in their parts bin to make sure we were talking about the same thing. When I asked him to sell it to me, he said he couldn't because it was not listed as a separate part. I asked to speak to the manager...after the 2 of them conversed for a moment, the manager came over to tell me he could not sell it because the part was not for an Explorer (it was identical). So I guess now, I have to lie about what car I have. He told me that I'd have to buy the switch assembly to get the bulb, and that part is $58, and I'd have to remove the airbag to get to it.

all this for a stupid grain-of-wheat bulb that should have been an LED if it burns out so quick and is so hard to get to.

 

[JDraper]

Originally posted by schadler
The bulb is supposedly not a separate part. This is a total Joke for 2 reasons...1) the part comes off, so how come Ford doesn't want to sell it? 2)The service guy at the dealership showed me (teased me) with the bulb assembly in their parts bin to make sure we were talking about the same thing. When I asked him to sell it to me, he said he couldn't because it was not listed as a separate part. I asked to speak to the manager...after the 2 of them conversed for a moment, the manager came over to tell me he could not sell it because the part was not for an Explorer (it was identical). So I guess now, I have to lie about what car I have. He told me that I'd have to buy the switch assembly to get the bulb, and that part is $58, and I'd have to remove the airbag to get to it.

all this for a stupid grain-of-wheat bulb that should have been an LED if it burns out so quick and is so hard to get to.

Your Ford dealer is feeding you a line of BS!!! I had one of the bulbs burn out underneath the cruise control button, and my local dealer sold me one for about $2 with no hassles at all. It took about 20 minutes to install because I had to remove the horn/airbag assembly to get it plugged in. The bulb is actually clear with a colored cover on it. It has a plastic base built into it.

I'd find another dealer. Get it, and then take the invoice back to your dealer and raise a stink.

 

[Frisckey1]

Horn Airbag Assembly

Can you be more specific with the procedure? I too would like to put new bulb in the area of my on/off side, but was afraid of the airbag getting messed up while fooling around in there...but you say it only took 20 min? Any tips for this...my interest is piqued!

 

[JDraper]

Hokay, to get to the lights so that you can fix them right:

1. Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery and let the vehicle sit for at least 2 minutes. This will deactivate the airbag inflators.

2. Pry out the plastic plugs on the back side of the steering wheel. They are round and about 1" in diameter, one on each side.

3. Remove the bolts you find behind the plugs. These hold the airbag and the horn in place. Once they are out, the center of the steering wheel will come off. You should have enough wire in the airbag harness to just rest the assembly on the column or the bottom of the steering wheel.

4. Memory is getting fuzzy here, but if I remember correctly, there are 2 bolts that hold each of the cruise control assemblies in place. Remove them and the assemblies pull off. There is a wiring harness to each one that has a connector that you have to make sure is seated when you put it back together.

5. Pull the rubber cover (the buttons) off the circuit boards to access the light bulbs. The bulbs have a colored rubber cover on them that you will need to re-use. The bulbs have a plastic base that just twists out of the circuit board.


If you get stuck, let me know and I'll go rip mine apart again.

 

[dogfriend]

what car IS the bulb from?

I would like to know so that if mine ever goes out , I will tell the dealer " Its for my (insert name of car here)" and I can pay $2 instead of $60

 

[JDraper]

Re: what car IS the bulb from?

Originally posted by dogfriend
I would like to know so that if mine ever goes out , I will tell the dealer " Its for my (insert name of car here)" and I can pay $2 instead of $60

I asked the dealer for the cruise control light bulb for my 2001 Explorer. Had 'em in stock.

 

[dogfriend]

I'll just tell them my girlfriend has a 2001

 

[Frisckey1]

Cool!

Thanks JDraper....you all are so helpful. I LUV this site!

 

[Robert]

Well all of the tips I was going to post have already been covered by JDraper (I wish I would have seen that before starting on my bulbs). All of the treads I have seen just say to pry off the rubber switch cover, replace the bulb and press the rubber back on. Well, when I tried to connect the wire connector back to the cruise switch, the connector got pushed inside of my steering wheel so I was forced to remove the air-bag to get to it. After taking out the air-bag, I realized how much easier it was to do it that way. I had spent probably 30 minutes trying to get the connector to stay put when putting the switch PCB back in as well as a lot more wasted time trying to press the rubber cover back on. With the air-bag removed, the entire switch assembly can be removed by removing two phillips screws. Once the switch is out, the bulb can be replaced and the rubber put back on very easily. It is easily a 20 minute job when you take out the air-bag using the instructions posted above.

The part number is F32Z-13466-H.

 

[MatthewS119]

CAn you change the color of the bulbs while going this or is the colored plastic peace what makes it colored.

 

[IAmTodd]

There's a condom on the bulbs that changes the color.

Wish I had that write up when I did mine Jeff!

We ended up removing the board, putting the rubber buttons on and then playing with the connector to get it on.

Now comes the battle getting the head light switch to light again.

 

[MatthewS119]

So can i just buy the colored part.

 

[mikephotos]

excellent instructions by jdraper above. if you want pics to go along with the airbar removal part, use this link for a write-up with photos. It's for an '02 but should be similar on other models

http://s88853021.onlinehome.us/explorer/steeringwheel.html