Hey,

Not sure if this is the right part of the forum.

I got my car repaired in the summer and since then my airbag light been on. The garage told me it's the clockspring and it's £250 to get it replaced

Does anyone know where I can I get one cheaper?

Thanks

The what??? Never heard of that before. Although take that with a pinch of salt as I'm not exactly technically minded. I've been on these forums for about 4 years though and have never heard of that before! What was the repair you had done before the light came on? More than likely you just need the airbag warning light resetting me thinks.

take it to a dealer and get them to plug the car into hyscan, they will probably charge £25 for this service but at least that should show what the problem is, my airbag light came on when i changed my dials coz i left the battery connected so had it checked by a dealer and it just needed a reset. cured it totally touch wood.

It's what the garage called it.

It's this small plastic thing in the steering column? helps fire the airbag.

The 'spring' thing spins (I think it helps keep the steering central?). It has two wires coming out of it for airbag and maybe power connector.

Anyone know what this is. I'll find a pic of the one I have if not. The Hyundai garage said £250. Some salvage places have said like £500 because it has to be sold with airbag

What car do you own, if it's less than 5 years old check oyur warranty. I too have never heard of this and I'm very dubious of what you have been told. my gut feeling is that you only require a re-set. take it to a different garage to get another opinion but don't tell them what you have alreay been tod until they have told you what there diagnosis is.

Thanks for your replies.

Ok, I'm off work on wed and thurs. I'll go to another Hyundai garage in the area and see what they tell me. Fingers crossed. I'll let you know what they say.

If the clockspring is damaged or bust then surely the airbag system will not beable to deploy the bag as the circuit will be broken, and just guessing but it will probably be a closed loop system to detect such a fault.

hello.....

i think the correct terminology for this so called clock spring is a "rotary coupler"

basically..... it is a series of brass contacts in ring form that sits on the column, and the other contacts are in the steering wheel itself, when connected, it allows the steering wheel to be turned maintaining the curcuit to the horn, airbag etc.

if your steering wheel has been removed, there is a chance this garage has either damaged the contacts or as mentioned before needs re-setting due to the srs system not being discharged prior to removing the wheel ?


xollo.... you wanna watch the rotary coupler on your MG... i worked in the MG ROVER dealership for over 2 years until the demise of MG ROVER, i wish i had a £ pound for every one that came in with the same problem. SRS lights coming on is common in MG ROVER cars.... its usually just the wiring under the seats, just dont let anyone stuff things under there. it displaces the wiring plug, causing the light to come on. if ever it comes on..... check those seat wiring plugs first before taking it in the garage, as they will sting you for it.

the other poor quality components in MG ROVER cars are the window regulators and door lock motors. other than that...... your MG is a top car.

regards
neil.

my appologies xorro...... i called you xollo in my last post.

was thinking of a guy i work with called zollo. silly me.

neil.

Clock springs and rotary couplers are different animals - yet they serve an identical pupose (maintaining electrical contact between two counter-rotating items as you've described).

The difference with a clock spring is that it contains no mating surfaces that require friction to maintain an electrical contact - that's why they're so much more reliable than the rotary coupler that you describe. Instead, it is a flat cable coiled circularly - exactly like a clock spring - with the outer end connected to one side of the joint, and the inner end connected to the other. When you turn the wheel the coil winds and unwinds within itself - if you disconnected the steering column from the rack and kept spinning the wheel you would eventually break the 'spring' by either tighening it up until it could go no more, or unwind it completely. Obviously in 'normal use' where the steering wheel is limited in travel this poses no problem.

So now you know...!

Mathew

hi matthew,

thanks for that info, with not actually dismantling that type of fitting, i have never seen it, but i know what you mean.

we learn sumat new everyday dont we......



neil.

Hey,

Well it's good to know someone knew what it is so I know.

The next step is does anyone know where to get one at a good price ('99 coupe)?

Thanks peeps

Hey,

Cool. How much do you want for it? I got two from a scrap yard but the dude who took them out broke them both by ripping one of the connectors. Which sucked

Thanks.