For us who don't happen to have them Does anyone make a universal kit yet? I don't want the expense of swtiching steering wheels because that will cost like $800 or more and all this really is is some pushbuttons with lights wired to a harness.

 

I see i can get salvaged steering wheels on ebay for $60 shipped. Does anyone know if I take it to a GM dealer for the install if they will allow me to have the airbag and horn assembly taken out of my current wheel and installed in another used one and then installed back on the car? Also does anyone know if i will have to buy a wiring harness or anything? Does anyone have any idea what this installation would cost??

thanks guys

 

Okay, here is the deal with the steering wheel. My T/A didn't come with the switches, or even a leather steering wheel. So i replaced it with a leather one with the switches. Its very simple to swtich them out, but the controls aren't going to work. The wiring for them is in the steering column, and you have to have a column thats already wired, now yours could be, but i seriously doubt it. For them to work you'd have to switch out the whole column. I just really wanted the leather wheel, and the control make it look nice, they don't work, but they look like they do, so its good enough for me. To switch out the wheel, disconnect the battery (to be safe) and then take out the two screws on the back of the steering wheel, (they are a pain, but not too bad). Then you pull the airbag out, just pull up and out on it at the same time, and once its out of the wheel, unplug the wire for it. (it looks like a Cat5 Cable). To get the actual wheel off, first take the nut off the middle. You're supposed to use a steering wheel puller, but i found a harmonic balancer (it works good enough) you really don't even need one of those. The only thing they are good for is to help get the wheel off the stick. If you beat on the old one hard enough (really hard) it should come out. The manual says that you should mark where the old one was, so the new one will go on straight, but the stem is slotted so that it will only go on two ways, right side up or upside down, so just make sure you get it right, then but the nut back on (tight) plug the air bag in, screw it in, and then connect the battery. Thats all it takes. Just make sure you don't spin the coil on the end of the column, because then the airbag won't work.

As far as i know there isn't a way to hook up the steeringwheel control without switching the column out. I could be wrong, but i never found one. I was even thinking about running a wire up the column, but there isn't a way to get it through the coil for the airbag.

I dont' know what gm would charge to do this, but i know you can use the same airbag, and i know you should be able to do it yourself. Heck, if you were near-by i'd do it for you. Wouldn't take more than a half-hour.

If you need anything else, just let me know.

 

I have a radio controlled steering wheel in my car that came out of a 2000 Camaro. Here what you have to do to get it to work.

You're going to have to get a air bag coil (big yellow round part inside the colum just behind the steering wheel) either new (P/N 26072753). After you remove the steering wheel, you'll see the coil. It is a lot easier if you remove the whole column from the car to work on it. Remove the coil and feed the wiring harness up through the column. Take the new coil and snake it's two wiring harness down through the coulmn and reinstall. Now you'll have the wiring to connect the buttons to the radio.
I got the coulmn with steering wheel and gutted out the harness for the radio controls as the coulmn wiring is different for my car than 2000-up.

I have a aftermarket radio and so all I did was use a PAX-SWI-X to connect the steering wheel buttons to the radio.
http://store.clubgp.com/catview.asp?catid=6

I have a few pictures of my install in my webshots album.
Steering Wheel Install

 

thanks guys, you all make it sound like it's as simple as removing the wheel and routing a wire down the column so i'm thinking about getting the wire harness from GM and doing it myself. I can make a puller at the house and i have all the basic handtools. I asked the guy on ebay about installing it and he said the dealer will charge alot more than a repair shop but he still failed to give me an idea of what that would cost.

Dear ZForce, I was wondering why do you have to remove the coil and replace it with a new one? Is it impossible to just route the cable around it or thru it and do you damage it by removing it? How much did that part cost you? I'm a little timid about removing the entire steering column but i'll check out your link and maybe I'll look around behind the column to see how it's put together.

Thanks

 

okay, I checked out your pictures and i think i see what you mean. The coil you speak of has the harness built into it then?

(that picute of the wires you have includes the coil)

I may have to examine my wheel before i actually buy the part because i have a 2000 in which year the controls were optional so i may already have the harness. This would make good sense to me since the option was only $120 so at the factory they would just include all the wireing and only the wheel itself is actually included in the option. That would be sweet, all i would have to do is change the wheel.

but if it's not that easy i'm assuming atleast there is a plug in my stock radio that will accept the controls, I don't think they would go to that extreme to try to save a few bucks.

I really need someone who has done this to a 2000 or newer car or else i will have to take apart mine.

 

I probably should have posted this in the custom car auido section, i'm going to ask over there too.

 

can anybody else help me,

I went ahead and took my airbag off to see if i had prewiring and i didn't see it but it still could be tucked under the wheel which i didn't have time to remove.

Can some one tell me if all 2000 and newer camaros came with the steering wheel control wires so all i have to buy is the wheel? I've done searches and not found the answer, This weekend i'll have time to take the wheel off but it would save me a lot of trouble if some one knows.

Also how nuch does a puller cost? I have to decide to but one or make one.