Auto Airbag System Repair: 2005 Ford Taurus Airbag light, horn, cruise control not working, airbag system, 2005 ford taurus

Question
Hi Doug.  We have a 2005 Ford Taurus with less than 80K miles on it.  When our problem first started, the airbag light would randomly come on and then go off.  Now it stays on all the time,and simultaneously the horn stopped working as well as the cruise control.  I read in another post that when all three of these things happen at the same time, it's the clockspring.  My question is can the clockspring in the 2005 Taurus be replaced by itself or do we have to replace the whole steering column?

Our 2002 Chrysler Town & Country minivan's airbag light recently came on and won't go off either.  Are we going to be looking at the same problem on this as well?  Or, is this just a reset issue?  Neither vehicle has been in an accident or had their airbags deployed.  Thanks so much for your help.

Answer
Hi Laura:

It certainly sounds like a clockspring in both issues.  That part is replaceable individually and most often inexpensively.  The Chysler vehicle may even be under warranty.

The clockspring is a ribbon wire that is coiled up inside the steering column.  This component is the subject of many discussions on these threads.  Many times the steering wheel or column is disconnected and then rotated beyond the center position it is required to be in.  This will cause the clockspring wire to break.  The clockspring delivers current to all of the systems above it… the airbag, cruise control and horn.  When it fails (and they do a lot) the wire breaks leaving one or all of the circuits open and inoperative.  This will cause the airbag light to come on and shut down the airbag system.  As long as that light is on, the airbags will NOT deploy, even in an accident.  Sometimes it’s intermittent as the wire begins to break.  Once it breaks completely, the ‘airbag’ light will illuminate.
This was a factory recall for many vehicles and many customers are unaware of that.  
Check out the last site for information on researching your own vehicle for factory recalls.
…or contact your local dealer and they will accommodate the replacement for you.
Check out these web pages for a more complete description:

http://www.airbagsolutions.com
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/docs/Clockspring.pdf
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/resources.aspx
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/safety-recalls.aspx

Good luck
Doug