QuestionMy van's horn,radio,airbags,and cruise control all quit working at the same time someone told me it was a relay switch would one relay switch going out cause all that?
AnswerHi Heidi,
The horn, airbag (warning light, correct?), and cruise control: all are involved with the steering wheel one way or another. I am not certain if your van has radio control switches on the steering wheel too but if not then that is a separate issue.
But the ones that are for sure related to the steering wheel are otherwise unrelated, so I would suggest that you look at two possibilities:
Check the wiring that comes out of the steering column down at the base or along the column to see if any of the plug-together connectors may have been inadvertantly unplugged. If so, find the two halves and plug them back together and that would solve the problems.
If you don't find that sort of solution then I believe that a flexible coupling between the steering wheel and the steering column, called the "clockspring" has failed. There was some generic failures of the clockspring in the latter half of the 90's that led to a safety recall and free replacement of the clockspring because it is a safety-related device (the air bag is connected thru the clockspring). So I would check the Chrysler Corp. web site for recalls and/or go to the dealer and ask, or go to the federal government National Highway Safety Admininstration (NHTSA) website and look up recalls for Chrysler in your model and year. If you find it, then you should be able to get a free fix at a dealer.
Let me know about the radio issue and whether it has any control from the steering wheel or not.
Roland
