Chrysler Repair: 99 Chrysler T&C van steering column problem, daimler chrysler corp, highway traffic safety

Question
Hi,
I've got a 99 Chrysler T&C van. It's got radio controls on the back of the steering wheel. A week or so ago, the controls stopped working, the air bag light came on, and the horn doesn't work anymore. I think I might have blown a fuse for all the to go wrong in the same instant. :) The manual doesn't have anything on fuses or how to change them, etc. Where are they? How do I check them? How do I know what kind they are so I can replace it if it is broken? Is this even teh problem. Any help would be appreciated!
Jenn

Answer
Hi Jenn,
I don't believe that there is a fuse involved in these problems, but rather a wire connector that has failed. Most likely it is the "clockspring" which is a multiwire interconnector between the steering column and the steering wheel where the wires are helical (like a clockspring) so that the wheel can rotate without significant flexing of the wires. You may have a factory recall situation because I recall that there were too many failures of this part in the latter half of the 90's and so NHTSA ordered a recall to replace the clockspring on the vans. I would check with the dealer, and it there is no cooperation you can check with Daimler-Chrysler Corp. in Detroit or with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in Washington,DC.
One other possibility is that a connector near the base of the steering column which handles all those wires has separated as the result of getting tangled up with a driver's shoe. The connector is, if it is present, a separable two part plug, so look for a half-plug hanging freely from the column under the dash and then find the other half nearby and replug them together. That separable plug allows the steering column to be removed for servicing if it exists.
I would be curious to know what you find. But those are my best advices at this point. Usually there is nothing in the steering switches that handles positive voltages such as to be subject to fues blowing, rather it would be simple failure to complete the circuits to ground or at low currents which are not likely to cause fuses to blow.
Roland