Hi all,
One of the minor but fairly annoying traits I've noticed in our 2004 Navigator (Ultimate, without Navigation) is that the steering wheel controls seem to have a bit of a mind of their own.

For instance, sometimes the volume button will skip to the next cd track. Sometimes the temp button will adjust the fan, sometimes the mem button does a source change. Sometimes cruise control doesn't want to set etc.

Anyone have a similar issue and have any idea how to resolve?

 

Perhaps dirty contacts? These buttons work on varying resistance principle. I.e. when you press Fan up button, the circuit shows 300 ohms, but when you press Mem it will show 400 ohms, and so on. (values are only for example, not the actual values). So a dirty contact might present a different resistance, and be misinterpreted by the PCM or system.

Remove the buttons, and clean the contacts would be a good thing in this case. Depending on your skill level, perhaps verifying that the resistors have good contact and are in spec could be a step to take as well. The switches aren't cheap, so definitely worth to attempt to repair the ones you have.

 

How do you remove the switches? Dirty contacts is what I was thinking...

They all work, just sometimes they don't work as intended... sometimes they do lol. Just a lottery on whether it does what I think it will.

 

I believe it's pretty much the same as the Expy, which means you remove the drivers air bag module (power down and discharge the system properly first!) and the switches can easily be removed.

 

Thanks, I have the factory service manuals on the way, so hopefully they cover everything in detail.. Haven't removed an airbag in some years!

 

Yeah, that'll tell you all you need to know, including how to safely power down and discharge it before touching the airbag..