Hey all,

I have another quick question. I'm in the process of rebuilding the steering column on my rig. I was surprised its a fairly easy job. I have not done this before and had a couple basic questions. I followed the instructions here:http://fullsizebronco.com/forum/show.../topics/181708

I found out my issue and it was simply the pin falling out on the upper ignition rod. (my ignition spun freely and did not turn off, stayed in the run position but woul;d not crank, replaced key tumbler without a positive result) I thought originally it was a broken lower slide rod, but it was simply the pin in the upper rod that had fallen out.

That being said after taking the column apart in the truck i do not fully understand why this needs to be done in the truck. I would have pulled the wheel and dropped the column, disconnected wiring and then dropped the ignition switch. I would have diassambled on a bench considering it would have been much easier.

That being said, is this incorrect? I want to reassemble everything on the bench before putting it back in, hook up the wiring and joint and reinstall the wheel, or am I completely missing something? I figured there was a reason it had to be done in the truck or am I missing something?

Secondly, my cruise has never worked. I have gone through all the wiring and have given up on it ever working. (Replaced bulbs and what not) I noticed this column doesn't have a typical clock spring and is fairly basic setup. The truck is a 95 and I know the 96+ have a bit more under the wheel. That being said my wheel has a so called "clock spring mechanism" on the back side of the wheel that's a bit different. It has three grooves, and a 3 pin unit that sits in the grooves mounted on the column. I noticed my lower pin was gone or broke off. does this directly correlate to the cruise? if not what does it link? Horn? Horn has never worked either and was janko wired in with a push button. I want all the wiring back to factory and will do so upon reinstall, but thought I'd ask this crew their thoughts first about the 3 pin unit and what it controls as I am not positive and am horrible with wiring but can usually study a diagram and make sense of it.

here are few pictures for reference:

 

Back side of wheel.....

 

I have a feeling you found your issue.that brush needs to contact the sliding contact on the back of the wheel.
The pin that came out...did that come out of the plastic rack gear dealio? If so then I highly suggest replacing the whole plastic piece.that is not supposed to come out. I got the one I did from ford.
Make sure also that the outside ring on the wheel is smooth.that could wear the brush prematurely.

 

No clock spring if it's standard. I just finished doing the column on my truck. I had the column completely out with no problems. I also cleaned up the copper ring and put new grease on the back, hope that helps.

 

Yes it came out of the plastic rack gear. I replaced both plastic pieces.

Any Idea what circuit that third pin directly correlates to?

Any comment on why the heck folk disassemble the entire thing in the truck? Why can't I reassemble on a bench? Minus Wiring and wheel

 

Good to know!

 

They only run a clock spring if you have an airbag, since your cruise and your horn didn't work I would take a guess and say that bottom pin was the ground for the steering wheel, that would effect the horn and the cruise and the lighting of the cruise buttons. There is no reason you cant pull the steering column all the way out and work on it on the bench, I have several times without a problem., just need to mark the steering shaft and have a friend help you install it. Good luck

 

Thank you for the info. It is much appreciated. I guess my only mistake was marking the steering shaft...oh well I guess I will figure that out when I figure it out...

Thank you once again!

 

If both the horn and cruise are inop, I'd be willing to bet that broken pin in the roll connector is the power to both. I don't have the EVTM in front of me, but I don't think it's specific about which concentric ring on the roll connector is for which circuit. Which wire in the harness (what color) does it correspond to? That, and a quick consult of the EVTM, would indicate what it's for.

 

You and your mastery of that EVTM.... I will be using it to figure out a few cut wires as well. Not sure what they go to, but they once went somewhere. I want to say I used some advice a while back to hotwire a friends truck to get it home too.... Its back to factory and properly fixed, but thanks to your indefinite knowledge and tips on it, it saved our azz that day.

Thanks again!

 

I sure pulled the column and did it on the bench.in the vehicle seems stupidto me.

 

I'm just regurgitating what I read; I've said before, the EVTM makes great bathroom reading. Probably the most useful of all the FSMs. And if you've got a truck with, uh, erm, interesting field modifications made by previous owners, having your own copy is of great value.

 

This made me chuckle. Theres people that have no business touching wiring (or anything else) on a car. I've seen my fair share of "Modifications" come through our shop.

 

Agreed, I pulled a couple hundred feet of rogue wiring out of this thing when I bought it... I keep finding more and more backwoods fixes under the dash. They were pretty ambitious to eff a lot of stuff up in order to hook up auxiliary lights, CBS, radios, stereo, more stereo, subs, external clocks, gauges, and all sort of garbage.... it was so bad it was impressive.

 

On a bad note the darn brush has been discontinued... yippe!