Steering column and airbag problem

[lazza]

HI-- hooray forum back online

I finished the job of putting the front lower subframe back on, replaced the pinion with one from the breakers, bled the brakes etc. Strangely enough, seems to have done the trick in terms steering.

But 2 other problems have arisen:

1. When reconnecting intermediary steering column/shaft- seems to either fit too low down on the splined clamp of steering column or too high pinion. In the end I tried to reach a compromise between the two. Could the forum tell me if this is normal and if I've got the relative positions ok??




2. I also seem to have done something to the airbag when taking the steering wheel off- it now flashes all the time. I took off the rotary switch and there's no continuity between the respective wires of the two orange connectors. Am I to presume it's broken?

cheers
Larry

[CitroJim]

Hi Larry,

Well done on swapping a pinion valve. Not an easy job at all...

The steering column to pinion valve positioning in your first picture is correct.

The second looks a bit high on the face of it but it's there for adjustment so that the bottom of the steering wheel boss clears the outer column with just a small gap. If the wheel graunches as you turn it from lock to lock then it's rubbing on the outer column and needs a small adjustment.

The second problem may be a broken rotary connector. They're delicate and must be properly aligned before fitting. There should be two arrows, one on a sort of cog, that must be lined up in the straight-ahead position and fitted like that with the steering set straight ahead. If not in alignment like this then the first excursion to full lock will break it. It is a roll of flexible printed circuit that winds and unwinds as you turn the steering...

They're hard, if not impossible, to fix effectively. Replacement is the only answer sadly..

[Hell Razor5543]

There are also several different airbag slip rings. If you look through the following link you will see a page of parts linked to the RPO numbers. You will need to find the RPO number on your car (right hand side of engine bay, near to the strut top) or on one of the door labels, and then match it to the list to find the right slip ring for your car;

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... =7&t=48002" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[lazza]

Thanks for the replies

Hey Jim, great to hear from you- i was missing your inputs!

Yes I was a bit rough when messing about with the steering wheel, so I probably broke the connector. Interesting though- Measuring the input voltage in the connector that connects to the rotary connector (which i broke ): It seems to be a varying voltage between 0.5V and 1.2V or around there. I presume these voltages give some kind of signal to the airbag.... anyone know how it works?

[CitroJim]

That'll be right Larry, the airbag ECU monitors the integrity of the airbag detonator by checking it has a certain resistance and is neither short-circuit nor open-circuit. To do this a small voltage will be applied and measured... Effectively the detonator forms one arm of a Wheatstone bridge.

Be very careful when testing around airbags like this as they are very sensitive and can go off without any warning. For a variety of reasons this is never a good thing!

Never ever try to measure the resistance of an airbag.. The very act of trying to test it will set it off..

[lazza]

Thanks.

Yeah, i guessed that. Although it occured to be several times out of curiosity to check the resistance of the airbag . Fortunately resisted the temptation, and managed to avoid the same fate as the cat.

In the car parts shop here they say i have to get the rotary connector from Citroen and could cost around 100€ ???

[Hell Razor5543]

Look for your RPO number, compare it against the list in one of the posts I originally linked to, and then ask in the 'For Sale' section if anybody has one available. There is one on e-bay for £45;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-Xanti ... 3f3208f2ab" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[CitroJim]

That's a good buy James but I believe the S1 and S2 Xantias use a different rotary. That one is an S2 one and Larry has an S1...

Any S2 owner in need is advised to snap that one up...

[Hell Razor5543]

Hi Jim, that is why I posted up a link earlier (it has all of the slip rings with the relevant RPO numbers). Mike got hold of a slip ring that wasn't the right one for his V6 Xantia, and Malcolm posted up the details.

[RichardW]

I've got one of the latest slip rings in GWO - you can have it for a lot less than 45 quid!!