New shape S line steering wheel on a 2003 audi a3

[harris9053]

i brought my a3 with the new shape s line steering wheel already fitted.

the esp light and the airbag light is on and when i took it to the garage today and it got looked at on the diagnostics, it came up with errors with the slip ring and angle sensor i think, the garage has told me to buy a new airbag slip ring, will this fix the problem? i've heard that these wheels are almost impossible to fit because the new shape wheels have dual airbags, shoud i just get a new 2004 steering wheel and get rid of this one??

any help would be appreciated

 

[harris9053]

i've seen on the internet that recailbrating might make it work?

 

[N8]

Your car has a single stage airbag, that steering wheel is from an 05 > with dual stage. It will not work 100% properly.

 

[harris9053]

so if i get a 2004 wheel, this should get rid of the problems?

 

[harris9053]

if i kept this wheel what would i need to do to get it to work properly and get rid of the errors?

 

[wez3570]

if i kept this wheel what would i need to do to get it to work properly and get rid of the errors?

NHN has the knowledge!

 

[mike foster]

I think NHN will confirm that as your airbag control module is single stage then you cannot use a dual stage airbag and expect it to work.

The control module also operates all the other airbags so it isn't just a case of changing the module.

It has been known for people to alter the wiring of the airbag but I don't think Nige will recommend this !!!!!!!

 

[UV-RS3]

Your car has a single stage airbag, that steering wheel is from an 05 > with dual stage. It will not work 100% properly.

What he said.

 

[harris9053]

it seems like all the s3 replicas on ebay are 2003/2004 and have these fancy steering wheels on with no errors, i'm pretty sure if they crash, their pretty ****ed

 

[NHN]

Ok 1st before we condemn the wheel, although Mike & N8 are 100% correct the 03 car uses single stage airbag & that wheel is dual stage, but that seems a secondary issue as you are advising us of steering angle errors which has nothing to do with the airbags atall.

So 1st need to ascertain the issue with steering sensor, do you have the logs?

 

[harris9053]

if i replace my wheel with that will it be ok? is it a single stage? and is that the best looking wheel i can get thats single stage or is their a better wheel i should go for?AUDI A3 SPORT STEERING WHEEL 2005 WITH AIRBAG | eBay

 

[NHN]

Before you go out looking for a wheel, find out the actual errors 1st, as I said wheel is secondary atm if those errors you advise are there, fix the sensor & esp errors 1st then attack the airbag warning.

 

[mike foster]

Ok 1st before we condemn the wheel, although Mike & N8 are 100% correct the 03 car uses single stage airbag & that wheel is dual stage, but that seems a secondary issue as you are advising us of steering angle errors which has nothing to do with the airbags atall.

So 1st need to ascertain the issue with steering sensor, do you have the logs?

What Nige means by 'do you have the logs' is - have you had it scanned for faults with VCDS to ascertain the actual reason for the warning lights being on.

 

[harris9053]

okay i've just rang the guy that did the diagnostics and he said it wasnt the angle sensor it was the driver side airbag ignitor circuit, the reason the wheel got changed is because the car had a bump and airbag went off on the old wheel, thats why the new wheel has been put on

 

[mike foster]

okay i've just rang the guy that did the diagnostics and he said it wasnt the angle sensor it was the driver side airbag ignitor circuit, the reason the wheel got changed is because the car had a bump and airbag went off on the old wheel, thats why the new wheel has been put on

OOOPs - then whoever did the repair either didn't know the difference or couldn't be ***** to get the proper wheel/airbag and the guy that sold it to you has sold you a car with a safety feature that will not work.

Over to you Nige !! lol

EDIT - are you sure there is actually an airbag in there ? It could just be the cover ! If the horn works you will have the airbag.

 

[NHN]

Yes but esp doesnt light up when the airbag system detects a fault, just lights the airbag light up on cluster, so can we be sure its esp & airbag light or just airbag light?

 

[harris9053]

i need to get to the garage and write down exactly what codes come up or find some one with a vag com nearby

 

[harris9053]

esp and air bag light is on

 

[harris9053]

just went out side and tested the horn! it works

 

[mike foster]

just went out side and tested the horn! it works

:icon_thumright:

 

[amar06fbr]

just went out side and tested the horn! it works

the horn is easy to wire up, is it posible you could take the airbag and check the wires?

 

[mike foster]

the horn is easy to wire up, is it posible you could take the airbag and check the wires?

Do you mean without having an airbag ?

 

[amar06fbr]

ooops, sorry, take the airbag off and check the wireing behind it.

 

[mike foster]

ooops, sorry, take the airbag off and check the wireing behind it.

No probs mate - I think we may be at cross-purposes here.

I said in post #15 at edit that if his horn worked then he would have an airbag. My comment was based on the premise that his steering wheel may just have included an airbag cover and not the bag itself, hence having the warning lights.

When you said can you remove the airbag to check the wiring I was really asking you if it was possible to have the horn working with the actual airbag not being fitted (if you see what I mean ) !!!!!

 

[amar06fbr]

No probs mate - I think we may be at cross-purposes here.

I said in post #15 at edit that if his horn worked then he would have an airbag. My comment was based on the premise that his steering wheel may just have included an airbag cover and not the bag itself, hence having the warning lights.

When you said can you remove the airbag to check the wiring I was really asking you if it was possible to have the horn working with the actual airbag not being fitted (if you see what I mean ) !!!!!

ohh but it is possible to have the horn working with just the airbag cover

 

[mike foster]

ohh but it is possible to have the horn working with just the airbag cover

Aha - I did not realise that mate - thanks for the info. Should be me headbashing ! lol

It did seem strange that after a bump the repairer fitted a more modern wheel which required a more expensive airbag !

Harris -you need to check whether you have an airbag at all mate.

 

[amar06fbr]

Aha - I did not realise that mate - thanks for the info. Should be me headbashing ! lol

It did seem strange that after a bump the repairer fitted a more modern wheel which required a more expensive airbag !

Harris -you need to check whether you have an airbag at all mate.

my mate bought a A4 dammaged repaired, aibag light was on, horned worked but when he pressed the horn it was like the cover was going break in, i had a look and took the airbag cover off, it was screwed on to a piece of wood wich was screwed on the steering wheel and the airbag cover had 1cm wide hole with springs so it would bounce back. the wood had one of the horn wire stuck on it and ther other stuck on the airbag cover and the horn worked , the tings some ppl do to save a few quid.

 

[harris9053]

you've got me worried now! lol ...how do a dismentle the steering wheel and check the air bag and wiring?

 

[harris9053]

i'm gona get it back on the diagnostics in the next few days and write down all the faults that i can find with the airbag and esp and then write it down on here. see if anyone can work it out

 

[mike foster]

you've got me worried now! lol ...how do a dismentle the steering wheel and check the airbag and
wiring?

With the wheel in the straight ahead position turn it 90 degrees left (or right) and look at the lower steering column cover and you should see a plastic cover plate which you remove with a small screwdriver. It may not be there in your case but in the hole is a Torx head screw which you have to remove.

Then turn the wheel to 90 degrees the other way and do the same thing with the other screw.

The airbag will gently lift away from the wheel with the wiring loom still attached. If you see all this in place then you can remove the plug from the airbag but disconnect the battery first.

 

[harris9053]

okay cheers, i'll do that on my next day off work

 

[KemiksiZ]

I have DONE this without an issue and a few AUDIZINE members have done the same thing for their A4s..

Single stage to double stage airbag.. Just dig on internet.. There are some cables has to be rewired.. within the airbag plugs..

Dont lose your faith man! its possibe UNLESS you do not want to mess with ur airbag & sensors' wires..

 

[mike foster]

I have DONE this without an issue and a few AUDIZINE members have done the same thing for their A4s..

Single stage to double stage airbag.. Just dig on internet.. There are some cables has to be rewired.. within the airbag plugs..

Dont lose your faith man! its possibe UNLESS you do not want to mess with ur airbag & sensors' wires..

You may well have done it mate but how do you know it will work if it needs to ?

 

[KemiksiZ]

One of the guys had an accident, so we had the proof But who knows.. Also there was not any error lights on..

 

[paddy]

My penny's worth..
They give 04 wheels away on the bay. Great shame because i just took one up the tip from my 04, 3.2 having advertised it for £20 with an airbag and got no response.

The 04 wheel is a better looking bit of kit as well. this was mine

Do not mess with the wheel or airbag or wiring full stop. Get the right wheel and airbag so you know for certain the bag will work. I fitted a 08 flat bottom wheel to my 04 and it never had an airbag light come on so that tells you nothing. If you want a working airbag for sure get the right parts.

 

[paddy]

This is what you want, check with the guy the year but i'm sure that will fit and work

Audi A3 steering wheel and airbag | eBay

 

[jb0o]

Being a 2004 you'll more than likely have the Steering ECU 1K0-953-549 or 1K0-959-549-A, both of which are only compatable with the Single Stage Airbag. If you have one of these ECU's then you'll also have a Type 1 Slipring.

If you do actually have an airbag then check your Steering ECU and Slipring part #'s. You'll need a different Steering ECU and compatable Type 2 Slipring to work with a Dual Stage airbag.


I'm still inclined to agree with Paddy however, by only installing what was initally designed to be on the car -- if you're bothered about the airbag deploying that is. There was a thread somewhere of a guy who did this mod on his 2004 using the compatable 'F' ECU and Type 2 'D' slipring, to find when he ploughed into a tree, his airbags didn't fire. You can get the facelift wheel onto a pre-facelift no problem and without any errors showing but the airbag actually deploying seems to be a bit hit & miss.

 

[harris9053]

Okay guys thanks for the info, I really wana keep the wheel so might look into steering ecu and new slip ring and try and find some prices off breakers, and I'm gona go the garage tomorrow and get the car put back on the diagnostics, I'll write down all the esp and airbag faults and hopefully have them all on here by the evening

 

[mike foster]

Okay guys thanks for the info, I really wana keep the wheel so might look into steering ecu and new slip ring and try and find some prices off breakers, and I'm gona go the garage tomorrow and get the car put back on the diagnostics, I'll write down all the esp and airbag faults and hopefully have them all on here by the evening

Steering ecu and slip ring will not sort the airbag out. Did you check to see if you actually have an airbag ?

 

[paddy]

Harris
I didnt say buy the proper bits for nothing. You cant make that set up work on your car....its that simple.