VS Steering Wheel Issues - URGENT

[L67 Calais]

So i pulled my steering wheel off my VS Calais today to replace it with a smicko one i got from the wreckers, Only to find that the locating Lug (If that makes sense) Is different and wont fit!!

The first 2 photos are of my old wheel that came off:




As you can see it is just a round shaft with 1 locating point (dowel)


And this is the back of the new Wheel:




It has a very different lug.

This is the part that goes into the black and yellow plastic thingy (technical term) and im guessing is for steering lock, Indicators etc.

The spline and everything fit.

My question is, why the difference and can i find a plastic thingy at the wreckers to suit?

Old wheel = 97 Calais
New Wheel = 95 Unknown model

Please help as i need this car back on the road by Wednesday!!!!!

Cheers

[L67 Calais]

For those of you playing at home.....



That is the piece i need to replace i believe to get my new wheel to fit.

Does anyone know what it is/does and why there are differences?

What model should i be after, Will it all fit with my airbag setup etc etc.

Cheers!

[Trikky]

looks like the clock spring that provides the connection to the airbag, I woul dsay that the "new" steering wheel you have gotten is from a model that did not have the airbag - not something I would want to be modifying etc. best to try and get a good wheel off a similar aged car as yours

[VRCALAISS]

looks like a non airbag wheel.

[aussie4life11]

basically inside the plastic box there are 2 circut boards with tracks running around it the full 360 degrees on one side. the other side has spring loaded tabs that line up with the tracks on the otherside which allows things like your airbag and horn wiring to function no matter how far around you turn the wheel. without this box, your wiring would get tangled up around the steering column. ill try to find you a picture of the inner workings of it

[aussie4life11]

here it is. ok so its not holden but u get the general idea. the tracks are clearly visable on this one

[L67 Calais]

Cheers people!! Took that wheel back and got an SRS one.

Now.... The yellow plug that goes directly into the back of the Airbag, Does that have a specific way of plugging in?

As it looks to have one yellow wire and one yellow wire with a white stripe on it which im guessing is positive and negative but it can plug into the Airbag in any direction?

If it is plugged in the wrong way, what will happen.....?

IE, does the airbag connection require the correct polarity?

Will my airbag explode as soon as i connect the battery?

[nathanVY]

Cheers people!! Took that wheel back and got an SRS one.

Now.... The yellow plug that goes directly into the back of the Airbag, Does that have a specific way of plugging in?

As it looks to have one yellow wire and one yellow wire with a white stripe on it which im guessing is positive and negative but it can plug into the Airbag in any direction?

If it is plugged in the wrong way, what will happen.....?

IE, does the airbag connection require the correct polarity?

Will my airbag explode as soon as i connect the battery?

Should only go in one way bud, shouldn't explode either lol.

[L67 Calais]

Nope, Goes in either way......

Which is why im worried that if its plugged in the wrong way and it needs the correct polarity.............. BOOM!!!!!!

[nathanVY]

Nope, Goes in either way......

Which is why im worried that if its plugged in the wrong way and it needs the correct polarity.............. BOOM!!!!!!

Umm pretty sure the one you're talking about is just a single prong lol. All the other air bag looms definitely only go one way (as do most in the car)

[L67 Calais]

???

Do i need to post a pic? It is not single prong and it has a positive and negative feed to it hence why im concerned about it being the wrong way

[L67 Calais]

Here it is.

The yellow plug goes into this and it goes in either way without a problem as its symmetrical top and bottom.

Yet the plug that comes from the column has a positive and a negative?????????

So how do i know which way it goes on??

[Jxw]

plug your old wheel in and cover your face when you turn it on? (nah joking it shouldn't explode)
if it's wrong i'm guessing it'll throw an ecu error, make note which way you have it and it should be fine, if it was supposed to have a correct polarity i highly doubt such an important safety feature would use a symmetrical power plug

[L67 Calais]

Great...... Airbag Code......

[aussie4life11]

have you tried pluggin it in the other way?

[L67 Calais]

Na, Im gonna have to pull it all off again now and do that.

Its a pain in the arse because those Torx srews are so TIGHT

[aussie4life11]

i used a smapp ratchet driver with a torx bit in a converter. works like a dream

[Brett_jjj]

You will probably need a tech 1 or similar scantool now to clear whatever SRS code was set. Disconnecting the battery wont clear these codes.

[L67 Calais]

You will probably need a tech 1 or similar scantool now to clear whatever SRS code was set. Disconnecting the battery wont clear these codes.

Yeah, I know.....

Ah well, I've reversed the plug now so once its cleared it shouldnt appear again.

Also, With the "AIRBAG" light on, Even though i have wired it up correctly, Is the Airbag Operational?

[SWE11L]

I believe it is not operational until you have the error code cleared.

[L67 Calais]

Yeah thought so....... Cheers mate