"Horny" car help needed!

[karls3abo]

Driving to work this morning, and next thing i know is the car randomly starts beeping! The horn was on for about 5 seconds then I hit the horn buttons each side and it stopped...

Driving to Morrisons on lunch and back seemed to aggravate it even more, the short trip (about 2minutes) it came on for about a minute of that trip.. Then again after many whacks of the horn and lots of funny looks from locals, I managed to stop it, then I moved the fuse to save me any more embarrassment ! Anyone know what's up? The fuse is fine. Seemed to sound like it was a loose connection as it was very sharp quick random bursts of horn lol

Secondly how do I removed the air bag cover without apparently dying...

Please help!!!

[rockmonkey69]

Is this an aftermarket steering wheel?

[karls3abo]

nope its a standard 3 spoke, the horn buttons are hard to press though, and the air bag cover is really loose, every bump it knocks through the wheel, feels sh!te!

i wanted to maybe change it for one off ebay but not sure how much work it is...? and opbviously i would loose the airbag, or i have been reading about a mk5 wheel? but looks a bit of a pain in the arse to do.

[rockmonkey69]

The airbag being 'loose' might be the cause of your problem, it doesn't sound like it has been fitted right.

Aftermarket steering wheels will require a hub and they don't tend to have provision for airbags which would require a resistor in place. The mk5 steering wheel is an alternative but there is a fitment issue with the airbag and requires some modification.

[karls3abo]

its been like it since i bought it i think. i have never taken it off anyway. think i might try and find a semi standard replacement at some point. like maybe an r32 0r the mk 5 had a read through the guide and it seems fairly achievable.

[rockmonkey69]

I would suggest removing the airbag unit first and inspecting it to make sure that the wires leading to the buttons are not trapped somewhere and that the airbag is seated properly, it sounds like a pressing issue especially because it's a safety feature.

But it sounds like you have your heart set on changing the steering wheel.

[karls3abo]

maybe i will change it in the long run, and ye i am a little worried, will wait till the weekend and have a look,

is it just a case of disconnecting the battery and then im guessing on the back of the two sides if you like of the wheel there are holes? im guessing there are some sort of spring clip in there holding it?

[rockmonkey69]

That's right, be sure to disconnect the battery as a precaution. Using a flat head screw driver you can insert it in the hole and lever it (I think it's in the direction away from the centre of the steering wheel, if not then it's towards it) do this one hole at a time. Once the airbag is off don't tug on it, it's still connected, disconnect it and you will have access to inspect the mechanism for the horn.