98 Explorer XLT cruise control button block snapped

I guess that I've been pressing the buttons a little too hard on the cruise
control because the other week the block that holds the cruise control on/off
buttons snapped off the steering wheel and is only supported by the short ribbon
cable. I am curious to know if anyone else ran into this problem? Was it an easy
fix it your self or did you take it to the dealer?

Thanks.

Ben

On Jun 21, 8:16*pm, Ben Kaufman <spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-
> wrote:
> I guess that I've been pressing the buttons a little too hard on the cruise
> control because the other week the block that holds the cruise control on/off
> buttons snapped off the steering wheel and is only supported by the short ribbon
> cable. I am curious to know if anyone else ran into this problem? Was it an easy
> fix it your self or did you take it to the dealer?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Ben
__________________________________________________ ______________

It would have been a fairly expensive dealer trip, so I just bought a
good condition used set on e-Bay. Seems they were about $40 with
shipping.

Mine is a '99 XLT, so should be similar.

The procedure -- first disconnect the battery, negative first. This
is a very important step -- it disarms the air bag.

Look on the back of the steering wheel - there are two plastic plugs.
Remove them and then remove the two screws that are behind them.

At that point, the airbag/horn combination should be loose. Carefully
set it to one side --the airbag is still dangerous. The switches are
then able to be accessed and replaced.

Enjoy,
Mark

On Jun 21, 8:16*pm, Ben Kaufman <spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-
> wrote:
> I guess that I've been pressing the buttons a little too hard on the cruise
> control because the other week the block that holds the cruise control on/off
> buttons snapped off the steering wheel and is only supported by the short ribbon
> cable. I am curious to know if anyone else ran into this problem? Was it an easy
> fix it your self or did you take it to the dealer?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Ben
__________________________________________________ ______________

It would have been a fairly expensive dealer trip, so I just bought a
good condition used set on e-Bay. Seems they were about $40 with
shipping.

Mine is a '99 XLT, so should be similar.

The procedure -- first disconnect the battery, negative first. This
is a very important step -- it disarms the air bag.

Look on the back of the steering wheel - there are two plastic plugs.
Remove them and then remove the two screws that are behind them.

At that point, the airbag/horn combination should be loose. Carefully
set it to one side --the airbag is still dangerous. The switches are
then able to be accessed and replaced.

Enjoy,
Mark

On Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:10:00 -0700 (PDT), Mark Sparge > wrote:

>On Jun 21, 8:16*pm, Ben Kaufman <spaXm-mXe-anXd-paXy-5000-
> wrote:
>> I guess that I've been pressing the buttons a little too hard on the cruise
>> control because the other week the block that holds the cruise control on/off
>> buttons snapped off the steering wheel and is only supported by the short ribbon
>> cable. I am curious to know if anyone else ran into this problem? Was it an easy
>> fix it your self or did you take it to the dealer?
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Ben
>_________________________________________________ _______________
>
>It would have been a fairly expensive dealer trip, so I just bought a
>good condition used set on e-Bay. Seems they were about $40 with
>shipping.
>
>Mine is a '99 XLT, so should be similar.
>
>The procedure -- first disconnect the battery, negative first. This
>is a very important step -- it disarms the air bag.
>
>Look on the back of the steering wheel - there are two plastic plugs.
>Remove them and then remove the two screws that are behind them.
>
>At that point, the airbag/horn combination should be loose. Carefully
>set it to one side --the airbag is still dangerous. The switches are
>then able to be accessed and replaced.
>
>Enjoy,
>Mark

Mark,

Thanks very much for the description.

The airbag sounds a bit concerning to me. Now that you mention it, I vaguely
recall something about needing to let it sit for a while after disconnecting
the battery for a capacitor to discharge.

Ben

On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:35:56 -0400, Ben Kaufman wrote:
>
>Thanks very much for the description.
>
>The airbag sounds a bit concerning to me. Now that you mention it, I vaguely
>recall something about needing to let it sit for a while after disconnecting
>the battery for a capacitor to discharge.
>
>Ben

Generally I'd wait about 15 minutes, but I'm one cautious dude when it
comes to explosives!

I'm sure it would really ruin my day to blow one up in my face.

On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:24:26 -0400, PeterD > wrote:

>On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:35:56 -0400, Ben Kaufman wrote:
>>
>>Thanks very much for the description.
>>
>>The airbag sounds a bit concerning to me. Now that you mention it, I vaguely
>>recall something about needing to let it sit for a while after disconnecting
>>the battery for a capacitor to discharge.
>>
>>Ben
>
>Generally I'd wait about 15 minutes, but I'm one cautious dude when it
>comes to explosives!
>
>I'm sure it would really ruin my day to blow one up in my face.

Even if it didn't injure you, i hear they are quite expensive to replace.

Ben