cable reel/clock reel

[roar]

ever since i've owned the car, i've never had a working horn.

two days ago i finally had a free day to thoroughly inspect wiring etc and i narrowed it down to the cable reel/clock reel (ie, the thing right behind your steering wheel where the horn/SRS/cruise control (not on my car tho) wires pass through

due to this, i'm also fairly sure that there is an open in the SRS system, and that the SRS system has been manually disengaged (most likely by the previous owner...bastard!)

After thinking long and hard, i admit that yer, it'd probably be wise to fix this problem correctly as my own safety is at risk

does anyone know where i can source an ek4 clock reel from...and would this be the same as in any ek civic? (i'm sure it would be...just looking for some verification), as i'm thinking about sourcing it from a wrecker, as most likely wreckers wouldn't know how much clock reels are worth and i can't afford to shell out 500ish...

thanks guys...also replacing it should be a job i can do myself right? i am competent in removing airbag etc...

[Rasputin]

Sorry I don't have any answers for you, but out of curiosity:
Do the SRS lights still act normally on your gauge cluster?

[Drew]

Whats wrong with the clock reel?

Did someone not put it back together properly and it got munched up or something?

Yeah it's something you can do yourself, I've never actually done it but uhm it's held in place in a similar way to IDE cables in a computer or in fact pretty much any flat data cable thats not soldered in

If the cable is broken (for the SRS part anyway) the SRS light should stay on when you start the car; instead of the norm turning on during self check and turning off when it's all good a few seconds later

[roar]

perhaps its only the horn wiring part of the clock reel that is damaged...tho i highly doubt that

i think the SRS light may even have been removed from the dash (haven't checked that far) to hide the fact that the clock reel was damaged...

and frankly, i'm pissed i didn't have the insight to press the horn during the test drive ={

[Drew]

Does the SRS light come on when you put the ignition to ON?

If the light is there it will come on with all the other lights and then turn off after the self check, and the same when u start the car...

If it doesn't come on at all then the light has been removed

[Mr_will]

if your horn hasnt been working since youve owned the car, how have you passed rego? its one of the requirements

[Perry]

your horn is connected to the SRS, I had the same problem b4 its the coil what ever u called it its a fin wire to the SRS airbag. If the horn doesnt work your SRS airbag wont work try going to wreckers for the coil.

[roar]

okay, wow...i spent all afternoon labouring over my car using all my 1st and 2nd year uni skillz repairing my car

1) discon neg and pos from battery and waited 3min
2) removed airbag module
3) removed steering wheel
4) removed clock reel
5) dismantled clock reel - the ribbon cable was in two seperate pieces lol and one of the pieces was so mangled there were numerous opens in the circuit
6) found a long unmutilated length of ribbon cable in the reel and stripped the plastic sheath away using a scraper. Did the same to the other section i was mating it too
7) Precision soldering took place - lol
8) duct tape the work, making sure to insulate wires from one another. There are two on one end that are connected to SRS system (green and yellow cables) so it is especially important not to short these two together. Horn wire is on other side of ribbon so it isn't as essential...there are 3 unused wires in the ribbon as i don't have cruise control.
9) calibrate the clock reel so that there is ample room to turn left and right full lock without putting the ribbon cable under too much tension.
10) reassembled clock reel
11) reinstalled clock reel/steering wheel/airbag module
12) reattached battery terminals
13) started car...full lock left - horn works, full lock right - horn works...SRS light still not turned on...have to look into that...
14) otherwise...i'm stoked