I have a 2008 Lariat Super Crew 4x4. I put a Pioneer deck in it with a Crux Interfacing Solutions harness, which retains the factory sub and steering wheel controls. I'm having strange issues with the steering wheel controls. I'm on my third Crux Harness/Steering wheel control adapter...they've been very willing to help me out, but haven't been able to fix the issue yet.

The buttons will work, then randomly when you press the volume down button it will raise the volume or go to the previous track/preset station. The Seek will raise the volume instead of going to the next track/station. Then out of the blue, everything will work fine again...and then act up again. Like I said I'm on my 3rd harness from Crux, so I'm kind of ruling out an issue with the harness. I'm wondering if the SWC switches are going bad or possible clock spring? Cruise and climate control buttons seem to work fine, no air bag light either. Is there a way to take the SWC switches apart to clean the contacts or the clock spring...? I've never dug into either one. I called the dealer and sounds like the switches come in a set with both cruise control (left) side and audio (right) side as a set and listed out at over $300. Clock spring was around $200. Not in the budget to do a replace and hope it fixes the problem with prices like that... Looking for away to check them some how to rule either to the issue.

Thanks for any help...
mod600

 

ANYTHING can be taken apart. The real question is can they be put back together and made to work!

FWIW I've taken lots of things apart that weren't meant to be taken apart (starting with my parents alarm clock when I was about six years old.) Automobile switches has gotten to be one of my specialities and I've fixed a lot of them. For $300, I'd give it a shot!


PS if your having trouble with more than one switch, then I'd say the problem is not the switch but somewhere else.

PS PS. Once a switch contact starts to fail, they're pretty consistent. Your intermittent problem with multiple switches does NOT sound like a switch problem. FWIW I've never worked on Ford's steering wheel controls. What's this clock spring that you're talking about?

 

I just disassembled CC switches on a Ford Freestar (minivan)

Cleaned the contacts and small dab of dielectric grease fixed them right up.


Each button has a different resistance value going to the same two or three wires, very easy to check/test if you know what the resistance values are supposed to be

 

Joe the clock spring allows rotational contact of a harness. Needed on any vehicle with more than one wire going through to the steering wheel (including airbag harnesses)

 

I've never heard it called a clock spring. We always called them rotary joints or rotary couplers. I guess it's like they say "You learn something new every day".

FWIW I've repaired a lot of switches just by cleaning them with a good grade of contact cleaner or by taking them apart and cleaning the contacts with alcohol. But the trick is get them open enough to get the cleaner into the right place.

Patman, did your Freestar give the same kind of symptoms that the OP is having?

 

It was Inop, but it only takes the "on" button not to work for the whole CC system to be down.

 

I realize that but the OP said that the Seek button was causing his radio to change volume instead of changing the frequency. That doesn't sound like a switch problem to me. It sounds more like the interface is sending out the wrong commands. But a short between the signal lines within the wiring and before it gets to the interface could do the same thing.

Did you have any problem with the switches in yours doing the wrong FUNCTION?

 

No I did not

 

Hey Guys - thanks for the responses. Like I said, I've been in contact/working with one of the Tech Guys that make the harness/SWC adapter harness I have. He gave me what the resistance values should be when each button is pressed. I worked on it last night, the Tech guy suggested I added an extra ground connection, but that didn't fix it. It works for a bit and then it doesn't and then it does. I'm going to try to check the resistance values across the 18 & 19 terminals on the main harness in a day or two and see if that tells me anything.

I've had three different SWC adapters and all three do the same thing. One was specially tested and checked at the MFG before they sent it out... Like you said, each button has it's own resistance value and based on that value, the SWC Module adapter sends the appropriate command to the deck. The volume Down and Seek are the two I'm mainly having the issue with... The Volume Down is supposed to have the least amount of resistance, so if the switch is dirty or something and it show a higher resistance when pushed, I guess it makes sense that that volume would go up instead...volume up resistance is about 3 times more that what volume down should be. But it is sporadic...sometimes it'll work and then when I turn the headlights on, then it won't...but it's not always the case, daytime with no lights on at all, it'll act up... Then at night with the headlights on it'll work and then act up and then work.

I was just curious if anyone has taken the switches apart and been able to get them back together without wrecking them.
Thanks!
mod600