I recently swapped the factory triangle steering wheel and air bag on a 2009 .2 for a new .2 sport design steering wheel along with the needed air bag, also new. Unlike anyone else that has performed this I now have an airbag light, PSM error, an inoperable horn, etc, and etc. Needless to say I am not exactly thrilled and now full of regret as it appears I should have left things as is. I have no clue what happened given how straightforward this retrofit is? I thoroughly researched this via the various forums and YouTube channels. There was nothing performed any differently than anyone else has done. I even unwillingly pierced the hole in the bottom of the new steering wheel and rechecked my work. No issues found. Any advice and/or solutions will be greatly appreciated.

Pease note that I should have mentioned that it is a manual.

 

Do you have a scanner to reset the faults and set programming like a Foxwell NT530 or Durametric? I would think you would need one of those when doing this type of swap.

 

Also I would like to do this someday as I hate the shift "buttons" and want paddles for up and down like all my other cars so I am curious as to what wheel you went with. Pics?

 

Please note that I should have mentioned this .2 is a manual.

 

I have a older Foxwell unit, but it is allegedly manufacture specific. Per my research it is suppose to be a direct swap without the need to reset codes. No clue why the horn is inoperable, especially since the car is not a PDK nor did it have a multi-function steering wheel from factory.


It is very costly endeavor when using a new steering wheel and airbag from Porsche, hence my dismay. Photo attached from Porsche. As well a the link with part numbers: https://content.us.porsche.com/prod/...257981004B1D56

 

The airbag light is pretty standard if you didn't unplug the battery correctly, messed with the wrong wire or you looked at it wrong. PSM should go off after you drive the car assuming you haven't. Have you yet? Horn not working is a little odd but you may have reversed the polarity in the two wires that need to be connected or something simple like that.
I've done a few of these swaps for others and have very extensive wiring diagrams for the steering modules in my build thread when I built my QR cup wheel. I'm not sure yet you've done anything wrong.

1) Can you answer the above questions.
2) Where do you live?
3) can you give us any pics of your connections? (you'll need to remove the airbag again sorry... leave the wheel bolted on though.

Dont worry too much. I think you're a short investigation away from making this work.

@ me when you respond so I'm notified and know you've picked up my post

 

@nwGTS

I must have looked at it wrong. The negative cable was removed 30+ minutes prior to removing the factory airbag. Due to the various faults the car has not been driven. The photo attached is of the new wiring connections to affix to the new airbag. It should be nearly impossible to incorrectly affix them. I am sure if there is a will there is a way, but I am fairly mechanically inclined so something as simple as this has me perplexed (faults and inop horn).

Edit: The attached photo was taken during the initial install.

 

Triple check those male airbag connectors are 1) connected into the correct corresponding female end 2) make sure they are ALL the way in. IIRC they should 'click'. I realize this may sound like 'did you try restarting it' advice but there's a reason they ask that first.

Otherwise, check out the diagrams in my build thread that have the wiring and corresponding colors representing the functions. Then, map both you male and female connectors to be sure the low speed and high speed airbags are mapping to the correct corresponding wires on the clockspring end. Likewise, do the same with the horn.

Let's assume there's a wire off, use a small pick to pop the wires out of the connector (steering wheel side) and move them to the correct corresponding location. This is very easy to do I promise. Small hands help. I dont have them and have done some pretty trick stuff in these tight spaces.

Again I have confidence your PSM light will go away after you drive it a few minutes and the airbag light is just from swapping the wheel. I've done everything correct and had the light but I have a Dura Pro so it's an easy fix to reset for me.

If you're anywhere near Chicago I'm willing to help if you're willing to travel.

 

@nwGTS

When I rechecked the initial install I removed all connections and everything clicked when reinstalled. The the clasp that lock are secured. Mint green male connected to mint green female and the yellow male connected to the yellow female. The ground is secure as well as the wiring connection at the top of the actual steering wheel.

The negative cable has been removed for several hours with the intent to check it all again tonight, but it is now best that I triple check sometime tomorrow. I certainly will update afterwards. Thank you for your help as well as your recommendations.

Edit: While I may be mechanically inclined I am far from an electrician. lol

 

Does the airbag/horn move freely when you push? First time i installed the airbag it didn’t, I had to pull airbag out and reinstall to make sure the cable didn’t interfere.

 

Yes, it sure does. That was my first thought, but it was not the case either time.

 

to turn on your horn you have to use :
- foxwell 510 or 530 scan tool. in the steering wheel module , make sure coding setting ' multiFunctino wheel' on. you can get the dealers to do this for you via piwis. they will NOT know that the .2 wheel on the .1 steering wheel module requires this protocol turned on to work. in the gateway module, make sure coding setting ' multifunction wheel' on. If you pay the dealer to do this, you will have to INSIST to do this, they will NOT know this works. the HORN WILL work.

- psm error should go away as after 30 seconds or so after driving.

- airbag light turned on as your battery was connected while u removed the airbag. again, use the foxwell510/530 to turn off all fault codes in the steering wheel module. for this task, the durametric Pro/piwis II will work as well.

 

@myw Question… Shouldn’t my car have a .2 steering wheel module given that is a .2? Built 03/09.

Removing the negative battery cable is not enough? If not, there is a ton of fake news out there stating that it is. I should have used my better judgment which would have been to remove both the negative and the positive. Regardless, it appears that I would still have the inop horn.

 

the triangle wheel + airbag is a .1 carry over product. By 2010 they stopped using it.

hence .1 Steering module coding settings is my best guess.

As for the connector pins , that I am not sure tbh.

 

Ugh