The steering wheel airbag gets its power through what is called the clock spring. The airbag clock spring is simply a reel with flat wiring that coils in and out as you turn the steering wheel to the left and to the right. In addition, on the top of the clock spring is a fixed (does not rotate) cable referred to as a pig tale. This cable travels through the center of the steering wheel and has either one or two connectors at the end. These are the locking connectors that plug into the back of the steering wheel airbag. When your steering wheel airbag deploys the heat that is generated from the instant conversion of solid pellet's to a gas, literally will melt the plastic connectors. For this reason most insurance companies will include a new clock spring as part of the rebuild writeup sheet. However, not all clock spring connectors melt. Some airbags also include its own pig tale wire which keeps the plugs far enough so that the heat does not affect the plastic connection. Therefore, in the event where both your clock spring and airbag have a pig tale wire with a female and male plug you will not have to replace your clock spring. You simply disconnect the connectors and discard the airbag as the new steering wheel airbag will plug right back in. However, if your mechanic says that you need to replace the clock spring not all is lost. In reality, the only thing that happens to your clock spring is that the connectors melted at the end of the pig tale cable. The clock spring reel is not affected from the airbag deployment. Therefore, all you need to do is replace the melted connectors and you can recycle your clock spring instead of purchasing an expensive new replacement. We stock many squib connectors of all different colors and each connector will come with about three inches of wiring which you can simply splice, solder and heat shrink each wire and you are back in business. If you have any questions about splicing new connectors do not hesitate to contact us.
