i have a 1997 OBW and recently the "airbag" light just stayed on after starting the vehicle one day. Now its on all the time. Any ideas??? No accidents since i have owned the car which has been a year now.

broken clock spring maybe. curtis

i could sometimes bang on the steering wheel and it would go off, but not anymore. it stays on all the time now if that helps with ideas???

yeah, my guess would be the clock spring broke. was there a clicking noise from the steering wheel when you would turn prior to the light coming and staying on? does the cruise control still work? if i remember correctly it won't work either with a broken clock spring. curtis

i dont have cruise on my car. i didnt notice any clicking or popping noises either. where exactly is the clock spring??? how difficult is it to replace?thanks for the info by the way

I think you can read the codes out of the airbag controller similar to getting the TCU to flash out the codes. That would be the first step. It could be an impact sensor or something unrelated to the clockspring.

If your horn doesn't work it's the clockspring.

Not hard to replace but must be done carefully.

You have to get one from compatible units from junkyard, unless you don't mind high oem prices.

check :http://opposedforces.com/parts/legacy/

and http://subarupartsforyou.com/

 

O.

Most cars you nee dto remove the steering wheel because it's kinda on the back.

 

Been a while but I think that's how it is on Subaru's.

 

MUST get same part#. Here is a place that often Legacy's and Impreza's differ.

 

Usually 3 things go throught that ribbon cable. Horn, airbag, cruise.

 

FWIW the Impreza's seem to have a higher failure rate to me than Legacy's on their clock spring. Subaru calls it something else but the common name is clock spring.

you can get the system to flash the codes for you - just look for the procedure and the light will blink in a way that reveals the codes and tells you what is wrong for sure.

 

that being said - sounds like it's the clock spring. and yes the steering wheel comes off to replace it. it's actually fairly easy - takes a matter of minutes but is probably tricky the first time you do it kind of thing - steering wheel can be tight the splines to wiggle off, finding the fasteners that hold it in place, and messing with those goofy yellow air bag connectors.

 

otherwise it can be done in 30 minutes to an hour easily.

the horn still works fine. i dont have cruise control. does anyone have any pictures of the location of the clock spring?

the horn still works fine. i dont have cruise control. does anyone have any pictures of the location of the clock spring?

 

Pull off the steering wheel.

 

Turn it over.

 

Look at where wheel hits steerig column.

 

THAT'S IT!! Has a little tab that fits into the column.

When I bought my 98 impreza it had the same issue the guy I bought it from had a spare clock spring and he actually swapped it out in about 20 min while I stood there. From what I saw he disconnected the battery so the air bag wont accidentally deploy and he took the screws out that are on the backside of the steering wheel Assembly (right behind the horn) and I believe the whole air bag Assembly should come out. DO NOT JUST PULL THE AIR BAG/HORN ASSEMBLY OFF UNTIL YOU REACH UNDER IT AND UNPLUG THE WIRES/CLOCK SPRING just in case its still working fine otherwise you will just snap it off anyways. Guy I bought my car from runs a Subaru shop out in Damascus OR. and he said most of his airbag dash light repairs were due to customers trying to fix something else on and they don't unplug the spring and the snap it while removing the airbag/horn. I may have missed a step or two so do some research but over all its not too hard of a job.

Good luck

thanks everyone for all the info!!!!