Steering Wheel Swap

[bobjr94]

One thing I didn't care for about the baja was the big boat steering wheel, I think subaru had been using that same wheel since 1993.

So I found one a bit smaller, more modern looking one and that feels better. The cruise switch is different between both wheels and not swappable, but you can splice the new switch into the old harness. The airbag connector is different, I had to splice a new connector into the old harness. You can find airbag connectors on ebay and amazon for around $5.00. I used this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YROX0E8/



Now a quick write-up on how I did it, I am not telling you how to do it, just how I personally did this swap on my own car. I take no responsibly for this information being correct or for any damages that may result from the use of this information.



But first, should you want to do what I did, only attempt this project if you are proficient at electrical work, wiring and soldering. A poorly/improperly connected air-bag could fail to deploy or deploy unintentionally, causing injury or death and/or damage of property. . A few tips, never solder wires still attached to an airbag, the current could cause deployment. Never use quick crimp connectors. Looks up airbag handling for more information.

First
Disconnect the battery or pull the airbag fuses. Wait several minutes for the system to bleed down.

Note the exact steering wheel position, unlike some cars the wheel and can installed in any direction, if not correct it won't be centered. Also do not turn the clockspring with out the steering wheel installed, a piece if tape will keep it in place.
Remove the airbag, place it safely away from you facing up. Remove the steering wheel.
Now take both steering wheels apart, removing both cruise switchs and cut the wires in the middle of both switches.



The wire colors will be reversed on the new to old switch. White will connect to Yellow, Yellow will connect to White. Green stays the same and it is spliced to the flat terimnal as well for the horn. The Red and Black wires on the new switch will be unused, they originally went to the cruise on-off switch, while Baja's have this switch on the dash. Be sure to put heat shrink tubing on the wires before soldering them.


You can see both airbags also have different connectors.


Cut the plug off the old airbag and immediately strip the wires and wrap them together. Don't solder them or test them with a multimeter.


Now solder the new connector to the old plug.


After soldering and heat shrink tubing it looked like this.


Now you can put the wheel back in the car, route the wires where the won't interfere.


Then connect the harness and horn wire and put the airbag back in. Hook the batter back up or replace the airbag fuses then turn the key on. The airbag light should turn on for 3-5 seconds then turn back off. If the light stays on the is a problem with the airbag wiring.

I used a 2005 impreza steering wheel and airbag. Later ones might also work but they have dual speed airbags, low and high. If using one of these you will have to connect it to the high power activator and leave the secondary one unconnected.

[sfeather11]

Nice job! Definitely gives it an updated look...

Say, how do you unplug that airbag connector? I have the same yellow connector with green safety on my '03, but it does not want to budge. I'm assuming I have tried to slide the green piece to the passenger side while pushing the yellow release tab? Is that correct? I'm wanting to remove my wheel for repair and painting, but can't seem to get the freaking connector loose! It shouldn't be this hard right? Even though my battery has been disconnected for weeks now, the more I try to unplug it, the more nervous I get. I'm afraid the more I handle it, the greater the chances of going BOOM! That would suck!

Peace!

[bobjr94]

Mine was pretty hard the first time too, but yes push the clip and slide the slider all the way back and it will just pop out, eventually.

[franruiztagle]

Bro, since original airbag old connector has both yellow cables, how did you know the wiring scheme or which color goes to which yellow?

Thanks for the help, hope you still can reply.

Now solder the new connector to the old plug.


After soldering and heat shrink tubing it looked like this.

[anarchy1024]

Bro, since original airbag old connector has both yellow cables, how did you know the wiring scheme or which color goes to which yellow?

Thanks for the help, hope you still can reply.

Check continuity on the wires (using a multimeter or similar), but it's possible they're actually all in parallel (basically, all acting as a single wire). I pulled apart my friend's GM(?) something-or-other, and it had four yellow wires running to the airbags, but all of those wires were actually tied together, inside the connector. I guess the idea is for redundancy; if any of those wires got cut in a crash, as long as at least one of them survived, the air bag would get triggered. If that's the case, it doesn't matter which go where, because they all go to the same place. It may not be the case here, but if all of the wires are the same colour, I'd hope that they all do the same function and are interchangeable (but that's not always the case).

NOTE: Don't check continuity on the airbag itself, or with the wires plugged into anything. The continuity check feature actually sends some power out one probe and sees if it returns down the other. If that power is sent into electronics, they can be damaged. If that power is sent into an airbag igniter, you can be damaged.