steering wheel controls
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 2
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steering wheel controls
Hey fellas, love the forum, I was too stunned to find it until now. I got an 01 R/T. I kept the stock head unit in it. But somebody tell me why the power to my stereo cuts out when the tilt steering is lowered. I have to raise it to get the stereo to work. It drives me up the wall. I've checked for pinched wires, can't find anything. Any ideas?
Rookie
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 58
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RE: steering wheel controls
It's something in the ignition key cylinder. Mine does the same thing from time to time as well, and sometimes when turning the wheel. You'll also notice that you lose power to not only your stereo, but to your blinkers as well. I originally thought that it was possibly the clock spring, but I recently had that replaced and it didn't solve this problem.
When your stereo goes out (and assuming it doesn't come right back on), jiggle the key in the ignition to see if you can get it to work again. Sometimes I have to slightly turn the key forward, but not enough to re-engage the starter and that can help.
If all else fails, you might have to turn the truck off and restart it. The stereo isn't as big a problem as the blinkers because those can get you pulled over in a heartbeat (although a long trip without the stereo can be a big deal as well). I had the dealer look at it once, but all they told me that they did was 'lubricate' the ignition cylinder. I guess if it gets bad enough, I'll just have to have that part replaced entirely. But for now, I can get by with only an occasional incident with it.
I could imagine though, that if you move the steering wheel up and down a lot, then you are going to see a lot more of the problem.
When your stereo goes out (and assuming it doesn't come right back on), jiggle the key in the ignition to see if you can get it to work again. Sometimes I have to slightly turn the key forward, but not enough to re-engage the starter and that can help.
If all else fails, you might have to turn the truck off and restart it. The stereo isn't as big a problem as the blinkers because those can get you pulled over in a heartbeat (although a long trip without the stereo can be a big deal as well). I had the dealer look at it once, but all they told me that they did was 'lubricate' the ignition cylinder. I guess if it gets bad enough, I'll just have to have that part replaced entirely. But for now, I can get by with only an occasional incident with it.
I could imagine though, that if you move the steering wheel up and down a lot, then you are going to see a lot more of the problem.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
RE: steering wheel controls
Interesting. I would I have never have thought about the ignition. My blinkers have never hacked out. I lower the wheel completely when I drive and raise it when I get in and out. It drives me up the wall when it kicks out. Then I have to raise the wheel and I feel like I'm driving a bus. I'm actually taking it on a 4000 mile drive back to Canada from Florida tomorrow. I'll tear it apart when I get up there. Thanks for the insight. Greatly appreciated.