Steering Lock: cut one wire. /switch optional

bdl99

Will do, I'm just waiting on confirmation of delivery times for connectors and will then open it up.

takjak2

Are the special connectors driving that price? I was hoping for cheaper, might just go cut.

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bdl99

It is really the low volume that drives the price. The connectors are very hard to come by unless you are prepared to order several thousand and even then you will be faced with long lead times (14-16 weeks is typical). The plug connector is easier to come by because they are used for harness repairs, but the sockets are the problem. If you think about it the socket is on the unit that the harness is plugging in to (be it steering lock, AV unit, etc etc) so in the case of a repair they would replace the unit and therefore don't stock/sell the sockets.

If you were to order 10K and get them mass produced you could probably get it for 1/5th-1/10th of that price, but this is small volume making the connectors more expensive and hand made. The other problem with the mass produced route is the lead time would be 3-6 months with money up front.

Cutting the wire is always going to be the cheapest option. The harness is just for those who don't want to or what to be able to easily reverse.

kenchan

bdl99- can the wire be shorter? like 2-3" lenght from plug to plug?

or is there a reason why it is so long?

gotchu99

Just cut my wire on the stock plug. All is well, no more lock, and no lights. Takes literally 2 minutes to do. Figured i would chime in because not many have cut their wire. Many thanks to Fritz. Not knowing if my 09 rev B would disengage each time was getting to me. Thanks again.

TonyBPD

could you take a pic of what you did? location etc

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kenchan

there's not much room down there. hahaha!

i think it'll go something like this. first put your car in ACC (dont start the engine). make sure you hear the steering lock wind.

i suggest pushing back your driver's seat all the way back, put a towel on your side step/door sill area, and lay completely on the floor with your head in the foot well area.

look up and you will see the steering lock just forward of the OBD2 port. you will then pull back the wire harness tubing and find the wire to cut. i think it stated the brown wire. after you cut, then e-tape it.

DO AT YOUR OWN RISK.

TonyBPD

I just wanted to see it out of curiousity. I'm going to opt for the harness.

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kgb

Does anyone know the correct terminal extraction tool to remove the pin from the connector? This would seem like the preferred solution over cutting the wire.

bdl99

Believe it or not cutting the wire might be easier and less risky. They are not the easiest pins to remove, especially in those cramped conditions.. I have a set of pin extraction tools that I've had for a while and not sure where I got them from , but the process is:
-You need to lift the back of the plug
-remove the cover on the front of the plug
-then there is a tab on each pin to hold down while you pull the wire/pin from the other end.

bdl99

That length was based on the suggestions of those who had looked at the harness or cut the wire.

Is there any reason for wanting it shorter? From what I understand there is plenty of room and the extra length will probably make installing easier and for those wanting to add switches or perhaps further mods in the future those extra few inches may come in useful.

Nick911sc

I just stumbled upon this thread and I'm excited to see a solution to this problem. I read the whole thing and I'll admit, for me, its difficult to picture any of this without any pictures for a DIY.

From what I understand, to do a wire snip you just have to get under the dash, pull back the wiring that leads into the Steering Lock and snip the brown?

Can anyone explain how the wire harness will attach compared to snipping the wire?

bdl99

Correct regarding snipping.

The harness fits between the existing plug and socket on the steering lock, like a very short extension cable. You would:
1) Unplug the connector on the steering lock
2) Plug that connector in to the socket of the harness
3) Plug the other end of the harness in to the steering lock

The benefits of the harness over cutting the wire is that:
- You don't have to cut a wire on the car harness
- There is not much wire to play with when taking the cutting route
- Access is tight when not using the harness and especially when wanting to modify the car harness for switch etc.
- Harness has easy option to add a switch if you wish

Nick911sc

That's awesome, so basically with using the harness, you unplug the harness from the steering lock and put new new harness in between the two(that has the brown wire pin missing). Couldn't think of an easier solution.

I might have missed it in the thread but, have you decided on a set cost? And when they'll actually be available? I saw you said it was difficult to find them without purchasing in bulk.

bdl99

Yes, basically.


The brown wire is there, so you can reconnect (putting car back to stock) without having to remove the harness.

Alternatively if you prefer a switch, to be able to effectively cut or join the brown wire at will. You would just attach a toggle switch to the two brown wires on the harness, like so



I'm just waiting on lead time, we were fairly confident that this would work so I had already given the supplier a heads up, so hopefully not as long as normal, but still waiting on the answer. Price is targeted to be $50