Heated Steering Wheel Quit Working

[FirstFord]

I have an OEM, factory-installed heated steering wheel. It suddenly quit working. I have not started any troubleshooting yet, as I'm not sure where to start....

I've made no FORScan changes to anything in many, many months, and none (ever) that was directed at the heated steering wheel. I have had two episodes of what may be considered a "phantom update", in that I received notification of a successful OTA update, but it was an update that had already been previously successfully installed, so....

The indicator light on the button still illuminates, so I doubt that it's a fuse. Before I go through the hassle of taking the truck to the dealer, I want to make sure that it's not something simple. Any ideas?

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[FirstFord]

Bumping....

 

[Je1279]

Did you connect to Forscan to see if you have any DTC's?

 

[FirstFord]

Did you connect to Forscan to see if you have any DTC's?

No, I haven't yet. I didn't know if something this small, this trivial would warrant actually tripping a code. I need to renew my FORScan license, then I could check. I think I was of the mind that there just might be something simple that I wasn't aware of.

 

[Tnker]

Pop the airbag out and if you have a multimeter check for continuity on the heater itself to make sure the actual element didn’t fail

 

[Je1279]

There is also a fuse for the BCM circuit that the heated steering wheel uses (fuse 36 15A). I would start there.

 

[FirstFord]

Did you connect to Forscan to see if you have any DTC's?

Just renewed my license and did a scan: no codes.

There is also a fuse for the BCM circuit that the heated steering wheel uses (fuse 36 15A). I would start there.

Since the light on the switch still comes on, I didn't think it would be a fuse. Are you saying that there are two different circuits, each with their own fuse?

Pop the airbag out and if you have a multimeter check for continuity on the heater itself to make sure the actual element didn’t fail

^ That. Yeah, that's what I'm scared of - that the element failed. It hasn't been used much at all.

"Pop the airbag out". You mean literally remove the airbag in the center of the steering wheel?

 

[Je1279]

The BCM circuit for the steering wheel heating element is different than the circuit for the HVAC module.

 

[Tnker]

Just renewed my license and did a scan: no codes.



Since the light on the switch still comes on, I didn't think it would be a fuse. Are you saying that there are two different circuits, each with their own fuse?



^ That. Yeah, that's what I'm scared of - that the element failed. It hasn't been used much at all.

"Pop the airbag out". You mean literally remove the airbag in the center of the steering wheel?

Yep, its pretty easy to do with a small screwdriver, lots of videos on YouTube on how to do it

 

[FirstFord]

There is also a fuse for the BCM circuit that the heated steering wheel uses (fuse 36 15A). I would start there.

Is fuse 36 located under the hood, or at the passenger foot well panel?

 

[FirstFord]

Yep, its pretty easy to do with a small screwdriver, lots of videos on YouTube on how to do it

Okay, cool. I think I had better look at some of those videos before I dive into that. Thanks for the "heads up".

 

[Je1279]

Is fuse 36 located under the hood, or at the passenger foot well panel?

Passenger foot well.

 

[FirstFord]

Passenger foot well.

Found the fuse and checked it - it was good. Still, lesson learned - who would have thunk that this thing had two circuits with two fuses? Not me!

That leaves the heating element, or some other gremlin. I decided not to test the element because if is bad, it's covered under warranty. If it's not bad and something else, then the same thing. If the issue was something super simple, then I would have just handled it.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I have an OEM, factory-installed heated steering wheel. It suddenly quit working. I have not started any troubleshooting yet, as I'm not sure where to start....

I've made no FORScan changes to anything in many, many months, and none (ever) that was directed at the heated steering wheel. I have had two episodes of what may be considered a "phantom update", in that I received notification of a successful OTA update, but it was an update that had already been previously successfully installed, so....

The indicator light on the button still illuminates, so I doubt that it's a fuse. Before I go through the hassle of taking the truck to the dealer, I want to make sure that it's not something simple. Any ideas?

Good morning, If you’d like further assistance regarding the heated steering wheel concern, feel free to send us a private message with your VIN and local Ford dealer. Thank you!

 

[FirstFord]

For what it's worth - and for the few who were following this - I have an update, as well as some things that I have learned.

Since nothing simple / obvious reared its head as a quick solution, I finally broke down and made an appointment at the dealership. It was explained to me that the Ford Service Manual has a very specific series of steps (flowchart) for diagnostics / troubleshooting that needs to be followed. Further, since this is a warranty claim, this process is much more strict, and the dealership has no room for "going off-script", "freelancing" or otherwise "going rogue".

The diagnostic / troubleshooting procedure indicated that the clock spring had failed, and needed to be replaced. Naturally, the dealership did not have one in stock, and it needed to be ordered. I was assured it would be in in 2 ~ 3 days, and I could bring the truck back in.

A temporary interruption to my own story - but this is where things start to get frustrating and irritating. I live in the middle of nowhere, and the small-town dealership that I am using is some 80 miles away. So, every time I take the truck in, it's 160 mile round trip (a little over 2-1/2 hours), plus waiting on the truck while they work on it (so far, typically about 1 ~ 1-1/2 hours per episode).

So, the clock spring part comes in, and I make another appointment for installation. It turns out that the clock spring is not the solution. Next thing on the troubleshooting list is to replace the steering module. Naturally they don't have one in stock, and it has to be ordered.

The module comes in, another appointment is made, the module is replaced, and it is not the solution.

The dealership went ahead and exhausted what remaining steps there were, to no avail. The dealership has opened up a Ford Engineering service request. Two days later they had a reply. They want me to bring the truck back in and they are going to update the HVAC module. And if that doesn't work, then they are going to replace the module. Guess what - the dealership doesn't stock them, and they will have to order it - but they can't order it unless the update fails to be the solution.

So, the appointments have been 1) initial diagnostics, 2) clock spring replacement, 3) steering module replacement. So far, I have 12 hours of wasted time and almost 500 miles of travel wrapped up in this. Now I have to go back again to let them them try to update the module - yet another trip. And if that fails, then yet another trip.

On the one hand, there is a part of me that understands and appreciates the process that they are going through - that is to say, I appreciate the logic behind it. And it's not their fault that I live where I do.... But on the other hand, this is so incredibly wasteful of time, gasoline, and added miles on the truck. I'm not upset with the dealership - I'm frustrated, irritated, and becoming angry with the process.

I have another appointment to get the module updated. We'll see how this goes...

Whew, feel a little better now that I vented some....

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