Clock Spring

Air Bag light on in dash, cruise does not work, horn does not work, and heater controls stuck on defrost. A little research tells me to replace the clock spring and yep, it solved all of the issues except the air bag light is still on. Appreciate any advice on what to check next. My truck is a 2000 super duty 7.3 crewcab 6spd 4x4 dually.

Yup. Common problem. BUT....it solved your hvac stuck on defrost? That's usually a vacuum issue. Interesting

Try scanning it for a code. I would lean towards an issue with the steering column air bag.

I also was surprised that it corrected the heater controls. Doesn't seem logical they would be related.

I am not sure how the hvac switching is done on the super duty, if it is electronic switching of the vacuum controls it could be possible that the clock spring was causing a crazy grounding issue in that circuit. I have seen some seemingly impossible things linked by ground feedback.

On the airbag light I would definitely start with pulling the code.

automatic hubs? A leaking o-ring at the hub will cause the HVAC to go into defrost only (as will any other leak in the vacuum plumbing).

greenskeeper said:

automatic hubs? A leaking o-ring at the hub will cause the HVAC to go into defrost only (as will any other leak in the vacuum plumbing).

Click to expand...

This could only be the cause while in 4x4 though.

It has manual locking hubs. I can believe grounding as a possible issue since I've done a ton of electrical work on this truck. It also has a service engine soon light that comes on every time the engine is started. The service engine light goes out within maybe 10 or 15 secs after starting and then there's a noticable change in room. This is the first powerstroke I've owned and the power seems low from what I've expected. Also have an IDI with factory turbo, factory settings (6 or 7 psi boost) and the powerstroke seems to be about the same amount of power.

You need to find out why the SES light is coming on. When it goes out, there will be stored codes.

I have never driven a turboed idi to have a comparison but I do have a stock 6.9, 2 obs power strokes and 2 super duty power strokes and the power strokes feel like about double the power of the 6.9.

If you don't already have something I would invest in some type of a scanner that can pull codes and with the ability to watch live stream data. I purchased an older snap-on modis from eBay, knowing what I know now there were much cheaper options but, When I first bought my 99 I knew absolutely nothing about diesel other than a little knowledge from old farm and heavy equipment. First trip to the dealership cost me almost a grand just to tell me what was wrong with it, another 1,200 for me to buy the parts and put them on myself. Needless to say I figured out how to work on it rather quickly after that.

James

My previous post spell checker changed "rpm" to "room" and I didn't notice. 99% of my diesel experience is with idi's therefore no code reader, so definitely something I need to invest in.

Honestly the 7.3 power strokes are still a fairly simple platform. You just need the equipment to diagnose them. Mechanical issues aren't a very big problem, most times running and drivability issues are caused by a faulty sensor.

James