Installation of steering wheel spacer on Volkswagen Audi Porsche group cars

VALID FOR CARS OF THE GROUP (AUDI, VOLKSWAGEN, PORSCHE, SKODA, SEAT, LAMBORGHINI) FROM 2000 ONWARDS

Attention:

1) The kit is shipped semi-assembled, but you have to separate the steel part from the aluminum part to carry out the installation.
2) Disconnect the battery during installation, and before moving it back the power seat (if any) to be more comfortable doing the job. It will not be possible to reconnect the battery while the steering wheel is disassembled, otherwise the airbag warning light will come on and you will have to go to the service to have it turned off.
3) The Porsche/Audi/VW ribbed is made up of many very thin teeth and there is no marker (one thicker tooth or one less tooth) to ensure centering, so it is very easy to skip a tooth when you reassemble everything, and find yourself with the steering wheel slightly crooked when driving straight. This can be corrected by redoing the toe-in or by disassembling the steering wheel and reassembling it straight, but if from the beginning of the installation you park with your wheels straight and get help from someone while unscrewing/screwing the central screw that holds the steering wheel, you are less likely to make a mistake in the alignment at the end.
4) Handle the wiring harnesses with care, disconnect them without forcing them and unlocking the safety clips first. In particular, be careful not to pull on the wiring harness connected to the rotary contact without unlocking it, because otherwise you risk damaging it and hearing an annoying “click” when turning the steering wheel while driving.

DISASSEMBLE THE STEERING WHEEL :

Watching one or two videos on the internet related to the disassembly of the steering wheel on Porsche/Audi/Vw/Seat/Skoda can help, especially to understand how to detach the airbag module from the steering wheel. The main steps are summarized here, but it’s all much easier after watching a video.

1) Remove the airbag from the steering wheel, unlocking the two staple springs by inserting and pushing a flathead screwdriver into the two holes on the right and left of the steering wheel. Grind the tip of the screwdriver so that it forms a “C” which helps to find and push the two springs. Depending on the model and year of the car, and the type of steering wheel (3 or 4 spokes), there can be 3 springs, or even they can be connected, and unlocking only one is enough.
It may be necessary to remove the plastic caps covering the light switch, which are usually screwed on.

2) Once the airbag has been deployed, it is not necessary to disconnect the two pins that are attached to it, you can leave it connected and dangling and disconnect only the large pin that collects all the wires of the steering wheel and connects to the rotating sensor behind the steering wheel itself. Be careful not to scratch the chrome of the steering wheel with the metal parts of the airbag. To unlock the large connector, there is a safety clip to unclip. It may be necessary to pry it up with a small flat screwdriver.

3) Disconnect the pin, while a third person holds the steering wheel straight and supports the airbag, loosen the central screw that secures the steering wheel. Do not unscrew it all before taking it off, make sure that the steering wheel has unlocked from the steering column. In fact, if you remove the screw completely and then the steering wheel is hard to come out, the natural tendency is to pull hard, but you risk that the steering wheel suddenly unlocks and hits your face and tears a few wires.

4) At this point you will see the column and the rotating contact with the socket where to insert the wiring. The rotary contact can be made of transparent or black plastic, the 12-pin connector at the top has 2 rows of 6 contacts that always have the same pitch between them, while the shape of the connector can be slightly different from one car model to another.

5) The large plug has 12 pins arranged in 2 rows (6+6). It would be necessary to lengthen the wires to keep the airbags and steering wheel controls active. To avoid cutting and stretching the wires one by one, connect the supplied wiring. FIRST insert the part with the socket (12 holes) into the rotating contact seat, point them gently so as to be sure that you have inserted all the pins, and push all the way in. Pliers or a flat screwdriver can help. The harnesses don’t have safety snap clips, but the pins in each hole are hard to thread and this is enough to prevent accidental disconnection.
To confirm this, keep in mind that the connector rotates together with the steering wheel, which is why the wires are never pulled while driving.

6) Slide the spacer into the column. The large slot has to stand on top and the wiring has to go through, and the two side holes accommodate the 2 plastic pins that protrude from the rotating contact.

7) Screw the large screw onto the black part of the spacer, use the screw that previously held the steering wheel attached to the steering column. The tightening torque is 60 Nm. You can take advantage of the steering lock to hold the spacer in place while you tighten the screw, or get help from someone holding the steering wheel while you tighten.

8) Screw the steel part onto the aluminum part, with the 7 black M6 Allen screws.

9) From now on, reassemble the steering wheel as if the spacer were not there. The spacer appears, when threaded, as a faithful copy of the steering column. Slide the steering wheel into the spacer (if necessary, unlock the steering lock and straighten everything before proceeding), and run the black wiring harnesses through the slot and connect them to the pin that comes out of the steering wheel. Here, too, the hardness of inserting the pins into the pin prevents accidental disconnection.

10) Screw the M18x1.5 screw supplied in the kit into the central hole and tighten it to 60 Nm, get help from someone to hold the steering wheel in place.

11) Reconnect the airbag to its pins if you have disconnected them, and insert the airbag into the steering wheel seat. No tools are needed: you center it by eye and push until the springs click. At the end, it must be possible to detach the airbag as it was before installation, when the horn is sounded. If it is “hard” or “rubbery”, it is not good, there may be some wires pressed by the airbag itself – it must be removed and moved
12) Reconnect the battery.
END.