herb427sc Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 Can steering wheel controls be added to a W body (1990 Pontiac) steering column that does not have them????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 Yes, several have done it. It's easier if you swap the steering column because some things are different like the turn signal switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb427sc Posted May 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 I got a gray leather interior from a salvage yard and I'm putting it in a 90 TGP. The brown leather was pretty bad. The steering column from the gray interior does not have steering wheel controls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THe_DeTAiL3R Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 I put a '90 column in my '88 (which didn't have controls and wasn't optional that year) I think there is something wrong with the column cause the buttons don't light up with the rest of the interior, I have no idea about the radio buttons, but it all bolted in directly and the horn works. I bought the column for the new tilt handle and ignition too, and the buttons look cool.. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intlcutlass Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 I swapped my colum out and it worked perfect.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegp Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Can steering wheel controls be added to a W body (1990 Pontiac)steering column that does not have them????? Get a factory shop manual. You'll then have a better idea on what parts need to be swapped and how they are connected. The older (pre-94) controls have more components than the newer ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THe_DeTAiL3R Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Can steering wheel controls be added to a W body (1990 Pontiac)steering column that does not have them????? Get a factory shop manual. You'll then have a better idea on what parts need to be swapped and how they are connected. The older (pre-94) controls have more components than the newer ones. If I'm not mistaken with the pre 94's the steering wheel radio controls isn't it just RF frequency or something like that. All the stuff is IN the column.. no wires. When they pulled my column out of the car at the JY it was a direct swap into my car. For it to work you just gotta have either 1. HU that works with the buttons 2. Aftermarket RF unit for aftermarket HUs. I may be wrong someone correct me if I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitaloutsider Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 On the 89-93 W's, the steering wheel radio controls are done by RF. It's recieved by a little white rectangular box under the dash. IIRC, the columns are identical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GutlessSupreme Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Sorry, off-topic, but what does IIRC mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegp Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Sorry, off-topic, but what does IIRC mean? If I Recall Correctly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GutlessSupreme Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegp Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 IIRC, the RF transmissions are between the control pad and the interface module (the little box). All this stuff is part of the column. There is a wire from the interface module to the radio. Maybe the cars that came without the controls did have the wire running from the column connector to the radio. As for factory radios, you have to have a unit from the same era as the controls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Nope, it's not RF, it's infrared. There's an IR transmitter in a ring that moves with the steering wheel, and IR receiver on the turn signal switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93GTP Posted May 8, 2004 Report Share Posted May 8, 2004 I put a '90 column in my '88 (which didn't have controls and wasn't optional that year) I think there is something wrong with the column cause the buttons don't light up with the rest of the interior, I have no idea about the radio buttons, but it all bolted in directly and the horn works. I bought the column for the new tilt handle and ignition too, and the buttons look cool.. lol When I bought my GTP the steering wheel controls did not light up. I took out the assembly, got the bulbs out and tested them.... they were toast. Apparently you can't buy replacements from GM (even though they pop out the same way the ones in the instrument cluster do). Anyways, I brought them to the electronics shop at school and one of the techs took the old bulbs out of the bases and soldered in some new ones. I put it back together and viola, I had steering wheel controls that lit up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THe_DeTAiL3R Posted May 8, 2004 Report Share Posted May 8, 2004 I put a '90 column in my '88 (which didn't have controls and wasn't optional that year) I think there is something wrong with the column cause the buttons don't light up with the rest of the interior, I have no idea about the radio buttons, but it all bolted in directly and the horn works. I bought the column for the new tilt handle and ignition too, and the buttons look cool.. lol When I bought my GTP the steering wheel controls did not light up. I took out the assembly, got the bulbs out and tested them.... they were toast. Apparently you can't buy replacements from GM (even though they pop out the same way the ones in the instrument cluster do). Anyways, I brought them to the electronics shop at school and one of the techs took the old bulbs out of the bases and soldered in some new ones. I put it back together and viola, I had steering wheel controls that lit up. Hmm interesting. I did take it apart and visually inspect the bulbs, and they looked fine- clear with the filements intact. It would seem odd that ALL of them (which look fine) would be bad.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest k6tc Posted May 8, 2004 Report Share Posted May 8, 2004 I got a gray leather interior from a salvage yard and I'm putting it in a 90 TGP. The brown leather was pretty bad. The steering column from the gray interior does not have steering wheel controls. ***I bought it as a spare even though I needed a black one...got a black spare one now so if your interested make me a decent offer and we'll see? K6TC@charter.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93GTP Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 I put a '90 column in my '88 (which didn't have controls and wasn't optional that year) I think there is something wrong with the column cause the buttons don't light up with the rest of the interior, I have no idea about the radio buttons, but it all bolted in directly and the horn works. I bought the column for the new tilt handle and ignition too, and the buttons look cool.. lol When I bought my GTP the steering wheel controls did not light up. I took out the assembly, got the bulbs out and tested them.... they were toast. Apparently you can't buy replacements from GM (even though they pop out the same way the ones in the instrument cluster do). Anyways, I brought them to the electronics shop at school and one of the techs took the old bulbs out of the bases and soldered in some new ones. I put it back together and viola, I had steering wheel controls that lit up. Hmm interesting. I did take it apart and visually inspect the bulbs, and they looked fine- clear with the filements intact. It would seem odd that ALL of them (which look fine) would be bad.. Yep, I know it seems unlikely, but a visual inspection isn't enough. Test the bulbs for resistance with an ohmeter to make sure. When I first got my car, they were gone but looked fine. Also, same thing with 2 bulbs in the instrument cluster and 3 bulbs in the HVAC control panel! Those "dead" spots really annoyed me so I got them all replaced and they have been fine ever since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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