I removed my clockspring assembly/black plastic housing intact from the steering column and disconnected the connector at the wiring connector under the dash. I wanted to check the continuity of the wiring and the clockspring. I applied 12 volts from a battery using small pins attached to the red plastic airbag connector (female ends) and before I could connect the test light to the other end to check for continuity, I smelled "burning" plastic. The red plastic connector was over-heating just from the brief time that the 12 volts was attached to its female ports. Does anyone know if 12 volts runs through this wiring system? Is it possible that that connector shorted out during the number of times I had connected and disconnected it from the airbag during my install process? Is it possible that red plastic airbag connection has some type of resistor or something else inside of it that I just screwed up? Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated before I try and reconnect the whole system. I don't want the airbag to go off when I connect the battery and turn the ignition key "on". Thanks, steve

Old post but....

If you're checking for continuity in a wire, you don't need to power it.
Select Ω (ohms) on the multimeter and connect one lead on either end.
If you get full bar that's good (unless there are resistors that will read as such or relays within the circuit that need a voltage source to close the circuit for a reading).

Not all electrical systems require 12v DC.

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