I noticed last night when I was making my breif drive home from work that when I took a corner the SRS light would flicker for a moment.

I'm trying to remember since I have not had a W126 steering wheel apart in a long time, but I don't think they use those "tapes". I think they have a brass ring that spins and the contacts ride on it? Next time it flickers I'll see if the horn works.

I need to read the FSM anyway to test this? Seems like the contacts may not be hitting right when I turn the wheel all the way.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Bump, it hasn't done it again so I'm just going to observe it until whatever is breaking, breaks more.

Old car driving 101, if you can't figure out whats wrong at first just wait eventualy it will break to the point where you'll find it.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I had my airbag off a few weeks ago. It's trivial to take apart: two 4mm allen screws, one on each side of the back of the wheel. It's a simple system with a wire connection, no brass contacts.

In the photo you can see a wire with a red connector that comes out of the steering column. It plugs into the airbag in the center, where you see the tape. Pushing on the airbag puts pressure on those plates on the side, and that's what activates the horn.

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2003 E320 wagon, ~80k, "Sputnik"
1987 300 SDL, ~160k, "The Pimp Daddy" (sold April 2010)
1984 300 TD, ~200k, "Das Boot" (Demised March 2008)

Hard to say if it's the rings or the brushes, if the brushes are worn enough they won't make good contact anymore.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff