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Alright, when my steering wheel became so worn that every time I drove my car I would have to wash the leather off my hands I realized it was time for a change. I went looking for an ep3 steering wheel but they are hard to come by and when you do it’s highly overpriced. So what car is popular and many owners typically track, hmmm ah yes, the s2000. Only problem I came across was I could not get a definitive answer about the airbag or the install, until I talked to Rufus. (thanks) However, there was not a really detailed DIY I could find, only “mini” DIYs which left me confused. So I’m going to write this DIY so anyone wanting to do this install isn’t completely in the dark. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas feel free to post, you won’t hurt my feelings.

Q. What year did the s2000 use a dual stage airbag?
A. From 2006 and up, Honda switched from single stage to dual stage airbags in the s2000. Everywhere I searched I heard the new AP2 (04+) had dual stage airbags. THIS IS FALSE. The change was in 2006.

Q. Why do I need a dual stage airbag?
A. The airbags in our civic are dual stage so it makes the install easier and with an s2000 dual stage airbag, you do not lose any airbag function.

Q. Can you use an AP1 or early AP2 steering wheels with single stage airbags?
A. Yes, but you will lose airbag function. The airbag will still deploy at a high rate of speed (this is good) but you will lose the ability for the airbag to ignite at a lower impact. (this is not so good) It’s your choice!

Q. Are there other ways of doing this install? (ie: switching detonators)
A. Probably but I don’t know how to do it. Figure it out on your own then post a DIY, so everyone else doesn’t have to guess how you did it and have an airbag blow up in their face.

Disconnect your battery and wait 30 minutes for the power in the capacitors to dissipate. Technically, the power drains away in a couple of minutes but I’m paranoid.


Remove the 2 torx screws on the sides of the steering wheel



Remove the plastic panel on the underside of the steering wheel to expose the airbags connections


To remove the airbag, slowly pull on the front of the airbag towards you. But don’t pull too hard, remember, the airbag is still connected you do not want to rip out the airbag wires! It might take some force, the airbag is clipped in on the right and left side. There are 3 sets of wires: The cruise control is the green connection, the horn is attached to the horn plate with 2 blue wires, and the four pin connector with blue wires is the airbag connection. Disconnect the airbag from the wheel and remove.


Ok, in order for the s2000 airbag to properly connect into the civic airbag connection, you’re going to remove the connector from the s2000 airbag and replace it with the civic airbag connector. Go ahead and cut the wires from both connections and using wire strippers remove cover around the front of the wires. Then use crimp connections to reconnect the civic airbag connection to the s2000 airbag. Now I know some people are going to prefer soldering, I say solder away. I used crimp connections because it is easier, quicker, and just as good if not better. In the airline industry, they do not solder because vibrations break away soldered connections and over time soldered connections can corrode. Instead, they use crimped connections so if it’s good enough for an industry in which parts cannot fail, then its good enough for my civic airbag. Then cover the wires in electrical tape so they will fit inside the steering wheel.






IMPORTANT: the wires DO have a particular sequence. PAY CLOSE ATTENTION. I do not know what will happen if you do not correctly place the wires, maybe an expensive powdery explosion in your car. Who knows. I would not suggest you blindly follow this part because your airbag might be different. With my airbag, the inboard wires on the airbag went to the outboard wires on the connector and the outboard wires on the airbag went to the inboard wires on the connector. This was true for both the yellow and red wires. (yellow: low impact) (red: high impact) I taped the inboard wires from the airbag to the outboard section on the connector before I made any cuts to insure I wouldn’t have to throw a hammer around my backyard, screaming and swearing while coming to the realization I cannot travel back in time with Doc and the DeLorean to fix my mistake.

Remove all electrical connections. (ie. Your horn and cruise control) Then remove the 19mm nut in the center of the wheel. Get your $15 steering wheel puller and pull of the wheel. I do not suggest you try this without this tool. You might undo the SRS reel behind the wheel or end up smacking yourself in the face with the steering wheel; do not cheap out its only $15. You will need two 8mm-1.25 bolts with the steering wheel puller in order to remove the wheel. If you can’t figure out how to use a steering wheel puller, go inside your house, have a beer, and just forget you even own a car.


Then remove the cruise control module by removing two screws. Do the same with the s2000 wheel.


Remove the s2000 cruise control circuit board by removing the two small screws holding it down then replace it with the civic cruise control circuit board. Do not screw the screws too tightly because you might damage the circuit board then your **** out of luck.


It should look like this when your done.


Then put the s2000 wheel on your car and make sure the wheel fits up properly. (ie. Wheels are straight and steering wheel is straight on the hub) Then take the cruise control module and hook up the cruise control. Do NOT put the cruise control module on the wheel then try to connect the cruise control. There is not enough room in the wheel; you MUST connect it first before you screw the module back on.


Then reconnect the horn. Put the 19mm nut back on. Connect the airbag and slide the connection at a semi diagonal angle underneath the 6 o’clock position inside the wheel. Otherwise, the airbag will not fit because the civic connection is much larger than the original s2000 connector. Rescrew the 10mm bolts that hold the s2000 airbag on and put the plastic covers back on.


Make sure everything works and make absolutely sure when you honk the horn, you’re not crushing your cruise control connection. You will not have an SRS light, your horn, and your cruise control will work. If you’re worried your airbag might not work, take comfort in the fact that if anything was wrong the SRS light would be on.

The end result, even though this is just a steering wheel, I had the impression I was driving a nicer car.

 
Rep Power: 279

AWESOME DIY!

 
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SICK. +1 rep for you

 
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Feel so much better huh?

 
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Great work, +1 for you.

 
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Very nice. Were there factory audio steering wheel controls on the S2000 wheel? For some reason I thought there were.

 
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damn nice

 
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sweet!
+1

 
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Good stuff man!

 
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yea dude, rep for u man, im glad it all worked out for u, been following this one since the beginning, congrats, looks great

 
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That's cool. I like it. It's a stock/modified look.

 
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No, IIRC there are some on a panel just to the left of the wheel on the dash, inches from your hand. Maybe that's what you're thinking of.

 
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Feels so much better, thanks for all the help

Naw the s2000 wheel doesn't come with any audio controls

Thanks man, it turned out perfect

yea i really like the stock look, im not a big fan of messing around too much with the original design besides its cheaper anyways

yea thanks guys

 
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looks really good. where did you find your s2000 steering wheel? at a junk yard? cause they don't have one on ebay as of right now. and how much did it run you?

 
Rep Power: 279

i have been looking too. Might have to have a shop special order it.

 
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Looks awsome, I am lookign at swaping my wheel otu as well, I may go with this. Thanks for the write up!

 
Rep Power: 234

I found it on ebay but if you followed my original thread, i actually bought two wheels because the first one i got had a single stage airbag so i ended up buying another one with dual stage so they're out there, you just have to hunt them down. I basically started searching s2000 forums and hondamarketplace, hondaswap and such. Craigslist and ebay are good places to search too. It took me about a week to find each wheel. There is this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/s2000...ayphotohosting

but i wouldn't suggest it, it is way over priced and is missing the back of the steering wheel with the cruise control module.

My first wheel i bought for 250$ and the one on my car was $375.
Its so expensive because i had to win it in an auction and it was brand new. This is the first time its been in a car, and its a civic. ha

 
Rep Power: 303

that is soooo sick!!!!