Radio controls in steering wheel don't light up ?

[turbotaone]

My radio controls in the steering wheel don't light up
when I turn on the lights. The controls do work the
radio however. I had the local pontiac garage check them
out and they said that I wasn't getting power to the
steering wheel for the lights, but offered no solution to
the problem. Can anyone help me here ?

Thanks James.

[2QUIK6]

Hmm, I didn't know they did light up. If they are supposed to, then mines been broke since I've had the car at 5k miles.

[turbotaone]

Yes, they are supposed to light up when the headlights
or the parking lights are turned on. The only reason that
I know this is because I had a couple of GTA Trans am's
that had the same controls.

James.

[GNandTTA]

I'll bet the grey pin on the turn signal switch is not making contact. GTA's w/steering wheel radio controls have a special turn signal switch which has an extra cam with 4 pins and wire on it . The yellow one has 12v to supply the radio controls with power. The orange pin carries the digital signal. The grey pin provides power for the lights. Can't remember the 4th pins color or function. The pins are spring loaded to keep pressure on the cam as the wheel turns. Over time the springs can become weak. I actually broke one of the springs just by taking mine apart to interface my Sony's wired remote with the steering wheel controls. Not a cheap part. Think I paid around $60 at dealer cost.

[turbotaone]

Thanks for the reply GNandTTA.
Are all four pins supposed to be the same length
and have the same amount of spring pressure ?
The reason I ask is because I had my steering wheel
off a couple of months ago to replace the ignition switch
and I noticed that one of the pins didn't stick out of it's
socket as far as the other three and the spring pressure
on it was very weak. It didn't look right to me at the time,
but I wasn't sure if that was the way that they were
supposed to be,so I greased the ends of the pins and the
grooves that they ride in on the yellow plastic ring and put
everything back together. The previous owner said the
controls have never lighted for him either.

Thanks James.

[GNandTTA]

Yes, they should all be at the same height and have equal spring pressure.

[eviljay]

Then riddle me this. Mine lights up, but the steering wheel controls don't work. When I bought the car the stock radio was locked. I was told to hold down the mute button for a few and it would unlock it. This did not work so I assume the steering wheel is not talking to the head unit.

[GNandTTA]

eviljay, your data wire (orange) is probably not making good contact. However it could also be the 12v (yellow) wire. You can find out which one it is by pulling the control module off of the steering wheel. Unscrew the back and look for the yellow wire going into the circuit board. Turn the radio on and carefully test it with a test light. Then pull the radio out and test the same wire on the backof the radio.

[hbsky]

Anyone know where the orange wire connects to the back of the radio? I pulled my radio, and there is a 5 pin connector with a black and orange wire with no place to insert into the radio(it was just laying behind the radio). Do I have a replacement stereo without the steering controls? My controls do light up, but no functions.