Cruise control and information (directional) controls complete and output the appropriate resistance values.

It's not clean right now, but the prototype works.

Figured I'd share a sneak preview

Cruise Control

Information Control


As I mentioned before. All of this is documented with schematics as well

 

Well, one step forward. A few steps back.

I originally started this project because I wanted to have a heated steering wheel. Quick frankly, I don't like the switches on the s550 wheel. I know most of the people who go after this mod are mainly doing it for the flat GT350 wheel. Not me, I wanted the heating element.

Now, things didn't really spiral out of control but over time I realized a few things.

1. The most important thing is that the heated wheel is basically controlled similar to the heated seat. There is a button in the FCIM on the s550 that executes a canbus signal to the heated steering wheel module, which allows for the heat to flow. Since the s197 doesn't have heated steering wheel by the nature of being older, there is no canbus signal to send. Nor are there any buttons to even use. I don't even know what signal to mimic with an Arduino since I don't have an s550 to sniff the signal on.
2. This led me to wanting to use what I have to activate it. This came down to either the extra switches or the paddle shifters which would I thought would be a solid idea. I can't use the extra steering wheel switches (honestly I just don't want to because none of them REALLY look like the activation of a steering wheel.) so I opted for the paddle shifters. They're non-descript, do nothing on my s197 manual., and could be a cool hidden way to activate the heat. The problem comes in with the wiring which I will touch on later.
3. I originally thought, "hell yea, I'll just buy the premium package wheel and get all the extra buttons. Only to realize... Because the car didn't really have all those extra functions, they're actually worthless. On a Nav car, they MIGHT be worth using but I don't have one. So the pony button is useless, the settings button is useless, the music button is useless (the mute button is repurposed as the source button), gap up is useless, gap down is useless.

So I have a couple of thoughts related to all of these.

Number three first, I'm going to be swapping out the premium controls for the base controls.

• I like that the information buttons on the base are 4 arrows and ok, whereas on the premium, the left is replaced with a back button, and the right is replaced with the sync button.
• The cruise control doesn't need gap up and gap down. So I'm swapping back to the on/off, rsm,cncl, set+/- buttons. However, I WILL have instructions at least for having gap up and gap down function the same as the combo on/off rsm/cncl button(s).
• I will swap out the Bluetooth switches with the base ones. The base ones only have 4 buttons (sync, phone up, phone down, and mute which will function as Ok) since the s197 only has 3 bluetooth buttons. I've dissected the buttons, but to be honest, they are so far disconnected from their purpose in the s197 regarding labeling. I'm not sure I even want to provide a schematic since you will have 6 buttons for 3 purposes. Too many combinations.

The issue with using the paddle shifters for the heat: Ok, this is a recent conundrum I'm running into. The s550 appears to be a 16 pin connector. However, there are ONLY 14 pins available. And you CANNOT add those last pins. I suspect the ribbon cable in the clockspring is limited. But even so, the connector actually has plastic blocking the pins.

For the s550, this doesn't matter. Because it only needs 14 at its maximum.
6 for data
3 for paddle shifting
3 for the horn and illumination/ground
2 for the heated steering wheel thermistor (not the elements, they are separate in higher gauge ribbon.)

However, for the s197 data, we need 8 wires... Which means we either need to forgo the illumination, or forgo the paddle shifting. This is a problem for me, since the paddle shifting is what I wanted to use for the heating.

Everyone is concerned about this all being routed into the S550 Steering Column Control Module (SCCM) but, it can just be ripped out and bypassed. (The plan is actually to completely bypass it and modify the wiper/high beam signals to work independently like the s197 anyway).

But if you want to do what I am doing and have both the heated steering wheel AND the paddle shifters, additional ribbon will need to be added to the s550 clockspring.

I WILL provide a wiring schematic for those who wish to do this mod without using the heated steering wheel, paddle shifters, or both. Because in that case, getting the switches to work will be VERY easy. I will continue down this path to providing you guys with a working setup.

Just to reiterate, my plan is to make this "plug and play" I do not want to repin ANY connectors in the car. I will be making my own steering wheel harness. And then a sub harness that will go from the s550 clockspring assembly to the original dash plug (for both the clockspring and the wiper control.

In any event, here is a small sneak preview of more.


This is a working prototype for the audio buttons. All of them provide the correct resistance. In case you are wondering why there is a stray wire on the top, it's because that diode actually prevents you from being about to read the resistance at the connector. The multimeter applies a small voltage to measure resistance and it is not enough to unlock the diode. So I use this wire to jump it.



This is image is of the actual s550 SCCM. The board utilizes 1mm pitch 8 pin connectors to connect to the s550 handles. My plan is to remove those 8 pin connectors and replace them with 10pin jst connectors and bypass the SCCM.

After removing the SCCM. This is a small momentary switch to static switch relay. Because the high beams in the s550 are a momentary switch and the s197 are a toggle switch, we need to convert it. This will fit nicely inside the housing. I may also put the heating module relay inside the housing as well since there is so much room.


This screenshot is of the original s550 wiring connectors and how it routes through the clockspring. You can see that all of the data lines actually go into the SCCM along with the trans. And really the only thing that go through the basic connector are the illumination and horn.

[img alt="This is a re routing that Im going to do, again bypassing the SCCM entirely.

All of the data lines, and illumination will go through the connector that would have gone to the SCCM. And the trans/horn will go to the normal connector. Notice the thermistors are missing."]https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/themustangsource.com-vbulletin/2000x922/screenshot_20251006_193836_sheets_8933b9ed9a1bce36 047399d2bdaa5a00ff159cca.jpg[/img]
This is a re routing that I'm going to do, again bypassing the SCCM entirely. All of the data lines, and illumination will go through the connector that would have gone to the SCCM. And the trans/horn will go to the normal connector. Notice the thermistors are missing.


So with all of this in mind. I really only planned on using the s550 clockspring because I thought it has enough wires for my application, but now that I know it will still need an additional ribbon cable AND the plastic shroud still won't even fit to begin with, there is a high likelihood of my going back to the s197 clockspring and just adding more ribbon to that. (12 additional lines to be exact.). Bzzzt wrong, the s197 clockspring doesn't have the higher gauge ribbon for the heating element. This was something I thought of literally while typing this.

I guess I'm stuck with the s550 clockspring.

One last thing for the night. The s550 clockspring cannot be used, to my knowledge, with the s197 multifunction switch housing. The auto release turn signal mechanism, to my belief, doesn't touch and won't disable the turn signal during turns. So you would have to turn your turn signals off manually. Yuck.

Ahh well. Looks like my path is set. Good luck folks. If anyone has anything to add, feel free.

Edit: I wrote this all on my phone. Apparently autocorrect was atrocious. Good luck.

 

I have nothing to say but holly cow. I got far as swapping resistors that didn't work lol good stuff.
I guess Ill try and do this to my other gt350r wheel switches and maybe tackle the explorer st switches.

 

I have an engineering degree (from 15 years ago haha), and I'm finally putting my electronic class to work.
By the time I am done, I will have a working schematic and diagrams of precisely what to remove, what to replace it with and how to get them to work. I also will have pinning guides for the harnesses.

For example, this one is already done. If you don't use paddle switches AND you've already done the resistor work that I will publish shortly, this will give you a fully functioning steering wheel



The third column tells you exactly what pins in the C2274B connector that you need to run the lines to, to make them work. You ONLY need to add ribbon cable to your clockspring if you want the paddle shifters. (if you want the heated steering wheel, I highly recommend going S550 which is considerably more work.)

Tomorrow, my switches will come in:

The plan is:
1. Have 7 fully modified switches with the appropriate resistors

• Bluetooth w/o Nav
• Bluetooth w/ Nav (different from above, electrically and physically)
• Information w/o Sync
• Information w/ Sync (no difference with above)
• Cruise Control w/ Gap
• Cruise Control w/o Gap (no difference with above)
• Audio Control (same in all models)

2. Build a harness that works with the S197 clockspring.
The reason for this is to just remove my airbag and then unplug my steering wheel. Then I can plug in my loose harness and test all of these switches. Honestly, I don't think the jumper wire around the diode is necessary because it seems like ya'll had signals that worked (albeit wrong buttons) without removing or bypassing it. I only added it so I could test the resistance of the fully assembled switches. All of this is so that my car will not be immobilized.

If this works, then I will fully publish the walk through for the switches and the s197 clockspring all in one go. (I may or may not do it in this thread, simply so that others don't have to fish deeply for the information.)

Afterwards, I will go knee deep in the modification of the handles. I know you will appreciate this, so I'm going to just drop a sneak preview here.

That black connector is a proprietary connector for board to board parallel mounting from Japanese company irisoele.com and sadly they don't sell to consumer. So the plan is to remove that connector and get a JST 8 pin connector on there and just go straight to the C202 S197 connector that connects to our single handle multifunction handle. Similar but more complicated with the wiper side.

 

Quick Update for the team.

I have started the work on the Signal/HighBeam Switch. I was able to successfully swap the connector with an 8 pin 1mm pitch JST connector.





This means that I all I need here is a harness, and the left signal will plug right into the Left Signal wiper and work. (so disappointing that I couldn't get a plug for this that goes to wires, would have made this job SO much easier.



Sadly, the same ease cannot be said about the Wiper. I accidentally pulled three pads off.


However, it's not the end of the world, since 2 of the 3 traces are RIGHT there and I will be able to simply bridge these with trace wire.



Above is the 10 pin JST connector in place, you can see that the trace vias are exposed so I should be able to repair this easily. However, work for today has come to a halt. Notice the top pin overlaps with the ground plane pad from the original connector. i need to isolate that to prevent shorting. I've ordered some conformal coating to seal the ground plane pad off (along with that exposed ground. Once that's in, things should pick up and this should actually be easier than the Signal handle.

 

Just gonna drop this here for ya'll

 

Adding this in for a closer look.

Black = Ground
Yellow = Spray Feed (pull down)
Orange = Spray Feed (pull in)
Blue = Intermittent Speed 1
Violet = Wiper Low Feed
Red = Intermittent Speed 2
White = Intermittent Speed 3
Green = Wiper High Feed
Brown = Intermittent Speed 4
Grey = Intermittent Speed 5

These will simply have to be matched up with the C202 connector, and all wiper functions should work. I plan on connecting this with the HighBeam/Signal to create one harness that will plug into the C202 connector. I just have to wait for the C202 male connector to arrive.
The C202 connector is actually accessible by just removing the plastic shroud around the steering column. So, I should be able to test this without removing the steering wheel.

Today, I also completed all of the final switches. All resistances are output appropriately from the switches:
I said I would do 7 but I decided to do six (since the audio is basically the same the only difference is the label on the buttons and the resistors that are removed)

Audio - Complete
Information - Complete
Cruise Control w/o ACC - Complete
Cruise Control w/ ACC - Complete
Bluetooth w/o Nav - Complete
Bluetooth w/ Nav - Complete
Wiper Handle - Complete
Headlight Signal Handle - Complete

At this point, I just need to start making the harnesses. Despite it not being the final one I will use. I will make the first harness to re-use the S197 clockspring multfunction switch. If this is successful, I will publish everything in a formal forum post and share it out. (though you all already have my link to my word document with everything I've done.

 

A bit of progress and a whole lotta set back.

All of the harness designs are complete, all of the switches are complete.

Sadly, the set back comes from my ywarning to keep the design as plug and play as possible. I've run into a snag with connector C2274a. C2274a is the connector from the main body harness (dash side) to the clockspring. Unfortunately, this is a very strange size connector. It is a 16 pin connector with a row spacing of 1/8" or 4.24mm. this is such a non standard size that if you look it up on Mouser, it is the only result of 100s of thousands of components. I really REALLY didn't want to repin this connector because I like to keep the car stock but, the only way I can think of handling this is to take an s197 clockspring and butcher it. Or for about $15 make a mini box connector.

Very frustrating but I don't see a way around it at this point. Unless I find a way to route a higher gauge wire through the stock s197 clockspring. Well, in any event. I'm going to start making the s197 harness just to test the buttons in the car.

Here is the male pin in question

I've actually put out a bounty of $20 across electrical engineering forums to try to source a compatible male connector

 

Do These Help??

 

Hey KC, unfortunately, I already have those. I was attempting to make an interconnect harness so that I wouldn't have to repin anything at all in the car. Unfortunately, it would seem I am out of luck. But I have an alternative that would allow me to avoid splicing . I will still have to repin the connect but I'm basically going to:

1. Take C2274a female off the main body harness by depinning it.
2. Replace it with a c202 female connector.
3. I'm going to make a custom Y harness. The single end will be a C202 male connector. One end of the Y will be a c218A female and the other with be a C2274a female.

By doing this, I will have two connectors, one the original s197 and the second a s550 connector. This will allow me to hot swap the steering wheels as I please. (I'm very tempted to just say F is, and add in an s650 connector. Just in case I even decided to go that route

(god the s650 steering wheel looks so bad ... It's like they wanted to go back to the s197 two sets of switches to control everything, but just...execute it....worse)

 

Those Connectors Remind Me of The Stuff I Would Find in My Old Pc's Back in the Day When Most Things Was Not Not Plug & Play & I Would Do Upgrades!

I Still Got My Windows 3 & 3.1 Operating Discs. For That Matter Still Got My First Computer a 486! Still Works If I Ever Wanted To Play Some Classic Games!

Anyhoo, Your Work Seems To Be Light years From What We Were Doing Back When The S-197's Were New!

Keep Up The Good Work!

KC

 

These are From a Motorcraft Pigtail Picture Book Showing 16 Cavity Connectors. Don't Know if It Will Help But Thought I Would List Anyway!

Mostly Female Pigs But a Few Male. If Pin Location Were Correct Shell Might Be Able To Be Modifed.

Anyhoo Just Thought any Resource May Have Some Value!

Pictures are Not Great But if One Looks Close May Have To Find Some Better Pics Like on an Ebay auction Etc.

Link to Book.

https://www.motorcraft.com/content/d...-Book-2016.pdf

KC

 

It's time boys.

Here is my test harness. Wish me luck homies. Just need to get a chance to remove the airbag.





This doesn't have the horn in it, but, here we go guys

 

@RRS197

 

wow!! great job brother!!
I can't wait to see the S550 turn/wiper stalk working.

 

Haha, will it convince you to return to the mustang wheel?

 

Cruise control complete. All the parts came in to give the wipers and signals a test

 

Turn signal highbeams completed

 

nice.. dammit i guess ill have to mess around with the s550 wheel again lol im going to try and attempt both switches for the s550 and the st wheel lol

 

6 weeks is not bad...