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Tried installing NRG hub and quick release today but messed up and pulled off the front cover of the cable housing/clock spring. I know from other posts [1, 2] but I can't seem to figure out how you are supposed to get the back housing to respool it back in. Do I need to take it completely out of the car? It does not seem to want to come out and I didn't see any bolt/screw holding it. My main confusion is the detailed process in how this is supposed to go.
Really trying to avoid having to spend 300+ on a new clock spring.
Figured it out and was able to fix it luckily. Steps:
Remove the bottom and top covers.You can follow qube-engineering's guide on how to do so.
Not necessary but it gives you some room to work with. Remove the three screws that hold the turn signal/wiper stalk to the car.
To remove the clock spring from the stalks, use a plastic trim remover tool to pry the away the plastic tabs. They are located on the bottom and top of the housing.
If your reading this post, that likely means that your ribbons are all out. If this is the case, it is likely that the plastic retaining ring/clip is already broken open/loose. Remove this from the assembly and set it aside.
Using wire cutters, cut the zip tie that is holding the wires to the housing.
Using the same plastic trim removal tool, pry away the tabs to expose the back housing. Remove the back housing and set it aside. You should now see something like the following:
You will notice that you don't actually re-feed the spool into some container inside. Rather, you will need to coil/roll the ribbons back around the piece that popped out. When you get close, it will seem that the ribbons loop upon each other. Orient the loops such that they fan out from the center. The very bottom ribbon needs to go below in the opposite direction. It's a bit hard to explain but it should look like the following from the back:
Hold the ribbon face firmly to the housing, you do not want have it pop out again. Now place the back plate back on. It should snap in place. Now with the plastic retaining ring/clip, line up the tabs and push it in from the back of the housing. If done correctly, the face should now be secure and you will be free to let it go. Example video here:
Place the clock spring back in the stalk assembly and it should snap in place. Tighten the three screws back to the car if you loosened them.
IMPORTANT: Before you put the wheel back on or install your aftermarket hub, rotate it all the way clockwise until it stops. Then rotate it back 2.5 times counter-clockwise. You will notice this is ensure that the ribbons are not at full lock when you install the hub. This assumes that when you took off the hub your wheels were (and still are) pointing straight and center. Example video:
Help with refeeding clock spring cable
