How to: Install a switch for SWAS enable/disable

[Mase]

My intentions were to simply disconnect SWAS so I could have corner fun and whatnot. I was saddened to discover that in my Genpu /w tech pkg not only would the squiggly traction conrol light stay lit, but also the steering wheel with an exclamation point and my AFS light would flash.That is just way too much bling going on to keep disconnected all the time.

My buddy Sully does stereo and remote starter installs for a living and says that he should be able to disable SWAS by simply cutting the power wire feed in the plug. So that's basically what we have done. He identified the power wire feed and crimped in a switch so that I can switch SWAS, AFS, TC, etc off and on from under the steering column vs. pulling the steering column apart and unplugging it anytime I wanted to slide around a little.

There's the background...here's the walkthrough. Please do this at your own risk. God knows I did. I know little about these cars so if I have done something I shouldn't have let me know!!! LOL

1. Starting under the steering column there are three screws (Phillips head) that need to be removed. You can see them here in these pictures:





2. At this point I tilted the wheel all the way up and out towards me. I then pulled apart the top and bottom at both the turn signal assembly and windshield washer assembly. I tried to illustrate this here:





3. Once pried apart the top can stay where it is but you will want to work the bottom down so that you can access the SWAS plug. I removed the white plug directly under the yellow one because it makes it easier to access the SWAS plug. I have illustrated both being removed here:





4. At this point you just need to identify the light blue wire pictured below.
4a. Once you have the wire, cut back some of the conduit so the wires are exposed.
4b. Cut the light blue wire pictured below leaving room to crimp in the switch wires.
4c. Strip a little bit off the ends of the light blue wire before crimping.
4d. Crimp in the new switch to either side of the light blue wire.







5. Once the switch is crimped in we drilled a hole through the underside of the steering column cover and mounted the switch there. You can't hardly see it unless you seek it out and its readily available for turning SWAS off or on at will.





6. At this point it is only a matter of tucking everything away nicely and doing the step in reverse to button everything back up. Final product looks like this:



Here is my dash with the switch turned on (Everything normal):



And here is my dash with the switch turned off (SWAS, TC, AFS disabled):



Not sure where he got the switch. If anyone wants any other information, is interested in having him do it, or has any concerns please let me know. He operates Sully's Car Tunes in Carver, MA and im sure he would be happy to install for anyone

[ScarMS3]

@karl-hungus @rfinkle2, would this also be the same for gen 1 and if so can we link this over to the gen 1 How-To section?

[anavrinIV]

those kinds of switches can be bought at radio shack, just for anyone interested in this. They're super cheap and any on/off toggle will work. Thanks for the write up though, I maybe have to do this one.

[SLOWHATCH]

Great how to, however a bit more info on wiring in the switch itself would be nice.

So basically split the wire and run one side of the blue wire to the switch and other side to ground?

[Mase]

Originally Posted by SLOWHATCH Great how to, however a bit more info on wiring in the switch itself would be nice. I'm sure I can figure it out, but others maybe not so much.

I thought this as well but couldn't really come up with any more steps. It was pretty basic what he did. Basically cut the wire and crimped the switch in between. Didn't even matter which side of the switch went to which wire because the switch just connects or disconnects the two wires. I would have taken pictures of the actual switch wiring but this how-to was written after the fact. Maybe the next person that gives it a go can document this actual process?

Originally Posted by SLOWHATCH So basically split the wire and run one side of the blue wire to the switch and other side to ground?

Split the wire and run one side of the blue wire to one side of the switch and the other side of the blue wire to the other side of the switch.

[Sid3wayS]

I like. But why is your coolant light on?

[SLOWHATCH]

Maybe I'll go pick up a switch and give this a whirl. I currently have my SWAS disconnected and like it that way, however it would be nice to be able to have traction control as needed.

[rfinkle2]

Originally Posted by ScarMS3 @karl-hungus @rfinkle2, would this also be the same for gen 1 and if so can we link this over to the gen 1 How-To section?

I believe that the swas plug is different on the gen1.

Thanks Mase!

[SLOWHATCH]

Originally Posted by Sid3wayS I like. But why is your coolant light on?

Same reason his rpms are at almost 2k in first gauge pic.

Cold start on 2011 + have the nifty little blue light to tell you when its safe to start driving.

[Sid3wayS]

Yeah I noticed it was a cold start from the RPMs but ddnt know about the blue light. Damn you later gen2s got all the bells and whistles.

[Mase]

Originally Posted by SLOWHATCH Same reason his rpms are at almost 2k in first gauge pic. Cold start on 2011 + have the nifty little blue light to tell you when its safe to start driving.

This. Was just starting it to demo the lights

[anavrinIV]

Originally Posted by SLOWHATCH Great how to, however a bit more info on wiring in the switch itself would be nice. So basically split the wire and run one side of the blue wire to the switch and other side to ground?

switches are dead simple. get a basic on/off switch and it will have 2 connection points. cut the wire, crimp a length of wire onto each cut end, and connect the other ends of those wires to the 2 connection points. done. I can draw a pic if you need it, but the wiring would only take about 30 seconds.

[SLOWHATCH]

Originally Posted by anavrinIV switches are dead simple. get a basic on/off switch and it will have 2 connection points. cut the wire, crimp a length of wire onto each cut end, and connect the other ends of those wires to the 2 connection points. done. I can draw a pic if you need it, but the wiring would only take about 30 seconds.

Meh, for some reason I thought most switches had 3 pins.

So would I need to run a ground wire? This is the part I was confused about. And thanks, I was able to wire a meth kit but this has me baffled lol.

[Mase]

Originally Posted by SLOWHATCH Meh, for some reason I thought most switches had 3 pins. So would I need to run a ground wire? This is the part I was confused about. And thanks, I was able to wire a meth kit but this has me baffled lol.

Heh no ground wire needed. The switch just makes or breaks the power connection on that one wire. This in effect powers or disables the swas module.

[anavrinIV]

ground wires are only ever required on things that actually use electricity. switches are called devices, which don't use electricity but are part of an electrical system.

I've done electrician work/construction, studied it in school, and I've done a little bit of work with electronics too...switches are very simple and I've thought about a number of things I'd like to do with this car.

[xb2ms3]

can you turn it on and off while driving or do you have to turn it off before you start the car?

[Mase]

Originally Posted by xb2ms3 can you turn it on and off while driving or do you have to turn it off before you start the car?

Honestly I think you could turn it on or off while driving but I don't think I will be doing so. Just seems to risky to me.....

[ASHMS3]

Good write up.

[mghtymouse380]

Awesome write up. I hate having all of the lights on constantly. I might give this a go.

[Mase]

Originally Posted by mghtymouse380 Awesome write up. I hate having all of the lights on constantly. I might give this a go.

It seems scary but in all honesty its quite simple. I certainly felt more comfortable having my buddy doing it but I have no doubts I could have done it myself

[burn813]

Originally Posted by ScarMS3 @karl-hungus @rfinkle2, would this also be the same for gen 1 and if so can we link this over to the gen 1 How-To section?

No it is not the same ...... There is already a write up around here somewhere

[mghtymouse380]

It cant be that hard. All he did was cut one wire and add a switch in. Thanks for the pics it will help out alot when i get around to doing this.

[Mase]

While it may not be the same for the Gen 1's the concept should be the same. Probably just need to identify the appropriate wire on Gen 1's in order to do this.

[burn813]

Agreed..... I know there is a write up for it cause I followed it for my genone

[burn813]

On the genone the wire bundle lives on the other side of the steering column

[JTMS3]

@Mase are you able to turn swas back on while the car is on? I haven't drove with it yet but just did this tonight. I noticed upon startup I was able to turn it off successfully but the only way to turn it back on was to turn the car off, then flip the switch and start back up.

Awesome how-to!

[Lex]

I'm just going to make a suggestion here:

- I've done electrical work on cars and electronics for many years now and there's nothing worse than electrical gremlins (any VW fans here?)

I find those crimp connections to be terrible for longevity and connectivity. This is a bit of a critical system that you don't want to have it go into a limp mode of sorts at the wrong time. So I suggest using solder and proper heatshrink and then using zap straps to brace wiring as much as possible against vibration.

Yes, I know most shops will slap an alarm in your ride using crimps but the very professional ones will use solder and heatshrink and do a proper job.

[JTMS3]

Originally Posted by Lex I'm just going to make a suggestion here: - I've done electrical work on cars and electronics for many years now and there's nothing worse than electrical gremlins (any VW fans here?) I find those crimp connections to be terrible for longevity and connectivity. This is a bit of a critical system that you don't want to have it go into a limp mode of sorts at the wrong time. So I suggest using solder and proper heatshrink and then using zap straps to brace wiring as much as possible against vibration. Yes, I know most shops will slap an alarm in your ride using crimps but the very professional ones will use solder and heatshrink and do a proper job.

Agreed which is why I said fuck it and soldered & heatshrunk the wires on. At first I was worried about the dealer finding the switch but I was more concerned about a limp mode situation.


And yes my Jetta 2.0T was a fucking nightmare!

[JTMS3]

ok update... volume & station change toggles as well as the "mode" button do not work on the steering wheel but everything else does. All wires are secure, soldered & heatshrunk and the switch works as described by OP (well except for turning off the car to turn SWAS on).

Not a big deal but anyone have any ideas why this would be?

[AZSPEED3]

Nice write up OP, should be good for both the gen1 and gen2. Just different wires between the two.

[topset]

nice write up. im going to seek out an oem mazda switch and add it to the cluster that the AFS ans TCS switches sit in.

[Bosox]

I am just guessing and I know what the SWAS does.. but does SWAS stand for Steering Wheel Angle Sensor?

[burn813]

Originally Posted by Bosox I am just guessing and I know what the SWAS does.. but does SWAS stand for Steering Wheel Angle Sensor?

Yes

[Paul]

This is awsome! Thank you OP.

You can toggle this while car is running? - No negative side effects of cutting power to SWAS while car is on in other words.

[burn813]

Originally Posted by Paul This is awsome! Thank you OP. You can toggle this while car is running? - No negative side effects of cutting power to SWAS while car is on in other words.

I haven't seen any as of yet

[Grim_BL3FW]

Originally Posted by JTMS3 ok update... volume & station change toggles as well as the "mode" button do not work on the steering wheel but everything else does. All wires are secure, soldered & heatshrunk and the switch works as described by OP (well except for turning off the car to turn SWAS on). Not a big deal but anyone have any ideas why this would be?

The power to those buttons may be tied into that power wire after the point where the switch is mounted. Just a guess.

[burn813]

I am not sure about the genpu but the genone has no issue like this if you splice the yellow wire on the bundle

[dpolseno41]

Originally Posted by burn813 I am not sure about the genpu but the genone has no issue like this if you splice the yellow wire on the bundle

So in the gen1, you can run a switch between the yellow wire? I've been trying to figure out exactly what wire it would be.

[burn813]

Originally Posted by dpolseno41 So in the gen1, you can run a switch between the yellow wire? I've been trying to figure out exactly what wire it would be.

that is the one that I used and I am pretty sure there is a post on it somewhere around here on how to do it.

[Gringo East]

Nice write up! Subbed.