Ground Circuit to the Steering Column?

[Full_Blown]

Can someone answer a quick question for me? I've checked my entire steering columnon my 79, with a test light all the way to the steering box and I have no ground anywhere along the column. Is this right? I would have thought that the column would be ground at least at the steering nut, key or mounting bolts. Iwant to make sure the column is supposed to be grounded before I hook a new ground connection to it.

Thanks,

FB

 

[JohnZ]

The steering shaft is grounded to the steering gear through the rag joint, which either has a visible copper ground strap between the upper and lower halves of the coupling or has a woven copper mesh in the carcass piece. If someone has replaced the original carcass piece with a "repair kit", that's just a hunk of rubber and you lose the ground between the two halves (in which case the horn won't work).

 

[Full_Blown]

Thanks JohnZ, I'll look closely at that. I hooked up a temporary ground to the shaft while I was checking the rest of the electrics. For any one interested I also found the large spring in the cloumn for the telescope was not ground properly in side the column due to years of oxidization and general crud. I cleaned it up and squeezed on a small metal sleeve where it contatcs the contact plate inside and Voila!

Full_Blown