Help! horn contact assy lower

[sweetwater.ron]

I have found the reason my 1976 horn blows(T&T steering) all the time, just need someone to tell me how to resolve it. The horns lower contact assy's spring is always touching metal, how is the spring positioned so that it does not ground out to metal...what keeps it in place? Thanks for any help, a picture or good diagram would be very helpful.

 

[duke94]

This is a non TT column, but yours should have something very simular. The spring is inside the 2 plastic parts you see in this photo, then the aluminum pin sticks out the end and goes through the steering wheel to contact the rest of the horn clap trap.
Also check Jim Shea's tech articles and you'll find more detail.

http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/?page_id=4

 

[sweetwater.ron]

Thanks for replying duke94, but my lower horn contact assy looks nothing like the one you pictured. I do appreciate you, maybe someone else will have a picture of the T&T steeering column. Meanwhile I'll look at Jim Shea's article.

Thanks again.....

 

[Michigan Man]

76 Horn problem reprised

I have the same problem; the horn honks all the time. I disconnected the wires to the two horns until I can get into the column and fix where it is grounding out. In the meantime, the relay is draining the battery. Where is the horn relay on a 76? It has the T/T wheel. Does it make a difference that it has the theft deterent system? Any help is greatly appreciated. Jim

 

[sweetwater.ron]

Michigan Man,
My problem turned out to be a small plastic piece that sat on top of the lower contact assy,someone had left it out and disconnected the horn and removed the horn relay, so I actually had several problems to overcome. The horn relay is real close to your fuse panel and plugs into a relay connector, it should feel warm if it is energized all the time and you have the horn wiring disconnected. Be careful when you pull the upper contact assy,some parts are small and could be brittle with age.

Regards,
Ron

 

[Michigan Man]

Ron, thanks for your help. I found the relay and pulled it. Jim

 

[sweetwater.ron]

This is the part that I was missing.

Ron, thanks for your help. I found the relay and pulled it. Jim

Jim,
The silver colored plastic piece in this picture was missing in my steering column, yours may be broke or missing. You do have to pull the steering wheel to get to it...

 

[Michigan Man]

Ron, got the wheel off and the problem is definitely the horn contact retainer (the silver thing in your picture). I had to vacuum out the little pieces and use a dental pick for the ones that slipped down around the shaft into the turn signal area. While I am at it, I plan to replace the contact brush set as it is a little sloppy. Everything else seems ok. I did not remove the spring and lower contact unit from the wheel. It seems ok and I don't want to break anything else. Thanks for your help. Jim PS/ I found the parts at Eckler's; is that a good place to buy online?

 

[LVMYVT76]

They are a good place to buy parts, in my opion.

 

[zemo2287]

want something done right do it yourself

thank you so much, this thread has helped me out greatly i took my vette to the shop with the steering fully functioning , i just needed the turn signal cam replaced, when i got it back they had messed with the horn and it wasnt working anymore, and now my steerings wobbling,and my brand new battery was dying all the time so i went inside of it and find little orange plastic pieces every where in which i puzzled back together to find out its the retainer and i was able to unplug the rely, google was no help what-so-ever thnx guys