My Vette is not horny

[kayak]

Still in resto on my '76 and making my way through a bunch of little things.

This week, the non-functioning horn. Here's what I've done so far...

Pulled both horns, cleaned them up, and hit them with juice - both were nice and loud so I know the horns themselves are functional.

Cleaned connections and checked under hood horn connection wires for fraying, cuts. Wires looked okay.

Hooked up 12v dash light bulbs to horn connections under hood and hit the horn button...no light, so I concluded that power wasn't getting to the horns. I checked these bulbs and they were good.

Replaced horn relay at fuse box and checked all the fuses.

Pulled horn button on steering wheel, and upper contact ring assembly - successfully hooked it up to power and a 12v dash light bulb. When contact was initiated, the bulb lit, so I'm assuming the upper contact is okay. Sprayed with WD-40 to clean.

Removed and inspected lower contact spring assembly - is it supposed to be loose in the well? It plunges up and down nicely, which I'm assuming is what a "spring" assembly should do.

Also noticed that I had 3 shims installed between the spacer and upper contact assembly ring, is this normal?

Finally, I pulled and readjusted the telescope bolt/assembly, because the locking position for the tele wasn't all that tight. It is now.

What am I missing and where do I look next to get my Vette horny again?

Issues that could be related:
Previous owner disabled the OEM security system (haven't tackled this one yet, but I know it's coming). Would this affect the horn functions as well?

Did the alarm sound out through the horns? If so, I'd have to assume the disabling of the alarm system could be directly related to my horn issue. Perhaps I'd need to restore my alarm function before my horn can work again.

 

[Tom Bryant]

Horns

The alarm used the horns. I think you are on the right track.

Tom

 

[DDLS3]

kayak,

I'm looking at wiring diagrams for 75 & 77 vettes. Oddly enough the Haynes manual that I have does not have a diagram for 76?? I believe though that the alarm for both 75-77 had a seperate horn located in the rear wheel well on the drivers side. I have not had a horn/vette problem. However I did work on a horn problem with my motor home (also a chevy) that turned out to be a grounding problem with the steering colume. I found this by attaching a wire to the negative battery terminal and connecting the other end to the steering colume. Once I did this the horn worked. I rerouted a permanent ground and that solved the problem.

 

[kayak]

Hey DDL-81,
I was just informed by another C3 veteran that
the problem is most likely a partially broken horn wire in the pivot for the tilt portion of the steering column. He instructed me to hook everything back up and hold the horn button down while tilting the wheel back and forth to see if the horn comes and goes.

Apparently you were correct. The horn wire is a ground and my problem may be identical to your motorhome.

Can't wait to try it out this weekend. Thanks much for the reply!

 

[rpounds]

I can tell you that the '75 indeed had a seperate horn in the right rear fender well for the alarm system, such as it is. I suppose that the alarm was state of the art for this old girl built the year I graduated high school . . .

I would check the connections inside the steering column. Especially if you have the telescoping column.

 

[L82BLACKSHARK]

79 horns

i have 2 horns in my 79. one upper one lower. the lower one is not working. what note am i looking for to replace the lower horn?
a very simple question. thank you all.:confused

 

[Yoda]

Re: 79 horns

i have 2 horns in my 79. one upper one lower. the lower one is not working. what note am i looking for to replace the lower horn?
a very simple question. thank you all.:confused

The lower mounted horn is the "High Pitch Horn" the feed for this horn comes from the top horn "Low Pitch Horn". From the horn relay you should have a dark green wire and same color from the upper to the lower horn. Have you tried cleaning the contacts of the connections to the lower horn? Also you can remove the dark green wire and "jumper" it to see if it in fact works before pulling it out.

If you need to replace it, and you have a "Pic-N-Pull" you can remove the horns from a camaro or other GM and test them. I would think GM horns are pretty standard in size and mounting.

BudD

 

[kayak]

Vette is horny once again!

Just an update...

Here was the culprit to my non-working horn issue.

Who knew these things could break?

Glad to have my horn back!

Kurt

 

[L82BLACKSHARK]

horns

thanks all. good info.

mike:cool :cool