Help! Trouble getting the horn to work on my 75.

[lheindrich]

I am trying to trouble shoot my broken horn and I need some help here this is what I have done so far with the help of old posts on the site. First I bought a horn because the original was pulled out and I connected it yesterday. So I am missing some parts or they are old and broken up at the actual horn. I need a horn contact brush because it is missing and I need a nw horn button contact assembly because it is broken. My main question is how do I make sure the circuit is going to work before I get all the parts? I tested the horn by putting 12v to it and it works fine then I went to the relay and put 12v on the green lead and the horn works fine at the relay I put a voltmeter on the red lead and I get 12v the black lead from the relay leaves and goes to the horn button through the steering column. What do I do to make sure the circuit works from the horn with the relay reconnected how do I prompt the relay to close from the horn contact? Could someone explain how the circuit actualy works? Thanks for any help.

 

[LLC5]

The horn button in the steering wheel grounds the hold in coil at the relay, which then sends 12v to the horn. Ground the wire in the column, and if all is good the horn should get 12v from the relay. Remember that for the horn button to work properly, the steering column needs to have a good ground , along with the installed horn. Good luck with it.

 

[lheindrich]

Thanks!

The horn button in the steering wheel grounds the hold in coil at the relay, which then sends 12v to the horn. Ground the wire in the column, and if all is good the horn should get 12v from the relay. Remember that for the horn button to work properly, the steering column needs to have a good ground , along with the installed horn. Good luck with it.

Thanks for the help I opened the relay after I posted this and it looks like the relay is burnt out one side of the coils copper wire was broken so I am goingto order a new relay as well. How do I know if the steering column is grounded properly? I know only two grounding points for the interior one is on the driver's side by the parking release lever and the other is by the center console.

 

[TimAT]

Time to break out your multimeter. Set it on the OHMS scale, ground the balck lead and start touching the red lead to the column- if you pull the horn button off and touch the center shaft you should see the meter show either full scale (analog) or a very low number (digital).

If you don't see a good ground, look at the rag joint- it's common for the ground to go thru that and that go bad.

 

[lheindrich]

Thanks

Time to break out your multimeter. Set it on the OHMS scale, ground the balck lead and start touching the red lead to the column- if you pull the horn button off and touch the center shaft you should see the meter show either full scale (analog) or a very low number (digital).

If you don't see a good ground, look at the rag joint- it's common for the ground to go thru that and that go bad.[/QUOTe

I am not sure what the rag joint is?

 

[TimAT]

Follow the steering column thru the firewall down to the steering box. Between the shaft and the box is the rag joint. It's about 2-1/2" in diameter and has a fabric looking spacer in it..

https://paragonreproductions.com/p-355328-steering-column-rag-joint.aspx

The link is just the first one I found, may not be correct for your car, but it'l give you the idea of what to look for.

 

[lheindrich]

Thanks again!

Follow the steering column thru the firewall down to the steering box. Between the shaft and the box is the rag joint. It's about 2-1/2" in diameter and has a fabric looking spacer in it..

https://paragonreproductions.com/p-355328-steering-column-rag-joint.aspx

The link is just the first one I found, may not be correct for your car, but it'l give you the idea of what to look for.

So what part ends up going bad the fabric spacer/

 

[lheindrich]

Thanks again!

Follow the steering column thru the firewall down to the steering box. Between the shaft and the box is the rag joint. It's about 2-1/2" in diameter and has a fabric looking spacer in it..

https://paragonreproductions.com/p-355328-steering-column-rag-joint.aspx

The link is just the first one I found, may not be correct for your car, but it'l give you the idea of what to look for.

So what ends up going bad and screwing up the ground? Is it the fabric spacer? I am going to take a look at it tomorrow morning.

 

[TimAT]

the fabric goes bad and there's a grounding strap that runs thru it.

 

[lheindrich]

Thanks for the help.

the fabric goes bad and there's a grounding strap that runs thru it.

So I took a peek under the hood today and I saw the part u are talking about and it does look like the fabric space is coming apart I wonder if that is my problem. I am going to order the other parts i need before I get involved with the rag joint. We will see if things work in about a week or so thanks for the help.

 

[TimAT]

So I took a peek under the hood today and I saw the part u are talking about and it does look like the fabric space is coming apart I wonder if that is my problem. I am going to order the other parts i need before I get involved with the rag joint. We will see if things work in about a week or so thanks for the help.

Check for continuity with a meter- it may look bad and be ok. You can check from the lower part of the shaft to any ground and see.

Or, if you don't have a meter- a 12v testlight- hook the clip onto the big post on the back of the alternator and stab the point on the shaft.

 

[Bolisk]

so a couple of things about the rag joint. Just because the joint goes bad, does not mean that the ground strap in the joint is bad. . .but it can certainly cause that. You will know if the rag joint is bad if the steering has to much slop when going straigh down the road. Bad rag joints just feel REALLY unsafe.

At any rate, there are to bolts that hold the rag joint together (not includign the two bolts that connect the joint to the steering column, or the steering box).

Their is a strip of copper (you can't see it from the outside) that connects the two ends of the rag joint.

Think of it this way, if you were to get the rag joint out. . .and put it on a table, it would look like a donut with a hold thought the middle where the steering shaft and the shaft on the steering box go. When you look through the hole, you should see a coper strap going accross the hole. That is the ground strap that is critical for the horn to work. Those break ALOT! If it's broken. . .you will have to repair it. . .becaues I do not know anyone that makes a replacement. So you will have to dissasemble the joint, break out the torch and sodder it back together. It's fairly easy.

if the coper strap is missing. . . you will porbably have to make one.

Bottom line, I wouldn't worry about that untill you have replace the relay and tried it out. Because you have to loosen the steering colum (not all that hard) in order to getr the rag joint out.