Grant---There's at least a couple of possibilities for your "honking
horn". One is excessive play in the steering column. Both side to side,
and up and down.
More likely is that the slip ring (down under the horn button and its
plunger) is worn out and needs replacing. This is the one with the
(purple/black) wire that has its bullet connection into the wiring
harness close to (but under) the steering column. Pulling this wire out
of the bullet connection is the quickest way to stop the horn from
inadvertantly honking. Replacing this slip ring isn't too difficult so
far as being electrically challenging, but do give yourself a couple of
quiet hours for the job.
Sometimes if you want to reconnect your horn, you can do a temporary
"fix". All that's required is to loosen one of the pinch bolts that
locks the steering shaft (in the engine compartment) and move the
shaft's upper section closer to the drivers position. Just a 1/16 inch
will do, in most cases. This gives the slip ring more room before
contact is made thru the horn button. This is a MM fix, to be sure, but
will do in a pinch!
Dick
From:
gkester@ucsd.edu(Grant Kester)
Dear List,
I've got a strange problem (well, maybe not that strange given Lucas
electronics). When I turn the steering wheel my horn sounds. It was
intermittent at first but now it's pretty constant. It effects both the
left and right horns (I tried disconnecting each). If I even shake the
steering column, under the hood, I can hear a kind of microphonic noise
from the horns. I removed the horn honking mechanism from the steering
wheel entirely so I'm guessing this is a short someplace? I don't know
where to begin looking, and the wiring to the horns goes through parts
of the front end of the car that are difficult to get access to. Has
this happened to anyone else? Any easy fixes or do I have to go through
the wiring harness (yikes)?
Best,
Grant Kester
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