The horn honking in turns is a common problem for the TR4 - 6. I am
planning to work on a correction for the problem this winter. It is
caused IMHO by the steering column flexing until a ground can be
acheived. I have seen one remedy by Paul Willoughby that is inventive
and simple. Why don't you chime in here Paul and explain what you did?
I installed a TR4 column and Moto-lita steering wheel & hub in my slightly
modified TR3. In my short-sightedness, I only replaced the lower bushing in
the column before installation, which resulted in enough wobble from the worn
upper bushing to short the horn contact ring to the steering wheel hub during
turns. Since my custom installation is a little more difficult to remove than
a stock application, I came up with the following alternative to R&R'ing the
upper bushing.
My quickie solution was to create a plastic insulating sleeve for the metal
steering wheel hub so that there would be no metal to metal contact possible
except when the spring loaded horn button is depressed. I used a 2.5" ABS
slip/slip sleeve, readily available in the plumbing section of most hardware
stores. It has a nice ridge in the inside that just fits the Moto Lita hub.
I used a hacksaw to shorten the sleeve to about 1/4", removing material from
both ends, using only the center portion with the ridge inside. I also had to
"massage" off a couple of thousandths from the outside diameter to make it fit
in the steering column opening. The sleeve fit perfectly in-between the horn
ring and the hub. I only had to R&R the steering wheel, not the column or
shaft.
It works perfect. As a test, Tom did his best impression of the gorilla in
the Samsonite commercials. [grin] No matter how hard he pulled, wrenched and
beat on the steering wheel, the horn wouldn't blow.
Caveat: This worked on a Moto Lita steering wheel, I'm not positive it will
work on a stock TR4 steering wheel.
Paul Willoughby
Torrance, CA
1956 TR3
1964 TR4
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