70Post

Car had a correct style/year column installed in it and when the horns were hooked up and the POS battery cable connected the darn things start blowing (nobody pushing the horn button on the Sport Wheel).


Column has a new turn signal harness and contact ring installed. ILT harness and a "Tilt Wheel" horn contact ring from TPP.



With a prior tilt column ("rebuilt" - ie with its own new turn signal harness) it would set off the horns when the turn signal stalk was activated...owner can't recall if the horns also went off when the POS battery cable was touched to the battery (like the "current" problem first mentioned above).


Tried different horn relays (unit on D side fender jamb) but same problem with each horn relay change.


Both columns were tried with the correctly sequenced new horn "spring/pushrod/black plastic collar" setup installed in the horn contact ring (sticking up through the Sport Wheel hub).




"Messed with" cars are a real PITA. Thanks

My442

I may be wrong, but iis the standard horn contact ring the same as the tilt wheel contact ring?

Problem has to be there.

The curcuit is a simple on/off cotact switch.

oldcutlass

The horn relay is looking for ground supplied by the steering wheel horn button/s. When the horn button is pushed it supplies ground to the relay which activates and supplies 12v to the horns. Disconnect the steering column harness and see if the horns stop blowing, if they do your problem is in the column. Either the black wire is pinched somewhere and touching ground or the horn contact is constantly touching ground. If the horns don't stop then the problem is between the column and the relay itself.

joe_padavano

Pull the black wire off the horn relay. Does the horn blow now? If not, the problem is in either that wire or the steering column/horn contact. Test for continuity from that black wire to ground. If there is continuity even without pressing the button, you've found your problem. There are a myriad of ways to incorrectly install the horn contact on the sport wheel, and I've seen them all.

70Post

Paul, Eric and Joe - Thanks VERY MUCH. I'll try these things and report back with the results.


Paul - If you are referring to the "Horn Contact Ring" down under the lock plate in the column (pic of one below as an example) then YES, the vendors differentiate b/n tilt and non-tilt. I specified the "tilt" version from TPP but you never know what is really inside these days when you get some of these parts. I'll do some comparing if I can find a "non-tilt" horn contact ring laying around.


I also tend to think about the held-on-by-three-screws "ring" up on the steering wheel hub that the horn "button" presses onto when I hear "horn contact ring"....that piece is the same non-tilt and tilt. I'm sure you are referring to the piece down in the column but figured I'd clarify on my end.


Thanks

70Post

Follow up - removed black wire from horn relay and "no horn" when touching the pos battery cable to the battery post so worked on the column side of the wiring.


Removed steering wheel and hub, removed lock plate and TPP horn contact, etc. Unscrewed the ILT turn signal harness and pulled it out to access the wires, etc up top.


Also disconnected the turn signal harness down on the column under the dash.

Checked sequence of all wires, black wire was present on the turn signal harness lower end and in the correct position on the black plastic terminal "housing" (I had changed the housing to an older one since the new black plastic housings on these new turn signal switch/harnesses DO NOT allow you to attach them to the corresponding original "female" housing on top of the column down under the dash). I did that carefully (one wire at a time) but it never hurts to re-check.


Used the "noise/beep" part of the dial on the voltmeter to verify both ends of the black wire, etc.


Put things back together BUT installed an original horn contact (instead of the new/repro TPP horn contact) under the lock plate. Kept touching the battery cable to the battery post after each step....no honking!...seemed like progress.

Put everything in place and installed the horn contact ring on top of the steering wheel (I triple checked the spring/black collar/plunger as well before installing....was in the correct sequence, etc) thinking "it's gonna start honking on its own".


NOPE....only honks when you WANT IT TO now so problem is corrected.


Thanks Eric and Joe for the guidance and "push" to deal with this one....working in a warehouse with limited airflow (and 108 outside temps right now) so the thought of sweating all over the car again wasn't a real "motivator".


Now on to fixing other "rigged" items on the car......no plastic bushing in the clutch Zbar where the clutch pedal rod hooks in, etc....it's a thrill a minute with this one ('70 442 4 spd convert).