horn issue

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38 Dodge

38 Dodge

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I just installed my column and steering wheel and when I hooked up the Battery the horns goes off. I have taken off the horn button, disconnect the wire on the steering wheel and it still goes off. I finally had to remove the steering wheel to stop it from going off.
This is on my 67 Barracuda could it be the relay might be stuck? I have just completed my restoration on the car and installed the battery for the first time and boy was it loud. I unplugged the wiring from the relay which the horn stopped blowing but that did no fix anything.took the steering wheel all apart and every time I just push the wheel on the horns blow. I am not sure where to go from here, any help PLEASE
 
There is a little roller in the column to ride against a contact ring beneath the wheel.
The horn switch has 3 shoulder screws going in it that need to be correctly positioned.
I suspect you have something wrong right in there but I cant picture it all clearly in my memory.
 
This happened to me a long time ago. I think it was a ground somewhere... Can't remember exactly how I finally fixed it...
 
I just chkd schematic. There should be a ground on each of the horns. Also purple wire from relay goes to alternator. A black wire going to the bulkhead connector. IMO, I think its in the mechanism in the steering wheel.
 
It is a ground, and it's right there in the contact assembly on the underside of the wheel somewhere.
If it was the relay taking the wheel off wouldn't stop it.

If it's a different wheel then the contacts could be misaligned and touching metal other than the roller track.
 
did that little roller post push down and turn 90 degrees to latch in place sort of like our light bulbs ?
Funny how the memory works. I can remember a fault found in these parts as clear as day but relevant to 89 Ford Escort. I guess there is some truth to "best lessons learned the hard way".
Follow up with what you find.
 
I had a similar issue where my horn suddenly started going off and wouldn't stop. I had to disconnect the horn. Later, when I went to start troubleshooting the problem, it was working fine again. That was like five years ago. ???
 
Thanks for the input, here are a couple of pictures of what I have. But I think I have bigger issues as I was trying to trouble shoot the horn issue I notice that with the headlights on and I turn on the right turn signal it will not work, but with the headlights off it works fine the left side works either way. So now I'm not sure what I got going on.
I think it might be a ground issue but I have a one ground wire screwed to the bottom of the dash how many grounds should I have?
 

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the fault in the signal indicator could be at that front fixture.
If you have a ground wire at all it is added. There weren't any ground wires.
Everything is chassis grounded via the nuts and bolts holding it together ( sad but true ). The wire that grounds the horn relay causing it to energize is black from the relay all the way to the horn button.
 
So you say the horn does not honk with the wheel off?

In this first picture the red line shows how the horn relay gets it's ground from the copper track to the steering shaft.
In the second picture with the wheel off ground the gold wheel to the column metal should make the horn honk.

Now all you have to do is find out where in your steering wheel the contact from the hub to that copper track is being made and theres your problem.
I'm betting it's in the horn button itself and you can hook a continuity meter to the hub and track and asseble the horn on the wheel.
As you assemble the horn button and the guage registers continuity your found the problem.
 

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Sorry I aint much help, but here's a pic to lighten the mood. LOL
 

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I just noticed and it might make no difference, but that wheel looks like a 69?? Would it still operate correctly on a 67 column??
 
4spdragtop said:
I just noticed and it might make no difference, but that wheel looks like a 69?? Would it still operate correctly on a 67 column??
Click to expand...

Don't know that one Steve.
He'll find it with an ohm meter though.

Personally I was little concerned about that tab of copper that comes down close to the hub.
 
4spdragtop said:
Which tab Greg?? I think I "see" one in your 1st pic
Click to expand...

Yep you see it.
To me it looks like it is either touching or real close to the steel hub, and that right there would make the horn honk when the wheel was put on.
That copper track cannot contact the steel anywhere or it will make it honk with the wheel on.
 
TrailBeast said:
Yep you see it.
To me it looks like it is either touching or real close to the steel hub, and that right there would make the horn honk when the wheel was put on.
That copper track cannot contact the steel anywhere or it will make it honk with the wheel on.
Click to expand...

The one at about 12 oclock?
 
TrailBeast said:
about 10:30 to 12:00 on the left side of the little circle witch is the signal canceling pin.
Easier to post the pic again. :)
Click to expand...

LMAO, yeah I was figgering it would be easier. Seeing as how I havent dug into my wheel yet, is that "blank" spot supposed to have something there, OR is the roller wheel not oriented correctly?
Thanks for your patience...LOL:glasses7:
 
4spdragtop said:
LMAO, yeah I was figgering it would be easier. Seeing as how I havent dug into my wheel yet, is that "blank" spot supposed to have something there, OR is the roller wheel not oriented correctly?
Thanks for your patience...LOL:glasses7:
Click to expand...

No problem Steve, this is part of my car interests.

The little round spot at 12 or so is a pin that pushes the turn signal swtches plastic arm to cancel the signal when the wheel is returning to center after a turn.

From the looks of it the green line shows where the metal wheel runs on the copper, and the orientation of the wheel in there looks right.
I only did part of the wheel track in green so you could still see the line it makes from running on the copper track.

That pin hits these (the bottom one for left turn cancel and the top one for right signal cancel)
 

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I don't know if this is going to make sense or not, but with a true alignment you center the steering wheel straight and then tie it so it can't move.
Then you adjust both wheels to where they need to be.
Otherwise not only will the steering wheel be crooked (not straight but tilted to one side when the car is going in a straight line) but it might cancel a left signal with a quarter turn of the steering wheel, and take a half a turn to cancel a right hand signal.
Most people would never notice something that small, but I would. :)
 
Thanks for all the help I will check all that this afternoon when I get home from work, and see how it goes. the column and wheel are from several cars not sure what years they are from. Also the circled area where we copper is where the retaining ring stops. I will get a better picture also this afternoon.
 
The only thing I can see in the pics that doesn't look familiar is a ny-loc nut in the cancel cam with a screw through from bottom up. I though the signal wand attached there. If that screw and nut is wrong maybe that is grounding the horn relay.
I don't know what the signal cancel has to do with horn blowing. I do know there is hard plastic beneath the copper ring that could be broken to pieces if the cancel ring is removed and put back with improper method ( tools ).
 
You guys are all over this, love the knowledge on this site. I'm only commenting because I just went through this with my son on his 93 YJ. For us it was incorrect assembly, can't remember exactly but there was plastic or mylar and we didn't get it in the correct place, maybe even had a part flipped over. Constant horn, I agree something is shorting out for him.
 
Okay, not shorting really, that might imply voltage, seems like he is getting a ground contact.
 
RedFish said:
The only thing I can see in the pics that doesn't look familiar is a ny-loc nut in the cancel cam with a screw through from bottom up. I though the signal wand attached there. If that screw and nut is wrong maybe that is grounding the horn relay.
I don't know what the signal cancel has to do with horn blowing. I do know there is hard plastic beneath the copper ring that could be broken to pieces if the cancel ring is removed and put back with improper method ( tools ).
Click to expand...

I'm not absolutely positive, but I don't think that nut touches ground.
Would be something to check for sure though.
 
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