Hi all Im having a prob with my horn, actuallt its dead. Me not being the most knowledgable electronic guy I need some help. How do the horns ground? Is it throught the horn mount or..... Also where the hell is the relay? Ive got some wiring hell going on with a aftermarket alarm previous owner installed but I cant seem to locate the relay. The steering column portion how does that work? I cant grasp the concept of the little plunger thingy making it work because there is a spring underneath it so what does it come in contact with to make it beep? Or am I overlooking the obvious. I dont have a good schematic of the curcuit so Im kind just winging it.
Flem

Well the horn grounds at the mounting point, getting a negative from the chassis. the horn button is the center cap itself, consisting of two thin pieces of metal spaced apart by plastic. When you press on the cap the metal flexes down and contacts the other thus completing the circuit. The plunger keeps the bottom plate in contact all the time. Hope this helps you finding the problem, I spent hours figuring out my horn, cause it would not stop honking by itself which is a little embarrassing when your driving.

|UPDATED|1/4/2005 6:45:40 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

My problem was down in the column where the turn signal switch had busted apart and loosened the horn contacts lower in the column. Did you check the easy stuff first like the fuses or the horn its self busted? Run a jumper to the horns to see if they work themselves. You dont wanna take apart your column to find out later it was a broken horn.

|UPDATED|1/4/2005 6:50:57 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Power is supplied to the horn relay. The relay is activated by grounding the relay control circuit by pushing the horn button. It makes contact, and grounds throught the steering column.

Once grounded, the relay sends power to the horn itself. The horn is grounded by its mount, and sometimes a ground wire attached to the mount.

Later relays were plastic and mounted under the dash or in the console. Earlier versions were metal and sometimes mounted under the hood, or under the dash.

Howdy all well I was checking it out but still dont see a relay and the wiring is evil beyond words. I have a few connections that dont lead anywhere bu Im guessing that this one connection may be it. Does the relay have 3 male plugs that go into the connector? Anlso does anyone know what color wire goes to the horn from the column?
Thanx
Glenn

Yes it is a three wire with male terminals on the relay. The 75 wiring diagram shows:

Black wire 20 gauge, horn button ground from relay.

Dark Green wire 14 gauge, supply from relay to horn.

Red wire 12 gauge, power supply to relay from the 10 gauge red from the fuse box, a constant hot that alsow feed the ignition switch.

Hope this helps.

Sweet thanx man. have identified where my relay SHOULD be! Also that all the wiring is there. Im thinking that someone removed it so because the horn wouldnt stop beeping, the button is broke as 2 of the plastic things are missing. Last question how do the shims come into play?
Glenn

Glenn,

Sounds like your previous owner had the same problem I have, and just pulled the relay so it wouldn't sound the horn all the time. I have that problem. If the relay is plugged in, the horn is on all the time. I've checked the whole column and I can't find anything wrong. I bought the replacement kit and even when down to the local GM parts dealer and picked up the plastic piece that doesn't come with the kit. Horn still is on all the time. I just can't figure it out. Maybe that's what happened to yours too.

I'm thinking of just taking it to an electrical guy at this point. Hope yours is easier to fix.

Glenn

Yeah that sounds about right, looks like what I have. I need to order a relay and itll be a week or 2 before it gets out here so I wont know much till then. I guess there is a way to trick it into thinking there is a relay but Im not sure what wires to hook into what holes to make it work. Any ideas?
Glenn

I don't know if I am on the right track for you, but you asked about shims. Maybe you have done all of this, but have you depressed the spring contact inside the steering wheel assembly? It should work when moved down.
I am talking about a tilt column. You can take the spring out, adjust the tension for more or less travel for the arm to make contact.
There is a 90 degree arm inside that rests right above the spring contact. Inside the spring is the piece that makes contact to send electric to the horns.
The shims can be added or taken away. They will determine the amount of space needed for the arm to hit the spring contact. On the plastic pieces, I take it that you are talking about the 3 plastic rivets holding the unit together under the horn button? They are available from the Corvette suppliers like Zip, etc.
Maybe you know all of this already, but my 2 cents.
Boatman