Heaving on the C2 steering wheel sets off the horn

[Neville W.]

Something a bit different on my 66 C2 coupe non power steer
At slow speeds or dead stop when having to put some muscle into winding the steering wheel the horn fires off intermittently.
There is no play in the column and I have checked the horn button and the spring loaded plunger that comes up to horn button - nothing appears to have been "rearranged" or broken.
Has anyone else had this happening or any idea where circuit would be earthing before I delve into tearing things apart.
This usually happens when turning right and pulling on top of wheel and down.

Neville

[Rob M.]

Re: Heaving on the C2 steering wheel sets off the

If the design is similar to the C1 setup it might be the insulation of the horn wire in the steering column being damaged and contacting with the column closing the horn circuit and engaging the horns (bvia the relay).

greetings,
Rob.

[Neville W.]

Re: Heaving on the C2 steering wheel sets off the

I was hoping nobody was going to say that !!
From what I can see though, the problem seems to be something hidden further down in the column. I have checked the horn button and all the insulating washer in there looks OK. I'm hoping that somebody has had similar bother with this and/or is familiar with what is in there and can point me straight to the weak link.

Neville

[Wayne P.]

Re: Heaving on the C2 steering wheel sets off the

I have seen this when the upper column bearing was worn excessively.

[Wayne K.]

Re: Heaving on the C2 steering wheel sets off the

Neville,

I had a problem like this on my 67 and what it was is there is a thin vinyl/plastic insulating ring located in the hub assembly and as the wheel goes around (you turn the steering wheel)it creates a wear pattern in this ring. Mine had worn thin and with just the right pressure and position of the steering wheel it would set off the horn. It looked ok but when I held it up to a bright light you could see the thin area.

Wayne

[Neville W.]

Re: Heaving on the C2 steering wheel sets off the

This would be the ring at the bottom of the plunger hole ?
I can see down there but cannot really see the condition of the ring.
Looks like it's time for me to pull it out and have a look.

Neville

[Wayne K.]

Re: Heaving on the C2 steering wheel sets off the

Neville,

Its been years since I did this but I think you are right. The ring is black and about the diameter of a smaller soup can lid with a hole in the middle. You have to take some things apart to get at it so make sure you remember to disconnect the battery first. I couldn't locate a replacement at the time so I used a layer of 3M electrical tape on one side t******* it to size and put it back together. That was at least 10 years ago. I'm sure you could easily fabricate one out of some none conductive material of the approximate thickness. Let us know how you resolve this issue. I hope you don't have to go deeper into the column.

Wayne

[Neville W.]

Re: Heaving on the C2 steering wheel sets off the

Thanks Wayne. Looks like this weekend has an extra job on the list.
I will let you know what I find.