was wondering if anyone could name this piece, (theres one that looks like this but upside down for the turn signal )horn stopped working again so I took column apart, found this spring piece lying in the bottom of column, took horncontact piece of and touch with screw driver and horn works when i ground to side of column,was wondering if anyone had a pic of how these assemblies are suppose to work, dont know if tjis piece has anything to do with or not,also the copper piece that is spring loaded in column that goes up against copper round horn contact is this suppose to be sticking out all the way or is it suppose to have minimal tension, I can pull this out at lease 3/8 of an inch was wondering if its suppose to stay out, if so theres another problem, anyone with pic of inside a 70's steering column would be appreciated, mike

The part you are showing is one of two springs that go on the right side of the actuating cam. The other one is installed over the right side of the actuating cam and holds the contacts down. Haven't seen either one come loose unless something broke or they weren't installed properly. They don't have anything to do with the horn.
If I'm reading you correctly, you are talking about the spring loaded plunger that sticks out of the lower part of the switch. The part of the switch below the actuating cam. It should return all the way up so that it rides on the horn ring (cancel cam). Sometimes the spring, on that plunger, goes bad. If that happens the turn signal switch needs to be changed.

yeap john thats what im talking about, so get a new turn signal switch eh??? mike

If you are having to pull that plunger up, I don't have a better answer than to change the switch. Never had one clean up and work long term. Ollie found one locally today. See his thread about 2 down from this one.

John, how do you get turn signal switch out? I unscrewed the 3 screw and the wires are holding it up, how do these come out? unplug? bought a new turn signal switch, was wondering when you get a new one does it come with new wires? someone told me you just unplug at bottom of steering column and fish the old wires out and fish the new wires in? right or wrong, thanks mike

You may want to lower the column. After you remove the lower access plate, put the car in the lowest gear (E-brake set). That way you can get at the clip for the gear indicator and remove it. The indicator clip is the thing that pulls the string. After that two 9/16 nuts need to come off to drop the column down. It's a little easier to fish the wires out and in that way.

John, took the wiring harness out, used your suggestion,, worked great, now, at the base of the inside of the column there is to copper/brass bent pieces of flat wire that seems to go into the or next to the ignition switch, seems like if you look at the back of the horn t/s switch it would make contact with a pink and a black with pink stripe, according to schematic this is the key minder wires, reason i'm asking is the plastic piece that the 2 strands of flat wire go into is brittle and broke, do these need to go back in???? thanks mike

The key minder wires don't have anything to do with the turn signal or the horn. The flat contacts get pushed together when you insert the key. Often these contacts get damaged or in your case everthing is just falling apart. Some people hate that buzzing noise and mine hasn't worked for years.
If you leave the parts in there or take the out, it won't matter to the T/S or the horn.
Does the plunger, in your new turn switch, work a lot better than the old one?

going to pick it up at 1:00 pm est, better be stronger, when I install the horn contact (the round thing with the copper piece ) I think thats what its called, does the spring actually touch spring which touches the steel pin? I have a comfort grip steering wheel, still dont know exactly how a horn works, I know the center cap has a tab on it which goes against the metal pin, so when you push on the center cap, does it ground to the steering wheel? thanks again mike, ps, dont want to put this together and have the horn blowing constantly, i'm not much with wiring

The harness wire comes up behind the plunger in the lower part of the switch. This is the wire that goes to the horn relay. The plunger rides on the brass ring. The brass ring is part of the cancel cam. The cancel cam is held against the plunger by the large spring and locking plate on top of it. There is a plastic horn plunger with a spring and wire that locks into the top of the cancel cam. When this wire is shorted to the steering shaft, the horn relay closes.

thanks john, were tootin again, works like a champ, thanks for your expertice, mike

thanks john, were tootin again, works like a champ, thanks for your expertice, mike

A can of Bush's Baked Beans would have been alot cheaper and just as effective. :D

A can of Bush's Baked Beans would have been alot cheaper and just as effective. :D
Frijoles Refritos

yeah but you'd have to eat a can eveytime you went out!!!!!