[DesertSun]

I am very confused about my horn and why it is not working. I just purchased a '66 SS 396 and the horn and turn signals were not working at all. I completely disassembled the column (floor shift)and replaced the turn signal cam, fixed the turn signal switch contacts etc, and put the column back together what I believe is correct. The horn does not work because the steering shaft is not grounded. The horn circuit relies on the steering shaft to carry the ground up to the horn button and contact. I cannot figure out what part is missing within the column or at the mount to the steering box. The shaft is completely isolated from the column covers etc with nylon bushings. There is a metal bearing that resides in the turn signal switch assembly but this is isolated from ground and the mounting to the steering box is the fiber dampener. Has anyone seen and solved this problem?

 

[John_Muha]

Maybe someone else can give you a better answer than this but I would try:
With an ohmmeter, see if you can measure where you are losing the ground. Put in a temporary wire jumper across that spot. See if things work normally. After finding that out maybe someone can see the answer.

 

[Bob M]

You are right about the steering shaft being part of the ground circuit for the horn. The ground goes down the steering shaft, accross the flexible coupling and finally gets to ground through the steering box. If you look at the flexible coupling you will notice that it is bolted to the steering box 90 degrees from the end of the steering shaft. There is an internal connection in the coupler that transfers ground from one side of the coupler to the other. This connection can get isolated due to corrosion. Same thing happened to me. I went to the local Autozone and got a coupler rebuild kit from the 'HELP' kit aisle and rebuilt the coupler. Cost about $6.00. I've answered this before so I am enclosing my previous response. Sorry for the length.

The way the horn works is as follows:
1. 12volts is always applied to the horn relay.
2. The ground wire from the horn relay goes through the firewall fuse box connector, combines with the turn signal wires and goes up the steering column to the turn signal switch. There it attaches to a spring loaded contact that is attached to the turn signal switch that rides against the bottom of the removable plastic turn signal cancelling cam. The cancelling cam has a contact ring on the bottom. On the top of the cancelling cam there is an extended spring loaded contact that goes through the hole in the steering wheel and contacts the belleville type washer that is between the steering wheel and the horn ring. Note: the contact ring can be cleaned with a pencil eraser.
3. When you press the horn ring, it connects the ground wire from the horn relay (through all of the parts in steps 1-3) to the metal hub of the steering wheel.
4. The hub of the steering wheel is attached to the steering shaft, to the steering coupler, to the steering gear box, to the frame, and ground is applied to the horn relay and your horn blows.
5. The key here is the steering coupler. It is two metal pieces attached at a 90 degree angle to each other to a flexible piece. There is a wire or metal strap that goes from the stud on one metal piece to a stud on the other metal piece. If the wire in the steering coupler is broken or corroded (mine was corroded under one of the studs) the horn will not work or will not work all of the time. You can check this with a volt-ohm meter. Turn the wheel until the horn will not sound and check for continuity across the steering coupler. This should be less than 2-3 ohms. 10 ohms is probably too much to activate the horn relay. The steering column itself is grounded to the dash but the important part is the grounding of the steering shaft. The shaft is not always grounded to the column and probably shouldn't be if everything is assembled properly. Sounds kind of complicated but this is the way the General designed it.


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Bob Murray 66 Malibu
Greenfield, Indiana (Indianapolis)
My Artesian Turquoise 66 Malibu
TC Gold #49
Aces #01941
NCOA #20838



[This message has been edited by Bob M (edited 07-10-2001).]

 

[DesertSun]

Ahh..... The old hidden contact ploy! I knew there must be some secret in that darn flexible coupling. I was all over every 60's chevelle and camaro at the auto show the other night trying to determine how the ground was transfered from the steering box to the shaft. I was thinking possibly there was a strap of some kind missing in that assembly somehow. I was hesitant to dissasemble the coupling due to restricted access.
This car has obviously had multiple ground problems in it's history as the previous owner has added ground wires just about everywhere. His major mistake was painting all of the parts prior to assembly without regard to electrical continuity principles. duh! It is highly possible that is the problem in the coupler. I will remove the coupling and resolve the problem. Thanks very much for your quick response and information! IT WAS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!!!

 

[Sprinter]

A quick test would be a alagator clip jumper wire and connect to the 2 bolts on the columm 1 on the columm side and 1 on the steering box side. This should give you the connection your looking for.

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Tom Donaldson
71' GMC Sprint

 

[DesertSun]

I knew that connecting these fixed the problem. What I did not understand was how the ground was "suppose to be" transfered. That question was answered above.