Horn Ground Problem

[ToddMcF2002]

How does the column body ground translate up to the steering wheel? My column body has a great ground but I'm getting way too much resistance at the wheel itself to complete the circuit. Jumping the wire to the column body the horn works. In the pic I'm running 12V direct from the battery to steering wheel and losing 2V. If I try grounding to the column body I'm seeing full voltage. Thoughts?

 

[pnora]

Run a ground jumper to the center shaft and see if that helps.

 

[ToddMcF2002]

I found this old post and I think this is probably the issue. Anyone know what this looks like?​

Does your car have that large (thick) rubber puck between the column and the steering box shaft?

If so, there is a wire spring thingie that connects the column to the lower shaft (and to the steering box to ground). I would send pictures but it will take me a while to get them.

 

[pnora]

I found this old post and I think this is probably the issue. Anyone know what this looks like?​

Does your car have that large (thick) rubber puck between the column and the steering box shaft?

If so, there is a wire spring thingie that connects the column to the lower shaft (and to the steering box to ground). I would send pictures but it will take me a while to get them.

Thats with the old rag joint. If its your car in your avatar you have a coupler. Did you try the jumper.

 

[pnora]

Also running 12 volts is a no-no. You can melt the spring on the contact wheel.

 

[ToddMcF2002]

The column shaft in the engine bay is a good ground and it stays solid as it extends into the interior of the column body. Where it goes bad is where the column collapses. After that point I had to jump the column ground:

 

[pnora]

There is a small tab that will ground the upper shaft. Most of the time you never need it. But if your upper shaft has lost its ground through the collapsible connection you will need it. Its hard to find but is shown in the FSM.

 

[ToddMcF2002]

is it clip 19-15-4 maybe?

 

[pnora]

Could be. The one I remember was in the upper bearing rubber seat. It allowed the bearing outer shell to connect through the rubber to the column. You can improvise one with a strand of wire or a piece of small diameter ss wire.

 

[rebel513r]

Could be. The one I remember was in the upper bearing rubber seat. It allowed the bearing outer shell to connect through the rubber to the column. You can improvise one with a strand of wire or a piece of small diameter ss wire.

is the one you are refering to the staple that goes through the rubber insulator (19-14-38)

 

[ToddMcF2002]

So in case this helps anybody - I took a drill and make a small hole through the shaft into the upper collapsing shaft. My idea was to run a screw into it to touch the collapsing shaft and fix the ground. It wouldn't have stopped it from collapsing so seemed like a reasonable hack. The vibration alone apparently fixed the ground - never wen't any further. You could probably just lightly hit it with an air chisel to get things moving enough to restore the ground. So all good for now

 

[ToddMcF2002]

Time for the woodtrain and trim...