A horny question..

[sweat69]

I'm rewiring my horn on my bus but how does the the switch work on the steering wheel i have put a perminant live to the horn i have put a wire up thought the steering shaft but were does it fix and how does it work by the steering box? Mine never worked of the horn button it always had had a switch on the dash.

 

[bertiethebus]

dude wire it with the dash switch!!! had massive ball ache with mine last week and ended up wiring dash switch as i was pulling my hair out :roll:

 

[moler]

Horn wiring is a black art for sure!!

The wire down the column, goes from the horn push to the top of one of the bolts on the donut, that connects to the 'T' on the steering box. There should be another wire at the base of the column sleeve, this goes to the horn. So, when the horn is pressed, the connection to earth comes through the steering box to the wire, up the wire through the horn push to inner column, through the bearing to outer column, and carries said earth to wire at the bottom of the sleeve and onto the horn...simples :lol: :lol:

Make sure that the outer column plastic isolator at the bottom is intact. The shroud the otherside of the isolator, between the outer column and the floor, should have a small tab in the inside to hold the wire out of the way of moving parts. The bottom of the column wire can go on top or below the donut, but must connect to the 'T' of the steering box, connecting it to the 'T' of the inner column will only create a loop.

 

[gvee]

I fixed mine about a month back - annoying little job but worth it imho.

When you pop the horn push off there should be a tin disk with a spade connector for your live (?) wire to run to. This will be held on by three screws, each of which will pass through a plastic bush (the bush is horseshoe shaped and all three of them pass through it) underneath which are springs - one per screw.

To clarify, from top down it goes screw into tin ring into plastic bush into spring into horn. Clear as muck, no? :lol:

I ran a new wire by unbolting the steering column from the rubber between it and the steering box. This will be endlessly easier with a second pair of hands as you can't be in and under the bus at the same time Unbolting this rubber from the steering box means you can take it out (check for wear and replace if necessary). Now pull your new wire through using your old one and run a bunch of excess under the bus (nothing worse than finding out it is too short!).

I then ran this wire through the middle hole of the steering bush and brought it out passed the bolts that go on the steering column side. Bolted the lot back up together and cut the wire to it's correct length after running it through the chassis leg to the horn mount. Spade plug both ends and then, pow, job's a good'un.

Thoroughly confused? Me too! PM me for my mobile number if you want a talk through any of it when you're there looking at it

 

[gvee]

Incidentally, I ran the single wire through instead of the original attach the column wire to the bush at the base, and another wire on the other side to the horn as, well, when I did that it stopped working again very quickly

Seemed needlessly complicated too, hence my one wire approach that hasn't let me down yet

 

[moler]

Horns are permanent live, with a switched earth

 

[gvee]

You're right Moler, my bad!

Thinking about it, the wire from my fusebox goes directly to it, duh 8)

 

[davechorlton]

Just fixed mine, and amazingly it works. All advice above is spot on and I wish I'd had it! Ran a new wire and attached to th ebolts on top of donut that feed through to T-piece on steering box. Good point about the feed throught tab on the shroud, it's pretty tight in there and easy for wire to hit bolts on coupling donut.

I believe the live should be switched with ignition as I have heard stories of steering locks causing an earth short that would sound the horn.

 

[Araon]

Just remember the outer column is permanent live hence the insulator at the base if this goes tits then you end up annoying your neighbours .......

 

[moler]

Just remember the outer column is permanent live hence the insulator at the base if this goes tits then you end up annoying your neighbours .......

It's a switched earth, so the column shouldn't be live, the isolator stops it's making an earth.

 

[davechorlton]

Wiring diagram on vintagebus . com should help. the striped live comes from fuse 12 on my crossover which is live with ignition.
Earth is from horn to tab on column and column therefore is ' seeking' earth. The cable to the horn push provides this earth from steering box via the wire to the horn push. Ingenious until it stops working!

 

[Araon]

Just remember the outer column is permanent live hence the insulator at the base if this goes tits then you end up annoying your neighbours .......

It's a switched earth, so the column shouldn't be live, the isolator stops it's making an earth.

you have +ve 12v to the horn then horn to the tab on the outer coulmn (which is isulated from the floor and upper clamp) the horn push closes the contact between column and the wire running down the centre which is earthed via the coupling .... Beeeep ...... it is indeed a switched earth......late bays it changes again.....