Horn repair

[Guest]

Hello again every one,

It would appear that with lots of diplomacy I might be able to coax someone into selling me their 1960 T-bird. That's the good news. The bad is that the temp guage doesn't work (which I have some very good ideas on how to fix from another thread) and the horn doesn't work. Maybe it is just disconnected, I don't know, but has anyone had to repair their horn before? I didn't see a thread for that one and I did a search under 'horn' just to check. Thanks for any and all suggestions!

Regards,
Strange Square

[tarps3]

RE: Horn repair

The horn was out on my Bird when I got it.
I simply replaced the horn relay (located on the fender near the horns) and that did the trick!
Also, you might check the horn plate by removing the steering wheel - sometimes it isn't getting good contact there.

If that's all that's wrong with your Bird, consider yourself extremely lucky! My car is great, but it has had its share of gremlin-induced maladies. It's all good now though!

good luck and congrats on finding a squarebird.

[JohnG]

RE: Horn repair

if the horn contact is poor that Casey referred to, you may find that the horn only blows when pressed on one side (right or left...dont recall which). The steering column can slip a little over time and the little copper contact moves away from the plate.

Good luck with your Squarebird!!

John

[Alexander]

RE: Horn repair

Sometimes the steering column slips down. There are two large bolts with Phillips heads under the dash that hold it in place. Loosen, but don't remove them. Push the column up so that the horn ring has contact with the horn button. Re-tighten the bolts.

Alexander
1959 Hardtop
1960 Golde Top

[Guest]

RE: Horn repair

well Alexander, that might have been the cause of my horn not working. The spring loading button under the steering wheel that provides the rotating contact with the horn ring assemble and the stationary steering column was NOT making contact. So, there was about 1/8" clearance rather than being the spring being depressed to make contact.

I installed a Nutsert (unused, could use what-ever) over the spring loaded button to fill the gap before re-installing the steering wheel. It sort of stuck on the cap over the spring plunger. The steering wheel then depressed it a little for contact. It worked great.

Now I see that maybe I could have moved the steering column up a little so as to depress the button and make contact with the steering wheel. Live and learn.


"The more you know, the more you know how much you don't know!"

[Guest]

RE: Horn repair


Thanks everyone. All good suggestions. At this point I feel like I'm ordering from the factory. Scheduled delivery sometime late August. Still it will be worth it.

I'll probably check the column first, but I have a feeling it might be the relay. Still, it seems like they aren't that difficult to find. I'll repost when I figure it out.

Cheers,
Strange Square

[JBird]

RE: Horn repair

>
>Hello again every one,
>
>It would appear that with lots of diplomacy I might be able
>to coax someone into selling me their 1960 T-bird. That's
>the good news. The bad is that the temp guage doesn't work
>(which I have some very good ideas on how to fix from
>another thread) and the horn doesn't work. Maybe it is just
>disconnected, I don't know, but has anyone had to repair
>their horn before? I didn't see a thread for that one and I
>did a search under 'horn' just to check. Thanks for any and
>all suggestions!
>
>Regards,
>Strange Square

http://www.rhyner.com/59jbird/photos/HornRelay.JPG

If you made sure the horns were grounded and applied battery power to them directly and they didn't sound they are in need of repair.

They are easy to fix. Test them to be sure they don't work. If they do the horn relay may be at fault or the trouble's in the steering column or wiring from there to the horns.

Let us know and I can tell you how to fix the horns yourself. Please don't turn on with the tuning screw if we get that far later on.

[JBird]

RE: Horn repair

>Sometimes the steering column slips down. There are two
>large bolts with Phillips heads under the dash that hold it
>in place. Loosen, but don't remove them. Push the column up
>so that the horn ring has contact with the horn button.
>Re-tighten the bolts.
>
>Alexander
>1959 Hardtop
>1960 Golde Top

an easy check at the relay is ground the #14 black wire. If the horn blows the trouble's in the column.

[JBird]

RE: Horn repair

>>Sometimes the steering column slips down. There are two
>>large bolts with Phillips heads under the dash that hold it
>>in place. Loosen, but don't remove them. Push the column up
>>so that the horn ring has contact with the horn button.
>>Re-tighten the bolts.
>>
>>Alexander
>>1959 Hardtop
>>1960 Golde Top
>
>an easy check at the relay is ground the #14 black wire. If
>the horn blows the trouble's in the column.


NIX THAT. Can't see. Ground the #18 wire Yellow and Blue tracer.

[JBird]

RE: Horn repair

Blue with yellow. darnit I need a better glasses. Anyway it's the wire to the horn button in the column.

[Guest]

RE: Horn repair

Thanks again everyone.

Especially for the wiring diagram. The frustrating part is that after we agreed on everything friday when I posted the question in anticipation of getting a squarebird the owner backed out of the sale again. This is the second tie he has changed his mind. Next time I'm waiting until it is on the truck in transit before even letting myself dream about cruising around town.

The seller doesn't want to sign a contract that says he has no knowlege of any hidden defects and that the vehicle in in good working order when he send it to me. He may come around, but for now the on again off again car sale is off. It's probably a sign that I should run from this one anyway. Who knows.

Cheers,
Strange Square

[JBird]

RE: Horn repair

I wouldn't let his not wanting to sign a contract stop you from buying it. I wouldn't either. Take it to a garage and have a mechanic check it out for major trouble and if it's in fair shape buy it.

Here's a bit of advice. Life is short.If you like the car just buy it and don't press the owner. The worse thing that can happen is you stick some money into a slipping tranny of the engine. Probably needs work after 50 years anyway.

Live life. Go cruise. Stop dreaming. Start doing.

[Alexander]

RE: Horn repair

If you buy a nearly 50-year-old used car, there are probably going to be some problems. Even if everything is working something may break six months after you get. I bought a 1960 Golde Top a few years back that had not run since 1976. Surprisingly few things were wrong with it, but I took a chance when I bought it.

These are basically good cars. If there is a mechanical problem, the parts are available and you can fix it. The good part is is when you fix it it will be as good as new.

Look at it this way, half the fun of an old car is bringing it back to the new state.

The thing that you want to look out for is extensive rust and bondo. The inner rocker panels are especially hard to fix. You can check that by a visual inspection and by using a magnet.

Alexander
1959 Hardtop
1960 Golde Top

[Guest]

RE: Horn repair


Maybe you guys are right, but you see the car is across the U.S. from me. I had it inspected visually by an inspection company and they said it looks okay. Yeah, it has some problems, I expect it to be a 50 year old car. My hesitation is this. The clause the seller is objecting to is:

"Seller has no knowledge of any hidden defects in and to the Vehicle, and believes to the best of Seller’s knowledge that the Vehicle being sold is in good operating condition, except for (list of defects here). Seller is selling the vehicle as is."

So, is it me or if someone refuses to agree that they have no knowledge of hidden defect does it make you wonder? Maybe I'm just paranoid. It has a bad temp guage. I had an expereince with a car that overheated once. I put $1000 into it trying to get it right. Yeah, it would run, but things kept breaking down after that overheat. I ended up selling that car at a huge loss.

Granted, if I could go out and pick it up then things would be different, but he will have most of my money and the car for 2 weeks while I arrange shipping. SO, I can't haul it into a mechanic and have a compression test and a vacuum test done on it.

Do people here really think that clause is unreasonable?

Cheers,
Strange Square

[BlackBird58]

RE: Horn repair

A bit off topic, but is there a reason you are so attached to this particular car? There are squarebirds for sale all over the place. Check out http://ww2.collectorcartraderonline.com/ do a search for 1958-1960 T-birds. 65 cars come up, in a wide price range and lots of colors.

Good luck,
Mel