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Sat Feb 14, 2004 4:07 am

Thanks for all the advice folks.

I ran a few tests and came to the conclusion that the starter and solenoid were stuffed.

Anyway, i fitted in a new starter yesterday (engine still in bus) and we are on the road again.

Just got to get the horn working now. Anyone any advice on that?

Sat Feb 14, 2004 9:32 am

Great! wasn't so bad to change afterall now was it! :wink:

There are several recent threads about the horn/wiring/system so unless you have another specific problem the info should be right here on the first page or 2. :idea:

good luck! that damn horn thing can be frustration city :!: :evil:

Sat Feb 14, 2004 11:35 am

A Treatise On The Engineering Of The VW's Horn Circuitry
by Colin

A VW's horn is a marvel of simple engineering. Please remember the following:
An electrical circuit is a path from one side of the battery to the other.
The circuit must have a "load" or a "consumer" in it, otherwise it is a dead short.
The load/consumer in the horn circuit is the horn coil, that's it.
A switch can be on the ( + ) side or it can be on the ( - ) side.
The VW's switch is on the ( - ) side.
The switch is the horn button.
Electrical circuits fail via "short circuits" or "open circuits."

Any ( + ) failure of the wiring from the horn to the circuit box will blow the FUSE (short circuit) or stop the horn from working at all (open circuit).
So step one is to check for 12 vts at the ( + ) side of the horn with the ignition on.

Any ( - ) failure of the wiring from the horn to the ground on the steering coupler will blow the HORN (short circuit) or prevent the horn from working at all (open circuit).

You can fix your horn easily enough, cough, cough, if it is blowing without your express permission. It obviously has power so nix the ( + ) side diagnostics. Pull the ( - ) side off the horn and check for continuity to ground at each link along its path to the column tube to the horn ring and down the wire to its terminus at the steering coupler flange.

If it is silent, turn on ignition and test for 12vts at ( + ) side of horn that's the black or the black/yellow wire. If no voltage, go get 12vts.
If you do have 12 volts, have fun scaring yourself with a cheater wire between the brown wire connection on the horn and a good ground. It should blow right next to your ear. If not, bad horn or bad horn adjustment. ( mine was crudded-up with crap and would mewl like a sick calf until I did a WD-40 baptism) If it does blow, then you have to trace the ( - ) circuit up to the horn button and down to the terminus at the steering coupler flange.

NOTE: The circuit has to get UP to the horn button/switch through the column spade terminal, a horribly inaccessible place, sorry, and then back DOWN through the center of the steering wheel shaft via the infamous Brown Wire Through The Steering Shaft to the steering box coupler flange which is below the rubber coupler.

Let us know how you make out.
Colin

Thu Feb 19, 2004 10:56 am

Got the horn working today. Turned out to be a bad positive going to the horn. Put a new wire down form the spare slot i had in the fusebox and hey presto "parp parp". Love the horns on vw's, sounds abut as weedy as a horn can be, but strangely cute at the same time.

Thanks for all the advice folks. Today is the first day i can honestly say that everything is working how it should be, only took 12 months as well.