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Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:32 pm

Hello,
As a new enthusiast I'm back with more questions. On my 1963 beetle deluxe I have gone through all the wiring, and I mean ALL THE WIRING. I have also made sure that the horn still works itself, which it does. I don't know where else to go. All the wiring looks good and it all passed the voltmeter test. The horn just doesn't beep when I press the horn ring! Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Cameron

Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:51 pm

If you are getting same voltage at the horn as at the battery that is good.

Have you installed a load on that circuit to see if the voltage drops?

Even a taillight dual filament bulb in a socket and wired up so both filaments are lit up should work.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:55 pm

I have done a load on it. And it for sure is giving out the same amount of power as the battery.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:57 pm

Have you soldered up the fuse box and headlight switch internal connections?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=483901&highlight=fuse+box+soldering

and

http://type2.com/library/electris/vw-hauptlicht-schalter.html

Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:58 pm

Cool cam wrote: I have done a load on it. And it for sure is giving out the same amount of power as the battery.

How much is the battery reading?

Tue Feb 21, 2017 1:12 pm

I believe 12 volt like it should, there was a 6 to 12 volt conversion on the car A while back.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 1:18 pm

Cool cam wrote: I believe 12 volt like it should, there was a 6 to 12 volt conversion on the car A while back.

Should be a little higher than that when fully charged up.

Did you solder up the fuse box and headlight internal connections?

Might just be the grounding system for the horn/horn button needs to be worked over. Try running a ground wire from horn and touch it to the chassi on a bare metal spot. If horn then works, especially when headlights and wipers are on, then the ground is the problem.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 1:22 pm

The horn circuit is simple. When you push the horn bar you are merely completing the horn's ground path.

That ground path is a bit convoluted though and there are a few places where it can go wrong.

So trace it out and make sure all is well.

Follow the ground wire back from the horn itself. It should be a brown wire and it will go, along with the other wires for the turn signal switch, up into the steering column. There it terminates at a brass contact ring on the turn signal switch. When you take off the steering wheel, you will see that the back of the steering wheel hub is also a contact ring and the two need to mesh to maintain the ground path.

When you take off the steering wheel center cap you should see a wire there that comes up from the inside of the steering column tube. That wire connects to the horn bar under the center cap. On the early cars there is usually just a screw-down clip that connects the bare wire end to the horn bar.

That wire runs down the center of the steering column, is jumpered by a wire or copper braid around the steering coupler to the steering gearbox, and then the steering gearbox may have a ground wire to the front axle beam.

The horn bar is electrically isolated from the rest of the steering wheel so that the horn's ground path is broken normally. When you push the horn bar all you are doing is mechanically connecting the two ground wires together, completing the ground path from the horn through the steering column down to the steering box and front beam.

Common trouble areas are where the ground has to get around the steering coupler; proper adjustment of the horn bar mounting screws, and correct distance between steering wheel and steering column as specified in the Bentley.

Tue Feb 21, 2017 1:47 pm

Thanks a ton man. That helps put it into perspective. I'll go track it down!

Thu Feb 23, 2017 5:02 am

sjbartnik wrote:
So trace it out and make sure all is well.

Follow the ground wire back from the horn itself. It should be a brown wire and it will go, along with the other wires for the turn signal switch, up into the steering column. There it terminates at a brass contact ring on the turn signal switch.

On my old 62, the ground wire from the horn, did not terminate in the turn signal switch. It terminates at a tab connected to the bottom of the steering column cover (see pic from samba gallery below). Make sure this tab is tight, sometimes the rivet that holds it in place can become loose and cause a poor connection.

Thu Feb 23, 2017 5:15 am

To eliminate the horn button itslef, take the wire off and touch it to the nut holding the steering wheel on, if that doesnt work, then the problem is elsewhere. You DO have the other end of the wire (at the steering coupler) connected to the tab under the one bolt, right?

Thu Feb 23, 2017 8:57 am

fluxcap wrote: [

On my old 62, the ground wire from the horn, did not terminate in the turn signal switch. It terminates at a tab connected to the bottom of the steering column cover (see pic from samba gallery below). Make sure this tab is tight, sometimes the rivet that holds it in place can become loose and cause a poor connection.

Thanks for that; VW had all kinds of variations in exactly how they laid out the ground path over the years so to OP, the same concept will apply but you may see variations in implementation.

Thu Feb 23, 2017 10:13 am

fluxcap wrote:

On my old 62, the ground wire from the horn, did not terminate in the turn signal switch. It terminates at a tab connected to the bottom of the steering column cover (see pic from samba gallery below). Make sure this tab is tight, sometimes the rivet that holds it in place can become loose and cause a poor connection.

That is a good place to solder the terminal to the steering column tube. Even with tight rivets corrosion can get into there.

Thu Feb 23, 2017 12:09 pm

Thank you all! My 1963 dies not terminate in the turn signal switch either. I will test like you said, and yes I have the other end of the wire at the steering coupler connected nice and tight. Thanks again

Thu Feb 23, 2017 1:25 pm

In the photo above pay careful attention to how the ground path is run around the steering coupler.

On the column side of the coupler you have a washer with a spade terminal on it that the horn ground wire plugs into. Note that there is not a ground wire coming out the other side. What they did is run the ground through that bolt and then that bolt is one that connects to the steering box flange on the other side of the coupler. Essentially they are using the body of the steering gearbox as the ground path.

In that case, there should be a ground wire running from the top of the steering gearbox over to a ground point, usually one of the axle beam mounting bolts.

Also note, at the coupler, the washer with the spade terminal needs to be on one of the two bolts that bolts to the flange on the other side. If it's on one of the other two bolts, the ground path is interrupted there and horn won't work.