help w/ horn honking when turning steering wheel

[eeb001]

i have a 1970 ghia where the horn honks intermittantly when turning the steering wheel. i have replace the ground wire but to no avail. i have taken apart the steering wheel assembly, moved the the turning signal assembly to side and placed the steering back to test the horn and it still honks when turning the wheel.

does any have any specific ideas how to fix problem? i am a newbie at fixing my vw for myself--please keep this in mind in your explanation.

thanks in adance, edwin

[Gary]

Are you sure the ground wire from that runs down the steering column isn't broken somewhere? I bet there's chaffed insulation somewhere. Also, Check your horn wires for a loose wire. Could be the momentum of turning moves the loose wire, which contacts the ground and honks the horn.
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[VWKING]

Long dangly metallic key chains can dangle into places and cause the horn to honk. I don't remember the techinical details (key chain causes ground to ground wire???) Have had this happen to my own vehicles and my father who has been a vw mechanic since mid 60's said he has seen it many times.

[eeb001]

icy,

i replaced that ground wire w/ a brand new one and looking at the old one there was no wire exposure. therefore, i believe this eliminates that ground wire as the culprit. as far as wire connections, they all appear solid.


vwking,

i will test your theory out by using the ignition key separated from my ring of keys.

thanks to all who have responded so far. please continue to post possible solutions.

[GhiaNut]

My 67 does the same thing. So did a 72 campmobile I had. I've always been afraid to fix it out of sheer fear that something worse would break. It certainly spins up the truck drivers at the intersections, though. Good luck.

[Cobey]

You might try loosening up the three screws that hold the horn asembly down in the steering wheel. I inadvertently tightened mine up too much when replacing the turn signal switch and got constant horn blasting. I backed them out little by little until it stopped when when i turned the wheel.
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[eeb001]

cobey,

i've eliminated that possibility early on since the horn honks when turning the steering wheel w/ the ground wire left floating (ie it's not connected to anything, end of wire covered w/ tape, this was done for trouble shooting purpose). something, somewhere is completing the circuit to activate the horm when turning the steering wheel. thanks for help any how.

please, more inputs. thanks in advance.

edwin

[DaveM]

not sure the makings of a 70 ghia but my 75 scirocco had that problem and it was the brass wiper ring under the steering wheel that wore out and caused the short.
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[timp]

yeah! mine has the same problem... do you have an aftermarket steering wheel on it, cuz when i put my new one on, it left a gap between the wheel and the column, and once in a while, a key gets stuck in there and off goes the horn.

my fox had the same problem too.
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Some people are like slinkies; absolutely good for nothing, but it still brings a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs...

[GhiaManiac]

Another place to check is the rubber ring where the column pokes through the firewall. Mine was honking constantly until
I refitted the rubber. My horn still honks like yours, tho, but I suspect at one time the shaft itself might have
bent and is making intermittent contact with the outer sheath as the wheel is turned.

[rick71ghia]

I was having an intermittent problem where the horn would honk when turning the steering wheel. Searched the forum here looking for a solution - didn't find one but ran across this thread. Since I found my problem, I thought I would update this very old thread with what I found to maybe help the next person that is searching for "horn honking when turning the steering wheel".

If you go to the VW - Resource (Rob and Dave) and the section on steering wheel re-installation - item 5

http://www.vw-resource.com/ignition_switch_replacement.html#wheel

they indicate the gap between the switch housing and the steering wheel hub needs to be 2-3 mm. My gap was slightly less than 2 mm. I adjusted it to 2 mm and my problem went away. May not solve everybody's problem, but it's one more thing that can cause an intermittent horn problem.

[dale bates]

Very happy I found this old thread. I bought my 68 Ghia a couple of years ago and decided to give the horns a go this past weekend. After cleaning all the horn bits, I was thrilled to have horns while parked in the garage. When I backed down the driveway and turned into the street, I had "auto-horns".

My fix, thanks to this thread was to replace the ground wire through the steering column. When I jacked up the car, removed the front left wheel I could wiggle (technical term) the brown ground wire and honk the horns.

Wire replaced, problem solved. Thanks SAMBA!

[swhitcomb]

A few years ago I had the same issue with my 71. Car has been my Dad's since 1980. When I got it in 2009 the horn hadn't worked in over 20 years. I got it working fairly quickly. Pulled out of the garage, turned the wheel and HONK. Tore the entire column out before I figured out the issue. It was bent at the collapsing part and grounding every time I turned the wheel. Found a good used column, powder coated the ignition housing and column, replaced the bearing and rag joint and put it back together. It steers like a totally different car. Literally night and day. Can't believe the difference that bearing made.

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My 71 Ghia Been in my family since 1980
My Patina 66
My 74 Ghia
07 Boxster