'68 Ghia Won't Turn Over/Horn Won't Stop

[HereComeTheIrish]

hey y'all: newbie here with what i think is an electrical issue. two weeks ago the horn on my '68 started engaging non-stop - especially when going over bumps or when turning my steering wheel to the right. last week i hopped in on my way to work, turned the key - nothing. battery fully charged, lights come on, radio played, but no turning over and no clicks. cranked the wheel hard to the right and tried again and it turned right over.

this has no happened 3-4 times and im hoping to get it taken care of this week. my guess is that the ghia not starting has to do with the solenoid...the reason i mention the horn in all of this is that on wiring diagrams it looks to me that there might be some relation in their wiring terminals. i dunno.

im not great at this stuff, but im eager to learn! can yall give me any thoughts on either diagnosis or next step?

thanks!

[NOVA Airhead]

Take a look at these for the horn problem:

http://www.thebugshop.org/bsfqhorn.htm

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/wired/wired_12_00/wired_12_00.htm

As for the starting problem I doubt its related to the horn but there could be something going on in your ignition wiring. Here is some reading on the subject:

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/wired/wired_03_01/wired_03_01.htm

http://www.oldvolkshome.com/hardstart.pdf

In the Wolfsburg West article there are instructions for testing your solenoid to determine if it is bad.

For further information you may also want to search this forum as well as the Beetle forum since the mechanicals are essentially the same.
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Ghia Owner Emeritus

[HereComeTheIrish]

thanks so much! i really appreciate you taking the time!

[kiwighia68]

On the information you've provided, the horn issue appears to be related to the horn ground wire (brown) that you'll find inside the steering column. It emerges at the foot (bottom end) of the steering column and is grounded on a terminal there. I suspect that the wire has been damaged somewhere in that vicinity so that, when you turn the steering whell, an exposed part of the wire makes contact with the metal of the steering shaft (or something outside the shaft, and thus completes the circuit for the horns to sound.

If the second problem you mention is related to the horns (and right turning) issue, the problem is probably at the top of the steering column. There is a bunch of wires coming out the back of the ignition swith. Those wires are in close proximity to the steering shaft and it may be that there is some damage to the wiring there.

It's relatively easy to work on the upper part of the steering column, but to get to the bottom part, you'll have to put the car on a hoist or jackstands.

How do I know? Similar problems solved as I explain above..

Best of luck.
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Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015