Horn goes crazy!! Leads to compliment from observer.

[hiram6]

Not really looking for advice, but just relating a funny story.

Yesterday I'm running a few errands in my Westy, and am turning left across a lane of oncoming traffic. I have a lead green though, so all is good until some knucklehead in a Town & Country executes a right turn on red right in front of me. So, to review: I have a lead arrow, and he cuts right in front of me. How do people not see a giant tan Vanagon coming through an intersection?? Amazing.

So I brake and avoid him, but I, being an Atlanta driver, lay on the horn.

While turning.

Apparently shredding my horn contact ring inside the steering wheel housing.

I know it's shredded because a sliver of it is now sticking out from between the plastic column trim and the steering wheel.

Oh, and by the way, my horn is blaring. Won't stop.

See. the newly shredded horn contact ring is grounding on something inside the steering column, and it's just having a good time. So, I whip into a parking lot that's handy, walk around to the front and feel under the passenger side of the bumper to find the horn, feel the wires, and unplug one. All without looking under the van.

A guy standing outside one of the stores in the strip mall says "Wow, you must really know your vehicle, you didn't even look for what you unplugged."

I just smiled in a "the Force is strong with me" kind of way, got back in and motored away.

Time to order a new horn contact ring. I continue my quest to eventually replace every single part of this van.
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1985 Westy, 1.9L automatic (Daisy)
1996 Mazda Miata
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited

You can't lie around on the beach and drink rum all day.................unless you start first thing in the morning.

[Van-go108]

When I saw the topic I instantly knew what "complement "ment. but you accually got one. I thought you got the sign language compliment like I used to get. I put both hands in the air. "Look, it's not me!" Horns are are bad thing and a good thing like when you see a friend. But, never to be insulting because the cute little "meep" is not much of a tool in a road rage senario.
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"Okay, so there's 6 beers and 5 of us. You know what this means don't you? 4 of you are going to have to leave."


1973 Thing
1957 Continental Mark II Click to view image

[nathan@el]

A similar thing happened to me last week--without the compliments though. I now also have a shredded horn contact ring. Is it possible to order a new one though? I just assumed it was a NLA part and was going to rely on the junkyard. If I can just order a new one that would be easier.
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1980 Vanagon L Westy (176,200)
1992 Subaru Legacy L (175,500)

[Perales]

[hasavan]

hiram6,

A similar thing happened to me in that my horn decided to get stuck in the "on" position last summer at my daughter's place of work.

We had just picked her up after her work shift in a busy downtown Halifax parking lot with thousands of people milling about. I tried to make a innocuous right hand turn and it started. Problem is, the horn is not in the best of shape (rusted) and, it does not sound good, sort of like what you may expect it would sound like if you ran a Goat over. We all looked at each other while I dutifully punched at the horn bar and laughter overtook any possible words of wisdom that may have come out of Dad's mouth.

In a minute, after everyone within a mile came to have a look at what was making that painful blatting sound, it stopped on it's own. The fist intelligible thing out of my mouth was, "well, at least we were not behind a motorcycle gang or funeral procession when it happened."

I have a new horn on it’s way to me from GoWesty. That way, when it happens again, at least the horn will sound off properly. Maybe I should have a new horn contact ring too.
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1984 Westy Vanagon Camper
2006 Jetta TDI

"You can lead a horse to water, but it takes a strong man to drown him." Dutch Mason, Prime Minister of the Blues.

[Dogpilot]

You just have to love the VW Horn:

_________________
Geology with a Syncro rocks!
86 Syncro Westy AKA "The Bughunter"
98 Disco I
08 Range Rover SC
08 VW Rabbit S
1951 O-1G

[coolwind57]

Love the cartoon, man!

Ten minutes ago, I installed an "Oooga" horn to replace my broken OEM. I kid you not. Many will hate to hear this, but I don't care. I freakin' loving it!

[foodeater]

I almost bought one of those the other day. My dad had one of those on his 84 vanagon when I was growing up. (I later put in my Studebaker, it stopped working pretty quickly though). I loved it as kid. It seems nicely incongruous with a Vanagon.
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89 Bluestar-2.5 Subaru Powered-RIP
'84 Westy Tiico-daily driver-sold
'82 Caddy diesel-sold
'87 Vanagon Syncro-RIP
'81 diesel rabbit-sold
'82 Vanagon auto-RIP

[msinabottle]

I rather like Winston's little horn. It says, 'Excuse me!' or 'Oh, my!' or 'Hi, There!'

I can't outrun 'em, I can't run 'em down, and I can't shoulder 'em off the road. Accordingly, I am excruciatingly polite and very, very humble. My home is the slow lane, and, brother, do I know it.

Best!
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'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence."

[psych-illogical]

Wow! Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comics. I used to love reading those (I know this dates me as one of the many aging hippys in the world).

On the original post. I had a small tear in my horn ring and the horn would beep everytime I turned left (bleat, bleat). I didn't replace because it was such a small tear. I just snipped off the offending piece and smoothed down the edge. Still works fine.
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83 1/2 Westy waterboxer
'57 Beetle-sold
Coupla '81 BMW motorcycles (R80G/S; R100RS)
'96 BMW R1100GS

[McVanagon]

http://www.hornblasters.com/

Overkill, perhaps. Just don't tell me there hasn't been at least ONE time you wish you could use these....
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'69 Mike
'85 GL
'87 Wolfsburg Hardtop

[Dark Alley Dan]

Vanagonauts:

The locomotive horn does seem overkill, but yes, more than once, I've wanted exactly such a thing. My Local Bike Shop inherited one from the previous tenents, and it is loud enough to get folks attention. In Poland.

And thanks very much to Dogpilot for the brief visit with Phineas. God, I miss those boys.
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Dark Alley Dan
______________________
I blame rap music. For everything.

[tam_shops]

More than just a funny story. A warning to me not to turn the steering wheel and honk at the same time!

And, just in case I forget that, advice on how to shut the horn up! I'd have started pulling fuses in hopes to shut it up! LOL

tam

[tarandusVDub]

Oh bummer, no FFF Bros. cartoon anymore!
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1990 Syncro 16" DoppleKabine 2.1 DJ 112i
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Sold: 1972 Bay Campmobile; 1984 Westy, base model, 2WD.

[gears]

Visiting the FFF Bros was one of the first things I did when moving to Auburn, CA. Yes, they live in the Sierra foothills now, along with FatFreddie'sCat ;>)
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aka Pablo, Geary
9.36 @ 146 in '86 Hot & Sticky
'90 Syncro Westy SVX
'87 Syncro GL 2.5
https://guardtransaxle.com

[danfromsyr]

Tam, it really has no bearing on where the wheel is in relation to you pushing the button.
there is a brass finger that rides constantly on a brass ring under the wheel.

and actually it's where the wheel is at 11 to 1 o clock that it has the most wear and cuts thru the brass. but once the ring gets cut thru it then spirals out and makes contact with the other metal bits very close by. and goes off blaring.
you can unplug it in the car down at the base of the wheel (maybe under the plastic knee cover? or out at the horn under the bumper of course too.

[blaze80]

LMAO about replacing every single part on the van....I thought I was the only one who was on that quest!!
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/// '89 Syncro Sport Joker, Reimo Hightop, mTDI
/// '90 Carat (SOLD)
/// '06 Audi A4 Avant S-line (SOLD)
/// '92 mk2 Jetta GL 8v (SOLD)
/// '89 'Bluestar' (SOLD)
/// '04 Audi S4 (SOLD)
/// '99 Jetta GLX VR6 (SOLD)
/// '84 Vanagon GL (SOLD)