'Search' has been very helpful on this one, but I'm not out of the woods yet...

I believe I am having ground problems with the horn on the '82. It appears that either her father or the original owner had problems too. Once I got into the car, I found the spring-loaded contact below the horn button and horn relay missing. The relay was replaced by a jumper from the orange wire to the green wire at the connector by the fuse box. I also found that the green wire to the horns was disconnected behind the fender up front. I purchased a replacement contact (spring & "nail") and a new horn relay and hooked everything back up. When pressing the horn button, the horn just peeps ever so slightly - no honk.

I've determined that there appears to be continuity within the steering column as I can feel the relay click when the horn button is pressed. With the relay pulled, if I jumper the orange and green wires the horn will honk. I understand the car is over 30 years old but it only has 38k on it. Is it possible that the ground at the rag-joint has disintegrated already? I've tried to experiment with a jumper between the yokes on the column & the gearbox but the surface rust makes it difficult. Are there any other areas on the vehicle where the horn connection grounds to? Or does it only ground through the column and rag-joint?

Thanks for your help!

-Gene

 

Does it look like your rag joint has been replaced? Some of the replacements did not have grounds built in ( or so I understand). A simple way to text the theory is to use jumper cable from the steering shaft to the sterling gear.