Silly Problem to Have.....

[Guest dansin1923]

Here's the deal:

1923 Dodge Brothers Business Sedan

Yes- the timing needs to be adjusted, but it runs decent enough....

Yes- the water pump starts leaking after a while, but not enough to end a nice day's cruise....

Yes- the gas tank needs to be removed and scrubbed out, but winter is coming and that's a perfect time for that project....

But for the love of all things holy, can someone please tell me how to stop this darn horn from blowing every time we turn a corner??????

I've taken apart the steering wheel and horn switch assembly. The plastic ring that sits around the steering column is craked in three places, two of the cracks being bad enough to be able to pull the ring apart if I wanted too, but the metal contact inside is in good shape. The moveable metal contact that engages the solid ring when the button is depressed seems to react fine to the button when I have it disassembled. I scrubbed and sprayed cleaner and lubrication in there and still- every time we turn a corner, the horn circuit closes and the horn blows.

I can only pass this off as "a safety precautiuon due to lack of turn signals" for so long.

Any suggestions?

[hchris]

Dan; not sure about the Dodge but with the other Mopar stuff (as well as many other makes) the horn wire travels down the centre of the steering column and exits through the bottom of the column at the steering box where you also have the lighting switch mechanism. Because this wire twists with the inner steering column it often chafes and wears through the insulation at the bottom of the column and earths itself out whenever you are turning; possibly even worn or chafed anywhere inside the column as well.

Chris H

[Rusty_OToole]

Chris H is perfectly correct. Practically all cars used this arrangement, not just Dodge.

Look at the bottom of the steering column. You should see a wire coming out. Disconnect this wire and you can pull it straight up out of the steering column, after you take off the horn button.

CAUTION, TAPE ANOTHER PIECE OF WIRE ONTO IT, OR A STOUT CORD,BEFORE YOU PULL IT OUT, SO YOU HAVE SOME WAY TO PULL THE WIRE BACK INTO PLACE.

With the wire out you can inspect, repair or replace as necessary.

[Guest imported_RAH]

Sorry guys, the '23 Dodge Brothers used a quite different system from the later one with the wire going down the center. On the '23 that bakelite unit with the brass collector ring needs to remain secure in place so it will not connect with the spring contact projecting from the steering shaft. The horn has power supplied to one terminal and the other terminal has a wire up under the dash along the outside of the column to that contact block. Pressing the horn button pushes a nail like pin down the center of the shaft which pushes the spring loaded pin out to make contact with that brass coller inside the bakelite block. This provides the ground to the horn. Sooo if that coller and bakelite is allowed to move around it may inadvertantly connect with the pin. Bear in mind the '22 and '23 contact block is different from the '24 and later. Check with one of the parts suppliers in the Dodge Brothers Club.Good Luck!

Rodger "Dodger" Hartley

[hchris]

Good work Roger,nothing beats detailed knowledge!!

Chris H

[Guest dansin1923]

Thanks for the responses, Rodger, Chris and Rusty.

The issue is in fact being caused by the bakelite (?) ring. I jiggled it around a bit (highly technical experiment) and could get the circuit to ground, making the horn blow. As a hunch, after I took the ring off, I reinstalled it upside down (compared to how it was when we got it, anyhow). Now, I cannot make the horn circuit ground out by moving the ring, and as best I could tell from turning the wheel back and forth in the garage, it is not closing the circuit / 'blowing' then either. I think this may be a solution to my problem, at least for now. I'll still look around for another ring, since this one has cracks in it, but if I can take her down the road without blowing the horn around corners, I'll be happy.

[dwollam]

Can you jb weld the cracks and sand it down, repairing it?