Intermittent horn when cornering ‘63 Riviera with tilt wheel

[rodneybeauchamp]

Rather embarrassing is the horns on my ‘63 Riviera want to blow whenever I turn a corner. With or without turn signals operating they want to blow. Standard tilt wheel, four note horn option. Just started happening today on a Coffee n Cars run.

 

Before I dive into this, what should I be looking for?

 

Anything I need to be aware of? 
 

Is removing the horn bar enough or do I need to pull the wheel?

 

Up til now, horns have been working as per normal.

 

Many thanks

Rodney 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[1965rivgs]

  Unplug the horn wire connection at the bottom of the steering column. If the problem goes away it is likely the wire in the column is finding ground in the steering column. If the problem persists, at least you have eliminated that portion of the system.

Tom Mooney

[RivNut]

You can remove all of the horn parts, except for the wire in the column by removing only the horn bar

[rodneybeauchamp]

Ah, the old broken wire trick. Removed the horn bar and grounding the brass spring loaded contact gave zero horn.

Pulled the wheel and found the contact wire broken away from the contact plate. Let’s see what my soldering skills are like. Probably out of warranty too! Damn!

 

Soldering skills were good and added an extra layer of shrink wrap for good measure. A bit of dielectric grease on the round contact plate.
 

Gee putting the green wire back thru the column was tricky so ended up threading a wire and string thru first. Otherwise it can be rubbed by the steering shaft ….. not good over time!

 

Putting it back together got the horn working but required a full press on one side, not working on the other …. 50% pass rate 🤔

 

Left it over night and pulled the horn bar this morning, removed the dielectric grease from the contact and the contact grounding plate. Tried to work out how to compensate for the wear on the contact brush and decided to add a thickish paper gasket about 0.045” thick between the insulated nylon bushing and the horn bar, effectively bringing the bar and grounding plate closer.
 

(See photos. First trial gasket was with thinner paper but decided to use the heavier gasket paper instead. Hole punch, scalpel and scissors make easy work. Pencil points to new gasket location. Is an easy modification to make as only the horn bar is removed.)

 

It worked and with amazing difference. With only slight pressure from my thumb on each bar the horn is sharp just as it would have been in 1963! Even I am impressed. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

 

Short test drive confirmed it was fixed

Rodney 😊😊😊😊😊😊

 

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by rodneybeauchamp
Corrections (see edit history)

[rodneybeauchamp]

And lucky me got to put it to good use yesterday. Pulling into the Service Station a woman was blocking the entrance while she was texting. First a gentle beep, then another without a response (message was more important) followed by a long blast of the four note horns. Did that get her moving or what seeing it was only her and one other car in the station. 
Rodney 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[Riviera63]

1 hour ago, rodneybeauchamp said:

And lucky me got to put it to good use yesterday. Pulling into the Service Station a woman was blocking the entrance while she was texting. First a gentle beep, then another without a response (message was more important) followed by a long blast of the four note horns. Did that get her moving or what seeing it was only her and one other car in the station. 
Rodney 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

Good job Rodney! I love the 4-note horns. When I am out for a drive with the Riviera I am always ready to bring the 4-note horns into play to alert drivers to their idiotic driving behavior. If the driving public where you are is like it is here, one has plenty of chances to use those horns.

 

Bill