The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Horn hookup

Hi,

1950 Chevrolet Suburban converted to 12V

I am trying to get educated on how the Horn button works as I cannot see anything obvious on the steering wheel or column nor can I find any step by step instructions on the old internet. My wiring was all cut out so I do not know where the wire comes off of the horn button...Basically clueless. Any help, pictures, links, anything would be greatly appreciated.

I have a 6v reducer and 6v horn BTW. I just want to get them all to work together.

-Cody

Well, hopefully somebody will have a better explanation with drawings or images but I'll give it a go. You have a horn button retainer which is a spring retainer that the horn button snaps on to. It as I recall is held in place by the steering shaft nut. This retainer will be a two-piece affair and if working correctly the spring ring will be insulated from the center section (which is what the shaft nut holds in place). It rocks on 3 points to make contact. Then there is a horn contact bushing with spring inside. This allows electrical contact no matter where the steering wheel is located in the circle of turn and it fits through the hub of the steering wheel. The horn button retainer I mentioned first sits on top of that contact spring & bushing and this makes contact with the outer ring of your upper bearing of your steering shaft which is connected to a wire running down inside your steering mast (column) and coming out about halfway down. That spring / bushing will have a plastic piece which insulates it. So, if you were looking at an exploded diagram (and believe me if I had one I'd send it), you will see your steering shaft/mast assembly in which there is a copper or brass ring for contact with the bushing/contact spring, the bushing/contact spring, the steering wheel, the horn button retainer and the horn button.

Once you get all this (and it is really easy once you see the pieces), the wire goes off to the horn relay. This wire is what pulls the relay in to switch the voltage & current you need to honk your horn.

After you get past the horn button stuff, you should be good to go.

Good luck!
Jon

Thanks Jon!

What is a "horn relay"? I'm starting from scratch with zero existing wire.

Well, I did find some old horn pieces so I can show you a bit of the stuff:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/IMG_8648.jpg

You will see the contact part, the horn button retainer and the horn button here.
The horn relay looks generally like this: https://www.classicparts.com/1947-54-Horn-Relay/productinfo/53-311/
(not a plug for Classic Parts. Just a quick picture I found).

Since your horn is going to take a decent amount of current to honk, you need a relay so your horn button won't be switching all that current. The relay is an electromagnetic switch that takes an impulse from your horn button, pulls a switch to the "on" position and sends the heavy current to your horn. You'll normally have 3 terminals. As I recall an input terminal, an output terminal and a terminal for the horn button. The input terminal takes in a larger current via a heavier wire and the output terminal sends via a heavier wire that current to your horn. The horn button uses a small amount of current to activate the electromagnet which pulls the circuit closed (inside the relay).
Jon

WOW! that is exactly the info I was looking for.

I assume the wire hooks to the Contact part?

http://www.bobsclassicchevy.com/195...umn-bearing-impala-passenger-250186.html

The wire going up through your mast/column (which will be connected with your bearing) will look like the above.
That wire goes to the relay and provides the horn switch function.
Jon

Mmmmmm......weird looking contraption.

The horn button grounds the relay (which has positive power from the battery connection anyway). Your relay may be marked something like B (for battery) H (for horn) and S (for switch). The image I sent you earlier has the upper bearing, the wire and the connector ring. Yours is probably still there. Don't know about the wire, however.
Jon

Nice! Thanks!