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

What is involved to replace the horn wire from the steering wheel to outside the bottom of the steering mast on a 1939 Chevy truck? Mine is bare at the bottom of the steering mast and shorting out.

Rick

I had that problem with my '50. I slid a short section of heat shrink tubing over the end of the horn wire up through the hole in the mast. I then applied some heat to the portion of the tubing which was outside of the mast to hold it in place. It worked like a champ.
I am guessing that the only part of the wire which was missing insulation was close to the hole in the mast.
It was worth a shot to try the heat shrink tubing fix. If that had not worked, I would have had to order a pricey new mast bearing which comes with a new wire, and pull the steering wheel and the old bearing. I do not know if the '39 has the same design for the mast bearing/horn wire.
Carl

You are correct Carl. The wire is bare where it comes out of the mast. I'll give your heat shrink tube fix a whirl the next couple of days.

Rick

whenever you need to replace an old wire that is concealed or routed through an inaccessible space, a useful technique is to connect the new piece to the old (by twisting, tying, soldering, etc) and use the old wire to pull the new one through...

Rick,
Does the bare wire against the hole in the mast make the horn honk? It should, I think. You definitely need to fix the bare wire, but if your horn isn't currently working, you may have another issue besides the bare wire.
Carl

The wire is bare at the hole in the mast, completing the circuit and causing the horn to blow. Does it both the city and country horns. Another thought I had was to drill a hole a couple of inches above the existing hole. Capture the electrical line below, pull it through the new hole, repair it, and draw it back through the original hole. Going to try the shrink tube method first. Hopefully tomorrow. Went fishing with a friend today instead of working on the horn.

Rick

Update on the horn wire. Looks like it is shortening out not too far under the steering wheel. No short cut for that.

Rick

Any advise on removing the steering wheel from my 39? Nut came off easily. Squirted some PB Blast and I'll let that set until tomorrow. Got up to 98 degrees today with horrendous humidity. Needless to say didn't do anything outside today except livestock chores.

Rick

You'll need a steering wheel puller. There are two 5/16"-18 threaded holes in the steering wheel to attach the puller and then you tighten the drive bolt against the shaft to pull the wheel. I had to make one for my '46 because the standard puller wouldn't work due to the narrow spacing of the holes on the steering wheel. If yours is anything like mine, you'll need the mast off the steering column to get the bearing out.

Leave the nut on to protect you body parts when the wheel comes off. I grasp the wheel tightly, straighten legs to be able to pull hard on the wheel while rocking it back and forth or side to side. A rubber hammer used on the bottom of the wheel also works. Use or make a puller if above does not work.

Ed

Yes for a steering wheel puller. If you lived closer to me, I'd let you borrow mine. Once you've pulled the wheel a couple times, you should be able to do it in the future without a puller. Yes, loosen the nut but leave it on to protect yourself from being impaled by the wheel.

Update. Removed the horn button, loosened the nut, smacked the steering rod/nut with a small hammer. I must be living right, the steering wheel popped right up. Loosened the steering mast from the dash and steering gear box. Pulled the mast upward about a foot past the steering rod. I could see the horn wire attached to the top mast bushing. Caught hold of the horn wire and fished it up through the top of the mast. Ran new electrical wire through the mast and spliced it into the existing horn wire after removing the bad section. Used heat shrink tubing on the splices after soldering them. Then pulled the new horn wire from the bottom of the mast to get the horn wire back into the original position. Reinstalled everything. Works like a charm. Thanks for your info folks.

Rick

You gotta love it when something finally goes right!!

I'm with EdPruss. I leave the nut on about 3, and a half turns. Then grab the steering wheel by the spokes, about half way to the hub. So as not to crack the epoxy (steering) wheel.
Give it some sharp jerks, and a little wiggling back, and forth. The procedure is familiar, as I just replaced the the blinker switch on my '64 about a week ago.

Chris