Horn Button Electrical Issues
Horn Button Electrical Issues
Hi. Been a member for a couple of years, learned a lot from the posts. I live in Santa Clara, in the SF bay area, so haven't made it to any events or meetings. I have owned a fiberjet 'enos' clone on a 61 pan with 65 40Hp for about 5 years. I've been generally going through it when stuff needed to be done. It seemed to be well put together the first time, but later mods and repairs were not so good. I'm in need of some wisdom on horn circuits, so I thought I'd check here. When I got the buggy, neither the turn signals nor the horn switch were on the steering column. In rebuilding the front end and replacing the steering wheel, I thought I'd try to restore operation of the turn signals and horn to the steering column. I'll explain what I have, including what I think may be missing or wrong, see the pictures as well... 1) It looks like someone extended or shortened the steering staft with a solid rod, so I can't easily run a horn wire up the shaft. 2) I could go with the 61' or so horn wiring, where the hot side of the horn is fused to 12V, the cold side goes to the steering tube, and the steering shaft is insulated from the tube until the horn is button is pressed, which connects the two. When the shaft is grounded over the steering coupler pad, this should work. Problem is that parts are hard to find, according to the helpful folks at wolfsburg west. http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/wired/wired_12_00/wired_12_00.htm I think this buggy started out with that configuration, based on the nylon coupler ring above the spring. Anyway, it looks like I must be missing some insulating parts, because now the shaft is electrically connected to the bearing and the steering tube, or else this has parts from a different year. 3) When I mocked up the setup with the new grant steering wheel, the instructions said that for those setups without a wire up the steering tube (EG the 61 or so), that the wire connects from the horn button retainer contactor ring to the turn signal cancelling ring, which is insulated from the hub and hence the steering shaft. So, it looks to me like when the horn button is pushed, the contactor ring touches the steering wheel and steering shaft, and connects that to the turn signal canceling ring. However, I don't see any connection from the steering tube to the signal cancelling ring, except maybe the moment when the signals are being cancelled. I'm using a 3 wire 62-65 turn switch, because I don't need 6 wires of the 61 version, which I've heard is expensive and unreliable. So, it looks like I have a connection that I shouldn't have between the steering tube and shaft, and I'm missing a connection between turn cancelling ring and turn switch. Any advice on what I'm missing, where to get it, or other approaches would be appreciated. Thanks! -larry-
Missing Pictures
Here's a second shot at getting the pictures in: 
Pictures were sized prior to putting on photobucket, not sure why they came in so large in the editor...Aspect ratio was lost when sizes reduced.... -larry-
Pictures were sized prior to putting on photobucket, not sure why they came in so large in the editor...Aspect ratio was lost when sizes reduced.... -larry-They're on The Samba for about $20 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=207180 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=493793 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?submit=yes&keywords=steering+column&type=text&stype=all&username=&yearfrom=&yearto=&pricefrom=&priceto=&model%5B%5D=§ion%5B%5D=&wanted=show&zip=&zipdist=0&state%5B%5D=&usaregion=&country=&sort=date&sort_order=DESC&submitButton=Search
If the pedal cluster is in the original location on the chassis then the driver should also be sitting in the original location. (The Berry Mini-T actually relocated the pedal cluster further back and needed a longer steering column). If the driver is sitting in the original location, then the stock 37" long steering column should be perfect. Why was your column lengthened? Who Knows? Maybe the previous owner was 7 feet tall but had short arms. Seriously though, how much longer is your steering column than 37"? If its 6" longer, what would happen if the steering wheel was moved forward 6"? Would it interfere with the dash/windshield? Would it be a comfortable driving position? That will tell you whether you can use a stock steering column.
Hi, folks. So, I measured my steering column, it's 35 1/8" long, shorter than the stock 37" shaft by almost two inches. While I'd like to have more knee room behind / below the wheel that the longer stock shaft would provide, I probably couldn't actually turn the wheel (I'm 6' 4" tall.) So, I think I want to stay with the shortened shaft for now. I could replace the solid rod with a tubular one, but I'll have to leave that to a later date, as I want to get it up and running again. I think I'll mount a horn button / switch on the side of the steering column for now, run the wires through the turn indicator grommet. Thanks for the help! -larry-
Larry, If your buggy is comfortable to sit in and reach the controls and also easy enough to enter and exit, then all is good. I'm over 6' 1" and big so its a challenge for me too. You should check out the thread about fitting seats. There might be some good info in there for you. The other thing I strongly recommend is a 13" steering wheel. Its small enough to make entry easier and big enough for good control.
Is your buggy a Berry-T? If so the shaft may have been extended. What you could do is drill a 1/4" hole at each end of the extender. Insert the wire through the holes and you will have a bridge. Then tape the exposed wire to the shaft. The horn button is always a ground system and it will go to a relay that will supply power to the horn. The wire that comes up from the chassis is the ground proper. The steering tube or outer case is the completed circuit when the button is pushed. There should be a little male spade connector at the bottom of it. That is where the wire from the relay gets connected. The one thing that you must do is insulate the case/outer tube from any grounds. The original VW clamp had a rather large rubber ring around it. Most people got rid of them not knowing what it was for. You can make your own. Oh, Make sure you use the steering dampener. Its that round piece of rubber that isolates the shaft from the chassis. There should be a spade connector washer that will go on the steering box end of the set up. It will be the ground. This is where the main wire gets connected to. BTW, We shorten the tubes to the customers preference. Just lob off the appropriate amount and cut a new compression slot and bolt grove. The turn signals are isolated. You should not have a problem with them.