fellow listers-
my Spit's horn may drive me to assassination, please help!
current problem is intermittent unsolicited horn blowing- very
intermittent, but it seems not to happen after I disconnect the
purple/black stripe wire (the one that grounds the horn relay terminal when
the switch is pushed) at the connecter near the ignition switch
some of the details:
I had previously found this same wire had become disconnected from the
brass contact ring in front of the steering wheel, I resoldered twice (I'm
sure it's bomb-proof now) and thought everything was great when I bought
two replacement horns, connected them, and they both worked great, at least
until I was driving home from the Oakton British Car Show September 7 and
the intermittent unsolicited horn blowing started (I thought I'd exorcised
the black prince, I guess not)
I was driving the car yesterday, the problem recurred, I disconnected the
wire, no recurrence, but my daughter came home from school saying the kids
were talking about crazy Mr. Schneider who was blowing his horn while
driving down Foster St. yesterday- my wife says people are talking about
me, I decided to have at it again tonight
I removed the steering wheel, pulled the whole purple/black wire out and
inspected, it's fine, there are no pinch marks or other defects in
insulation, the horn button itself makes contact only when *completely*
depressed, I doubt it's the problem, the brush is so simple and seems
intact, I doubt it could be the problem
but..., I noticed there is fair play in the steering shaft, I seem to be
able to move it laterally perhaps 1/16" in its bushing, the only thing I
can think of is that it moves far enough for the wheel hub casting to
contact the brass ring (which is a bit loose in its plastic carrier, I
don't think any of the brass ring tabs on the firewall side could come in
contact with the steering shaft housing, but it may move just a bit to
facilitate the above postulated contact with steering wheel hub)-
I put some electrician's tape over my solder job for good measure, but I
really don't think it's the problem either, reassembled with wire
disconnected and went for a drive, no problem
is this amount of lateral play in the shaft typical? has anyone seen this
phenomenon cause the horn difficulty? any other ideas?
by the way, to those who suggested both my horns were bad a few weeks ago,
you were right on
thanks
Joe
Joseph R Schneider Web Page http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~jschneid/JRS.HTML
76 Spitfire 1500 FM45587UC VTR #11526 *Spit happens*
"I'll take him to the Jesuits for they know the sins of the Pope himself."
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt page 129 (my daughter attends a Jesuit High
School)
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