Horn does not work. Please help.
 

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One year old problem, starting when I changed wheels from an aftermarket item to the stock four spoke. After the switch the horn stopped honking. Surprisingly I passed the last MOT with a "Darn, the freaking wire has come loose again, I´ll fix it - I promise!"

Well, next week is time again and I will not pass once more without horn.

From what I can see, everything looks normal. The wire is in place, nothing looks worn and the relay looks brand new. What can have happened when I changed wheels?

Thanks!

relay LOOKS brand new doesn' t mean it's good. Why not try to swap another relay to see if it's ok. Also, check the connection at the steering wheel button to make sure you didn't messed it up when you swaped the wheel.
Good luck.

sh!! can the oem horn............its a joke! buy hella twin trumpet. wake up the dead...............and most people you need to wake up are dead speaking on their cell phones.

louder than hell, and will fer sure piss them off and correct their piss poor evil stupid driving behavior!

works even when they have their stereo cranked and windows up. has saved my bacon many times.

Markus,

Your horn circuit should consist of a horn relay where the contacts go between the battery and the horns and the other side of hte horns are grounded to the chassis. The relay coil is conencted to the battery and the other side is grounded when you press the button on your wheel.

We need to figure out which part is not working.

If you pull the horn relay, you can jumper the contact side of the relay and if all is ok, make the horn work. That will verify that the circuit between the battery and the horns themselves is ok. If the hron works, try swapping a relay to see if you have a bad relay.

If it is not the horn circuit ide of your relay, then it needs to be the coil side. Pull your steering wheel and find the ground wire that connects to your horn ring. If you ground that wire and your horn works, then it is something between the horn ring in your steering column and the button on your wheel. There should be a little "finger" that contacts rubs against the ring whne you push the button. It is a small cylindical object and has a spring loaded pin in it. Is that present? Is it damaged? That may be your problem.

Harry, thanks for that comprehensive wright up! Now a tech cretin like me have a fair chance to solve the mystery. Just as soon as all my little vampires (kids) are asleep.

Thought it peculiar that the horn went out after changing wheels. Statistically, that makes is highly likely that the culprit is in the vicinity of my fiddling with the actual wheel.

rnin and Charles - good points. Thanks!

try waking up a semi when he starts drifting into your lane at 85mph w/oem weanie horn............aint gonna happen.

ask me how i know! semi was gonna make mince meat outta me!

dumb ass redneck!

heya markus, we have the same problem with our car, except we didn't change the steering wheel!

we take the wheel off, we ground the switch and it works,
we put the wheel on, and it doens't work anymore...it's messing with our brains to be honest.

i'll keep an eye out for your solution (with pics of course :D)

good luck!
jan

an interesting link for you (and for us):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-356-911-912-914-VDM-Steering-wheel-restore-kit_W0QQitemZ320094049725QQcategoryZ34200QQssPageN ameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Depending on what you need, the kit may help.

The rubber thingy is a 914 part and per Pelican:

901-347-823-01-M100 Horn Button Center Support, 914 1.7/1.8/2.0 (1970-76), 914-6 (1970-72), Each, Brand: Genuine Porsche, $12.00

The tubular thing is the contact pin, and is, unfortunately NLA, The part number is 914-347-831-00-OEM Horn Contact Pin, 914 1.7/1.8/2.0 (1972-1976). Try a used parts place to see if oyu can find one.

Before you order any of these parts, take apart your Steering wheel and see what you need. Chances are you have th spring, the rubber thing may be dead and you contact pin may be damaged.

Markus the wire coming up through the column to the horn contact plate is actually the ground wire for the horn. You can disconnect it from the contact plate and touch it to any metal in the column and the horn should sound. But my money is on the relay being bad.

Thanks a lot, guys!

If I can´t solve it with this information, I am not fit to drive a vintage Porsche. ;)

Stoddard carries the horn contact 914 347 831 00. I've bought several from them. They are still listing them as in stock. They are also still available through the dealer here, but I like the Stoddard price much better!