one honking Stang

Wolf · Aug 3, 2003

I was just driving into my garage today and suddenly I heard a loud honk. Surprisingly it was my Stang, although I was merely turning the wheel. strange, I thought - maybe I did it but just didn't notice. But then it occurred again, as I switched the auto trans into reverse - and again, while shifting back into drive. Then the damn thing kept honking incessantly. driving me mad. Keeping my calm, I removed the fuse for horn and cigarette lighter which of course was an effective remedy..
But someday I need to put that fuse back there (for the tech inspection if for nothing else) and before that, I need to find the culprit. The switch in the steering wheel? Short circuit somewhere? anyone with a similar experience?

SLiM JiM 156 · Aug 3, 2003

i am pretty sure that its the spring inside the steering wheel, let me guess 87-89??

Wolf · Aug 3, 2003

SLiM JiM 156 said:
i am pretty sure that its the spring inside the steering wheel, let me guess 87-89??

it's an 88.
so I gather it's not the only case thus far...
how do I take it apart? have to check my Haynes.

SLiM JiM 156 · Aug 3, 2003

yeah, in the middle of the wheel where the horn is and it says ford just pull on it and it will pop off, you will see the spring and the power for the horn, if you want you can just pull off the wire and put the fuse back so you can use the cigarette lighter if you need to charge a phone or you smoke.

jadedinpa · Aug 3, 2003

yeah in my old 87 escort the horn button went bad. it had some foam cushioning in it to keep the pads separated. i used some paper towels to keep them separated, and it worked great! horn functioned just like normal

Wolf · Aug 4, 2003

jadedinpa said:
yeah in my old 87 escort the horn button went bad. it had some foam cushioning in it to keep the pads separated. i used some paper towels to keep them separated, and it worked great! horn functioned just like normal

great, it's been a while since I got to do some creative engineering

TenorPlayinGuy · Aug 5, 2003

jadedinpa said:
yeah in my old 87 escort the horn button went bad. it had some foam cushioning in it to keep the pads separated. i used some paper towels to keep them separated, and it worked great! horn functioned just like normal

yeah i used cotton balls and it works great

RacinChris · Mar 24, 2004

jadedinpa said:
yeah in my old 87 escort the horn button went bad. it had some foam cushioning in it to keep the pads separated. i used some paper towels to keep them separated, and it worked great! horn functioned just like normal

What "pads" are you talking about? Is there a picture you could show me?

Chris

The Shape · Mar 24, 2004

Mine did the same exact thing. The horn would just start honking while turning the wheel. I am pretty sure it is the foam between the pads. I just haven't got around to fixing it yet.

RacinChris · Mar 24, 2004

The Shape said:
Mine did the same exact thing. The horn would just start honking while turning the wheel. I am pretty sure it is the foam between the pads. I just haven't got around to fixing it yet.

What are the pads? Where are they? I thought it was the two metal tabs that I had to put some foam between, but that didn't fix the problem.

BlackGT89 · Mar 24, 2004

Yep, been there and done that. When you take the cap off the center that has the FORD emblem in it, you will see the pads or whatever you want to call them. If I remember correctly, it's basically two pieces of metal with a foam pad sandwiched in between that deteriorates and goes flat, letting the two pieces of metal touch. Then you have honking contact. I think I just found some foam about the right thickness and placed it between the metal plates. I'm sure a replacement can be found if you don't want to rig it.

RacinChris · Mar 24, 2004

BlackGT89 said:
Yep, been there and done that. When you take the cap off the center that has the FORD emblem in it, you will see the pads or whatever you want to call them. If I remember correctly, it's basically two pieces of metal with a foam pad sandwiched in between that deteriorates and goes flat, letting the two pieces of metal touch. Then you have honking contact. I think I just found some foam about the right thickness and placed it between the metal plates. I'm sure a replacement can be found if you don't want to rig it.

Thing is, the two pieces of metal don't come close to touching on mine. I still put a piece of paper towel between them, but even when they weren't touching and I tried connecting the horn, the horn just blows. jrichker says that either the relay contacts are stuck together, or the wiring in the steering wheel shorted to ground.

The Shape · Mar 24, 2004

This thread got me motivated. I have had the fuse out for my horn and lighter since last summer because of the same problem. I just ripped it apart and shoved some cotton balls in there, and presto horn works right again. Of course I do fully expect to wake up at 2 in the morning to the sound of it stuck on

RacinChris · Mar 25, 2004

Where did you shove cotton balls? Maybe I'll take a picture and post it so someone can identify where.

RacinChris · Mar 25, 2004

All right, I've attached two pictures of my steering wheel with the horn button off. Where exactly does the foam or cotton balls go? What about the wheel spring that's supposed to be visible when you take the horn button off?

Qwik5.0 · Mar 25, 2004

Heh...my horn woke me up one morning at 4:30. Thought it was some ***hole out in the street. Went outside and it was my stang. I'm sure the neighbors loved that. Been driving without a horn ever since. Gonna have to try one of those fixes. Glad someone else brought this up!!!

Sevan · Mar 25, 2004

I had the same problem also. I drove around with no horn and it became a pain in the a$$. All I did was go to the local junkyard look for a stang a get the horn pad. I picked on up for $10. Mine was so old and used god knows how many times the connects get loose and went off when ever it felt like it. Now with the new horn pad I have no problems and the horn works fine.

Good luck

dvs bullet · Mar 25, 2004

TenorPlayinGuy said:
yeah i used cotton balls and it works great

lol!!!!!!! F@ckin BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!

Wolf · Mar 25, 2004

btw I fixed mine with small pieces of this cushioning material they use in cheap mattresses. can't explain it anymore as it was some 9 mths ago but as you take the center of the steering wheel apart you will figure it out. 20 minutes max.

SCORPION · Mar 25, 2004

I have a 90 LX and my attempt to put a grant steering wheel on proved very ineffective....no airbag installation for those wheels......but in the process I managed to pull the horn connecting wheel away from the contacts and I am not sure if I can just push it back in place or if there is another connection that needs to happen to get the horn to work again.

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