1955 CDV horn

[walt chomosh #23510]

Gentleman,
  My 55CDV's(daily driver)horn started honking yesterday for no apparent reason. Probing into the circuit,I find everyting good to the"horn contact"terminal mounted on the steering column next to the neutral start switch. Apparently,(the manual hasn't been any help!)the"horn contact"has a spring or some related conductor on the inside of the"horn contact"terminal which rubs the steering shaft as it goes around. Does anyone know if in fact this is a spring? When I pulled the"horn contact" out there is nothing seen to make this connection.(it must have fallen into the housing) What exactually rubs the shaft in order to ground the horn relay and complete the circuit?....walt...tulsa,ok

[walt chomosh #23510]

UPDATE......apparently,I don't understand exactly how this horn works! The"horn contact"stud which is located near the neutral start safety switch on the steering column,may NOT have any springs or an contact what-so-ever with the steering shaft. The stud is the circuit which when grounded activates the horn relay.(grounding this tan wire at the column stud honks the horn).Problem is,the steering shaft is grounded along with the shaft housing!...will someone please explain how this works?....and how is the horn wire down the steering column fastened to the shaft or housing on the lower end?......walt...tulsa,ok 

[walt chomosh #23510]

UPDATE#2....the "horn contact" stud that fastens to the column housing near the neutral saftety switch is insulated from the metal housing...so....there MUST be some type of electrical connection between the stud and the shaft...spring?...walt...tulsa,ok

[John Washburn CLC 1067 Sadly deceased.]

Walt,

Not sure where the problem is, but this is how it works.

The end of the steering column, where the steering wheel connects, has a wire with a metal tip, it is insulated via a special washer. The steering wheel when depressed connects this to ground.

Now the wire from the top is soldered to a brass ring, on top of this fits a spring loaded connector to the outside of the column. This allows the ring to move and the horn to function when it turns.

This connection then goes to the horn relay which actuates the horns. Generally this is what goes bad. Relay has three terminals, one from the stearing column, one from battery, and one to the horns. Ground on the relay makes the horn blow. Wear shorts the relay makes the horn blow.

Let us know the problem.

John W.

[walt chomosh #23510]

John,
  When I posted the horn problem,I was hoping to prevent pulling my column. But,when it became apparent that this was not going to be a quick fix,I pulled it last night and broke it down. The brass sleeve that is on the steering shaft was totally scrap. I took a piece of standard copper tubing(1 inch)and pressed it onto the rubber insulator. Apparently,GM used a carbon"brush"(my guess)between the"horn contact" terminal and the sleeve on the steering shaft. I will fab a this part tomorrow.Copper being a great conductor should be OK,but,why would the GM engineers chose brass for their sleeve? Irreguardless,will report back later.Thanks!....walt...tulsa,ok

[Otto Skorzeny]

brass is less prone to corrosion than pure copper. It's also stronger than pure copper.

[walt chomosh #23510]

Hey guys,
  The horn on my 1955CDV is now working.(am going out for a drive as soon as I complete this message!) The"carbon brush"that I used on between the"horn contact"and the copper"sleeve" that is secured to the steering shaft had too much resistance.(too much resistance to ground the horn relay) Therefore,I made my connector out of copper stock. So now I have a all copper connection which is pretty hard to beat.(still uncertain as to what GM used?) Hopefully,I'll get long term service....but if I do I'll be surprised!(past experience of changing factory engineering generally leads to failure!)...if anyone ever pulls their"horn contact"from their steering column housing,please advise me as to exactually what the factory used to make this connection....walt...tulsa,okl