Packard Forum Index » General

Where does the wire going down the steering column go? I'm trying to determine how to stop my horn from blowing when turning the steering wheel sometimes. What could cause this? How do I investigate? Any help appreciated

The wire goes straight down the shaft and thru a tube in the steering box to exit at the forward end. Only a short length of wire -- maybe a foot or less -- extends and then joins with an inline connector to a wire in the loom. Often heat and grease will destroy the rubber insulation right at the point the wire exits the box. The tube is often fairly narrow and if your box is one of those types there is not even room for heat shrink to slip over and inside so no good way to repair that close to the box and the wire will need to be replaced.

If that section of wire looks OK there is also a possibility a fiber insulating washer that supports the contact plate on the shaft at he steering wheel end is damaged and letting the contact touch ground. If one of the plastic insulators holding the horn ring sections together has cracked or broken there could also be play between pieces and gravity could be letting the horn ring parts touch.

Here is a breakdown of a horn ring assy. This is on a 47 but the 51 basic layout and operation is identical. Differences are the 47 emblem does not remove to unscrew the assy from the wheel because those screw on from behind the wheel. In 48 and later wheels the emblem is easy to remove and ring assy attaches to the wheel with 3 screws accessed from the front after the emblem is removed.

Attach file:

---

  Horn wire exit.jpg (194.77 KB)


  horn ring electrical path.jpg (215.48 KB)