85 Fj60 horn

[dreadi78]

Hey all,

First time post hope it makes sense. I have an 85 FJ60 that I bought in 99. The horn hasn't worked since day one, EXCEPT in the summer when it is really hot outside and I crank the wheel all the way to the right. I'm not making this up. Any suggestions on where to start.

Thanks everyone.

 

[rchalmers3]

I'd first go to the horn and jumper it to make sure it sounds. This will give you a baseline confirmation the horn works. Then I'd pull the horn pad and see if grounding the wire makes it sound. This is the midpoint and tells you to go one way or the other. Then I'd pull the wheel and confirm the contact ring and brush are making whoopie.

Prolly the contact ring. Hears another idea: Rotate the wheel to see if there's a place where pushing down hard on the wheel while turning makes the horn sound. Maybe you can prove the contact ring is at fault that way.

Rick

 

[oldfj40]

I have a similar issue with my 83 60 series.It was working occasionally but has now quit altogether.Fuse is fine and all connections are clean and tight.I'll be pulling the steering wheel to clean all contact points and ring.Should do the trick.
I had the same thing on my 40 a couple of years ago and this fixed it.

BTW - Wecome to MUD

 

[hank14]

I just repaired mine- I ordered a new contact ring, but when I pulled the wheel, I found that the ring in there was not worn- only dirty with dust and debris. Since I had the new ring, I swapped them out anyways. You can also put a small washe "shim" behind each of the 3 screws holding the contact ring. This will move it a little away from the steering wheel and more towards the spring contact. It's easy to understand once you're in there.

 

[dreadi78]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll start with the basics and work my way up from there.

New question, kinda. How do I get to the contact ring? Do I have to totally tear apart the steering column or just unscrew the 3 screws on the back of the actual steering wheel?

I already have my dash apart cause I'm fixin my speedo cable that stopped working.

Thanks again.

 

[rchalmers3]

The steering wheel will have to be removed. There's a nut holding the wheel to the steering shaft. After removing the horn pad, loosen the nut and back it off the wheel about an 1/8". Then brace yourself in the driver's seat and pull up on the wheel while rocking it back and forth. The wheel will pop loose and then you can access the contact ring underneith. Clean the ring and the brush. Sometimes I pull the brush spring a little to extend the brush out of it's hole a little.

Should take you about 10 minutes if you take it slow!

Rick

 

[nilpoc]

I had to borrow a steering wheel puller from the parts store. Just remove the screws behind the wheel to remove the front piece that holds the horn buttons. Once you remove the wheel, you'll see a brass ring on the back that cotacts a small brass pin on the top side of the steering column.

The "shim" idea will probably work for you, but the parts are really cheap to replace. Hope this helps.

 

[Rob Faucett]

Important!!

If you try it without a puller remember to leave the nut loose but on!! If you take the nut all the way off and start yanking on the wheel it will, uh, hit you in the face when you finally get it loose.

I recall finding several other threads here describing the process.

 

[dreadi78]

Thanks everyone for the advice!

I'm heading out now to see if I can avoid hitting myself in the face with my steering wheel.

Thanks again!

 

[lonelydriver]

Try using some contact cleaner, and cleaning up the ring then lubricate with some dielectric grease. might work good luck!

 

[jgordon]

To get the steering wheel off, keep some gentle pressure on it (pulling toward you) and tap the steering shaft with a hammer a few times lightly. Worked like a charm for me after yanking like a monkey for a while did no good.

 

[Hojack]

Anyone else have their 60s horn sound like a pathetic dying cow? I don’t honk often but when I do I want it to get peoples attention My wife said I should just avoid honking all together… it’s kinda embarrassing being in a jacked up nice 60 with a pathetic horn.
Any recommended replacement horn?

 

[OSS]

Anyone else have their 60s horn sound like a pathetic dying cow

Mine sounded more like a wounded sheep.
The horns are made of steel and can rust up to the point where the diaphragm inside can't vibrate very well— but there is a fix (at least there was for mine.

Remove a horn and wire a 12V jumper to it to be able to test your progress.
Dribble some Corrosion-X lube down the little drain hole and saturate it. Tap the horn with the plastic handle of a big screwdriver to try to break corrosion free inside.
Plug it into 12V and gauge your progress.
After soaking in Corrosion-X over night and banging it a bunch of times, the internal corrosion broke free and the horn returned to its original pathetic Toyota economy car sound. Fixed.

If you get it beeping loud again, remember in the future to exercise the horn any time you're on an empty road, to keep its internal vibrator from rusting up. Horns freeze up because they're rarely used.