Should steering shaft be grounded?

[citric]

I have a '73 that I have been working through horns issues on. I have all the contacts cleaned up and the buttons now trigger the horn, but only under one condition. It only works if I apply a ground to the nut holding the steering wheel on.

Given that knowledge, should the steering shaft be grounded? If so, how should it be receiving the ground? Should it be grounding at the pitman?

Thanks!
Brent

 

[algeeba]

Yes, it should be grounded so that the horn can work correctly. My stock ground broke but: I just loosened a bolt/nut from the rag joint steering coupler and connected a regular wire to each side of the coupler. The rag joint prevents good grounding so you have to "bridge" the ground from the steering box side to the steering wheel shaft side.

 

[citric]

Thanks, algeeba! That's exactly the approach I was going to take. Wanted verification first.

 

[algeeba]

Let us know if you have any problems getting the ground working.

 

[shelfboy1]

should be a ground wire in the colum to activate the horn relay wire comes out colum by the clutch pedal

 

[bikersmurf]

My 74/77 has a spring contact that contacts the back of the steering wheel to ground it. They're easily fixed but break after a few decades of use.

 

[algeeba]

My '78 does not have a ground wire coming out of the column by the clutch pedal, but my '64 does have a wire coming out of the column. Attached is a picture of the rag joint with the ground wire (circled in red). This is probably an aftermarket rag joint but my original rag joint had the same thing. In my case the clip eventually broke.

 

[Living in the Past]

should be a ground wire in the colum to activate the horn relay wire comes out colum by the clutch pedal

That is not the ground but the wire from negative side of the horn relay coil. The ground steering shaft completes the circuit when the horn button is pushed.

My '78 does not have a ground wire coming out of the column by the clutch pedal, but my '64 does have a wire coming out of the column. Attached is a picture of the rag joint with the ground wire (circled in red). This is probably an aftermarket rag joint but my original rag joint had the same thing. In my case the clip eventually broke.

View attachment 1115455

Prior to the 73 model the only wiring at the steering wheel was the horn button. Starting with the 73 model the wiring for the turn signals and ignition switch were at the top of the steering column. Never had a issue to have a reason to check but almost positive the horn wire comes in the the turn signal harness.

 

[algeeba]

Yeah, that is what I thought. Was pulling my hair last year wondering why my horn would work intermittently and then suddenly nothing. I did as the OP did, grounded the steering wheel nut, and horns would blast nice and strong. So I knew it was a grounding problem. I worked myself backwards checking ground with a test light/multi-meter but nothing.

I provided ground to the end of the shaft and horns would work great. So how to ground it permanently, I thought to myself, since the shaft turns. Oh, bridge it to the steering box side. So, while taking apart a nut/bolt from the rag joint a clip fell out and the second clip was still attached to a destroyed wire, that is when I found that there is where the "original" ground is.

I don't think grounding the tube would work, it has to be the shaft that I remember.

 

[citric]

Thanks all. algeebra and living are correct. You have to ground the actual shaft. I temporarily jumped it with copper wire to pass state safety inspection. It works for now. I think I'll replace the wire with a thin piece of strap metal eventually. Then it should be more durable given its location.

 

[algeeba]

Excellent!

 

[HJ Pete]

G'day all.

I note a previous poster (Bikersmurf) mentioned that the spring contact at the back of the steering often breaks but is easily fixed. I have that exact problem on my 84 HJ47. Mine has broken and I have no idea where the end with the copper ring on it is. My horn no longer works. How does one go about fixing this? I don't really want to spend $50 on a new indicator assembly just to "pinch" the spring contact.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Cheers.