steering wheel horn contact parts

[nuclearlemon]

there's a rubber bushing/grommet/don't know how to describe it that goes between the steering shaft and the contact plate. annies was pretty much gone and my 45 also doesn't have it. dealer and sor say nla. i think it's a top hat style bushing but i may not be remembering correctly. does anyone have a good one for dimensions? does anyone see why an appropriately sized grommet woudn't work?

also, the contact is pretty worn and they are also nla. any ideas on acceptable substitutions?

edit : 4 and 11 are what i'm talking about

 

[fjfjfj]

I was just talking with Kurt from SOR the other day. I think he might have a solution for the contact. I know he was talking about that spring and that contact just in passing when I was up there. You should call and quiz him. I will check on that grommet / bushing for you.

 

[cruiserloser]

I just addressed both of these issues on a recent build.

Horn contact: I fabbed one of these up from the hardware store. I used a spring that I chopped down and a small tapered solid steel rod. On the rod, the key is the tapered part as it provides a snug fit inside the spring once compressed. The spring is kept in place on the rear of the plate (#5 from the pic) by a punched extrusion - nothing else required.

Bushing. If I recall correctly, the bushing provides a high-center to interrupt the circuit and horn contact. As such, I used a thick neoprene rubber washer that was punched just over the diameter of the steering shaft and allowed to float between the contact plate and the flexible horn button retainer. The outer diameter of the washer was around 1". The key in all of this is to get a washer thick enough that inadvertent taps on the horn dont set it off, but deliberate taps are "as factory intended".

Sorry I dont have pictures on the ready, but I will see if I can dig some up. Took no more than $5 in parts.

 

[nuclearlemon]

awesome to hear cruiserloser! i like hardware store fixes . is the tapered steel soft enough to wear away tho?

 

[cruiserloser]

It doesnt look like I have pictures. You raise a good point. The rod had a very slight domed/rounded tip and was not abrasive in the least. Whether it is softer than the contact plate I cannot confirm. It certainly was not hardened as the saw went right through it.

 

[1MAC]

I ordered a used one from SOR. Their website showed none available, but I ordered it anyway and it showed up!

 

[nuclearlemon]

I ordered a used one from SOR. Their website showed none available, but I ordered it anyway and it showed up!

contact or rubber? maybe i'll try ordering both.

 

[1MAC]

I think it all came together. Not 100% sure, though. The contact is just a brush like out of any electric motor. wouldn't be hard to find a substitue, I would think.

 

[cruiserloser]

Horn parts

Here are the parts in question. These emerged from the chaos as I was sorting through parts. These were used for reference for the parts I fabbed. I wasnt comfortable ripping off the originals from the LV.

The spring and contact piece are 30MM overall. The contact is 4MM in diameter.

The Bushing piece has an outer diameter of 40MM. The inner diameter is 24MM. The distance from the bottom of the flange to the top of the bushing is 5MM (lip is ~ 1MM thick).

Hope that helps.

Dave

 

[nuclearlemon]

Here are the parts in question. These emerged from the chaos as I was sorting through parts. These were used for reference for the parts I fabbed. I wasnt comfortable ripping off the originals from the LV.

The spring and contact piece are 30MM overall. The contact is 4MM in diameter.

The Bushing piece has an outer diameter of 40MM. The inner diameter is 24MM. The distance from the bottom of the flange to the top of the bushing is 5MM (lip is ~ 1MM thick).

Hope that helps.

Dave

awesome! thanks yes it does!

 

[nuclearlemon]

found a 68-89 chevy horn contact kit that had a diameter of 4.2mmx27. cut it down and modified to work. it'll break the bank at about $4. it did require turning it down a bit to fit the oem spring, but then i realized, i'll be able to get this setup all day long and i just opened the hole on the steering wheel with a 7/32 bit.

dorman number 83230
napa number bk735-2822

 

[Owyhee Jackass]

Good info. Thanks for posting part numbers. I just got the horn working again in the 45.

My wife called me last summer from her cell, every time she turned right the horn blew. She didn't think it was nearly as funny as I did. The bushing on the column had backed out a bit and was intermitently making contact with the wheel.

Dan

 

[Living in the Past]

Was looking thru some old service bulletins yesterday and there was one about the horn be to sensitive and going off all by itself in the middle of the night. Have to do with a washer with a bevelled edge being installed backwards. Also one about a spare rod inside the carb that helps get better mileage at elevations above 5,000'.

 

[nuclearlemon]

Was looking thru some old service bulletins yesterday and there was one about the horn be to sensitive and going off all by itself in the middle of the night. Have to do with a washer with a bevelled edge being installed backwards. Also one about a spare rod inside the carb that helps get better mileage at elevations above 5,000'.

and you didn't even post it up for us

 

[Living in the Past]

Gee I didn't even see it until yesterday. The comment about the horn going off while turn made me think it might be useful. May have seen last year and forgot. I Can scan it and post. It is the washer that goes on just after washer/clip the holds the horn button. Bevelled side goes away from the clip.

 

[Living in the Past]

Curious how many have bought their cruiser and found a aftermarket switch added to the dash instead of making repairs on the stock buttom? Not the best design but never found making a repair that hard. The GM pin and spring will help alot. Thanks you.

 

[nuclearlemon]

time to do some modifications.

spring bushing from a pig measures 40mm od x 19mm id with 5mm thick lip and 35mm shank.

time to do some cutting and grinding and drilling

 

[nuclearlemon]

done

 

[nuclearlemon]

better shots...pighead and i were giggling as we were honking the horn in the garage