Date:         Thu, 21 Apr 2011 10:06:05 -0500
Reply-To:     John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject:      Horns and Steering Columns
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

  Hooray!! My horn now works - after months of being without.

Just couldn't seem to find time to devote to the repair, then one day
recently it was time. Ordered up a new official Volkswagon Vanagon Horn
Contact Ring to replace the one that had worn out - and it didn't work.
Nope, right out of the box there was something wrong. The metal part of
the horn contact ring dragged the screws of the column switches -
shorting out the horn and causing it to blow unexpectedly, and it would
not shut off. I couldn't figure out the problem. David Beierl stepped in
and was of enormous assistance in my coming to understand how the column
assembly is designed and constructed to go together. Still, the horn
didn't work. A watchmaker friend came by, and offered to take a look,
and said simply - the diameters of the back of the horn rings are
different. BLING!!!! the lights went on. It turned out the older part -
the plastic part had a shoulder on the back side that the new part did
not. That shoulder acted like a spacer washer and it's thickness
provided the needed clearance between the horn ring and the column
switches screws. The new horn ring without the shoulder, allowed the
steering wheel to push the horn ring down against the column switches,
shorting them out.

The solution> - remove the metal part of the new horn ring and put it on
the old horn ring. Worked like a charm.

So - should you ever find yourself working this project, consider that
shoulder on the horn ring.

John

--
John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com