Date:         Sat, 14 May 2011 09:50:23 -0500
Reply-To:     John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject:      Horn Ring Replacement - Tips and Tricks
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

  I recently had to change the horn ring on my van because the horn
would blow seemingly just because it wanted to.  Replacement should have
been pretty straight forward, but I ran into an unusual snag.

Changing out the horn ring on the Vanagon is pretty straight forward.
Tools required are socket wrench for the nut holding the wheel onto the
shaft, pair of duckbill or needle-nose pliers, a flat tip punch, a very
fine (600) grit sandpaper and  dielectric grease.

I began by pulling the horn button from the center of the wheel. The
button is held in place by two tabs - one on either side. Just using my
fingers I was able to work the horn button free by working one side then
the other, moving the button up and out of the slots for the tab. Once
the button was loose, I just let it hand by the wires until I could
remove the wheel.

Wheel removal was easy. Leaving the wheel in the locked position, I just
backed off the nut holding the wheel. I noted the wheel and the shaft
have an alignment mark so things go back together exactly right. But if
this mark is missing, one might make sure to make an alignment mark
before pulling the wheel. The shaft is splined, as is the wheel, so it's
a tight and perfect fit.

The inside back of the wheel hub is tapered to a matching reverse taper
on the shaft. With the splines, there couldn't be a better fit.

After removing the nut, wiggling the wheel at top and bottom loosened it
easily and it came right off. With the wheel removed I saw immediately
that  that the brass finger that contacts the horn ring was worn badly
and needed repair. I did that by reshaping the tip with a fine file and
bending the finger out a bit to make contact. I ent the very end also so
thee was a rounded shoulder making contact rather than a sharp edge.
Alittle rubbing with the 600 grit paper removed any oxides and made for
a good metal to metal contact with the new horn ring.

There was one wire connecting the horn ring to a tab on the horn button.
It's a bit dificult to reach so I very carefully removed it with needle
nose plies. Great caution is needed in removal because the tab to which
the wire attaches is a bit fragile. Break one off and it's the devil to
pay. Most likely the horn button would  have to be replaced - IF you can
find one.

The horn ring has a plastic locking tab that fits into a hole in the
wheel hub. I used the blunt tip punch to punch the tab out and removed
the ring from the back of the wheel. It was worn completely out, with
shreds sticking out. These little pieces were randomly grounding making
the horn blow as I steered the van and moved the wheel.

I replaced the horn ring with a brand new genuine OEM factory VW part
with the VW part number on it. Then, when I reassembled the whole thing,
the horn blew immediately upon turning on the ignition. The fun began!!!

I futzed with it for several days off an on, and could not see any
problems. I did th work exactly by Bentley. But everytime I torqued that
wheel nut to spec - the horn would blow. I was missing somthing

The clearance between the column switches and the back of the horn ring
are very close - like maybe 1/8 inch - under normal conditions. But in
my case when the wheel nut was at torque spec, the clearnce was closed
and the horn would blow. It was like a washer or shim or something was
missing allowing that gap to close. Yet, all the parts were there and
accounted for. A watchmaker friend stopped by and together we looked at
the two horn rings side by side. I didn't see any differences. He looked
at them, picked the up and turned them over and over, then said "I see
the problem".

Turns out that there is a shoulder on the old horn ring that serves as a
washer. It's about 1/16th to 3/32nd inches thick. The new horn ring
didn't have the shoulder at all. It was completely missing. The
solution? I removed the brass from the new horn ring, and put it on the
old horn ring with the shoulder spacer, dabbed so dielectric grease on
the brass and reinstalled the entire thing. It worked perfect. Horn now
functions as it should.

So, be aware of this new parts problem if you are doing horn work. Be
careful not to damage the old horn ring when taking it out. You may want
to follow my procedure if you find yourself with the horn ring without
the shoulder.

It would appear that VW made this change so that the horn ring might fit
other vehicles. Sort of "One size fits all" but of course that really
never works out. There is always a glitch somewhere.

John


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