Ok well my horn does not work and I need it to pass state inspection. I have an airbag wheels so I do not want to just rip it all apart and ruin my wheel. So what I did was go out and buy one of those black horn buttons. Now to wire this, what wires do I need to find under the dash and what else do I need to do besides just mount the button?

Have you first tried replacing the horn wiring under the air bag? Many times the clear plastic spring assembly contacts crack and the horn wont work.

I thought that if I put a button before that, then it bypasses it and I dont need to rip open the air bag right?

There has to be a wire.

I'd try to fix it first. This is an easy repair project. Disconnect the batt., remove the four torx screws from the back side of the steering wheel, the air bag will come right out and you have access to the problem prone plastic spring loaded horn wire assembly. The replacement part is less than $20. Have it ready, remove the old unit, reassemble. Shouldnt take more than an hour.

Would my wheel look hideous when I put it back together?

Not at all! You'd simply be replacing the OE stock horn wire loom, with an OE horn wire loom. No unsitely bulges or anything like that.

Sometimes the plastic around the edges of the air bag get a little warped or curled which makes the black air bag cover look like it's coming off. That's mostly a cosmetic thing but, you can trim the hard white colored plastic if needed and epoxy the cover around the edge. None of this is necessary to the steering wheel horn function unless it's preventing the two wire loom button contacts from completing their function.

Anyway, pull the air bag. You'll find the wireloom that we're discussing. No big deal to replace. Good luck!

Is there any chance the air bag will deploy accidently, or is just disconnecting the battery enough to render it non-deployable.

There is always a "remote possibility" that the air bag could deploy as the air bag system is designed to be armed with sufficent stored dc current to activate the air bag should the main battery system be damaged upon impact. In addition to the battery, the air bag system's fuse could be disconnected from the fuse panel if that helps to aleviate one's anxiety about working with the air bag system.

Once the screws are removed from the steering wheel the air bag will still be teathered to the air bag system with the yellow sleeved wiring. It is not necessary to disconnect this wiring to replace the horn wire harness below the air bag. Even so, if the yellow sleeved wiring to the bag is disconnected, chances are that air bag will not deploy as you are not working with the arming sensors themself. I prefer to disconnect the main electrical system,
remove the bag from the wheel, disconnect the yellow sleeved wiring, set the bag outside of the car, replace the steering wheel horn harness, reconnect the bag wiring, install the screws. Reconnect the main electrical system, get into the vehicle on the passenger side, start the car and check the dash light to make sure that the air bag system light goes through it's test cycle then check the horn function.

The first time I did this proceedure, I wore a full face helment.

Good luck

You have a part # or anything for the replacement? I have the same problem with mine.

Just to make sure, what model and year are you needing help with?

1992 all models should be the same. I got an airbag in my wheel. Someone told me my button wiring was fine and that it was something behind my steering wheel

Not to get nasty but, maybe you should ask that "someone" to help you fix it.

Classic Industries, Specialists in GM muscle car restoration and performance parts. sells the steering wheel horn switch under part # G7349 for about $23. You can also purchase the part from your GM dealer or get it cheap from most salvage yards.

Ok I got the same problem horn doesnt work and inspection is runing out. So being a noobie I took my 1991 Firbird to Midas thinking they would fix it... BAD IDEA!!! $76 thrown in wind. Right before the problem I had the whole wiring harness replaced because my ground wire burned and my ac didnt work. After I got that fixed the horn went out. The guy at Midas tried something and he got the horn working by hooking up a switch to it... but that was only for testing purposes. He said that the buttons in my steering wheel where burned?... and said taht theres no replace ment parts unless you get a whole new Air bag assembly... Is that true? Because the estimate for a whole Airbag assembly replacement was about $900 I have less then a week until my inspection is out. I am trying to find a good machenic that wount suggest replacing my Airbag assembly and suck as much money out of me as he can... please someone hekp me.

I know I'm bringing back a year old post but I just had to reply to this because I am just so amazed at what repair shops will tell people to get money out of them. Plus I'm bored.

First, to answer Firebird1991s question. NO, it is absolutely not true that you have to replace the entire airbag assembly to fix the horn buttons. They are actually two completely separate assemblies. I don't have the part # here, it's at work, but the horn assembly is around $26 from GM and consists of two horn buttons with two black ground wires coming off them and two red wires coming off them going to a single plastic spring loaded connector that just slides into a hole in the steering wheel. Very very simple replacement.

Second, for those concerned about accidental airbag deployment the proper procedure is as follows. Step 1, remove the SIR fuse from the fuse panel. Step 2, remove the lower panel under the steering column and locate the yellow connector with the wires labeled SIR and disconnect the connector. Step 3, loosen the 4 bolts behind the steering wheel which will allow the airbag assembly to come out. Step 4, disconnect the wire from the airbag wiring harness. Step 5, make repairs as needed. Step 6, reconnect airbag wiring harness. Step 7, reinstall airbag and tighten screws behind steering wheel. Step 8, reconnect yellow SIR connector and reinstall lower panel under steering column. Step 9, reinstall SIR fuse. Step 10, start car and make sure the airbag dash light flashes 6 or 7 times to indicate everything is working properly.

tpitransam do you know the part number?

For those that have asked about the GM Part No, it's 17989608. This part is for all 90-92 Camaros and Firebirds (any third gen with an airbag). It's now $29.14 from the dealer, although I just bought one on ebay from seller "chevypartsguys" for $27 shipped. None of the dealers around here had it in stock anyway, so I would have had to wait a couple days regardless of where I bought it.

It looks like it should be a relatively easy fix, and not having a horn is a a safety issue, so if your horn isn't working, this is definitely a worthwhile thing to do.

EDIT: Oops. Now I see that the post immediately above mine has the part number. With the centered and oddly colored text, I thought it was an ad and skipped right over it. Sorry.