barristerjim

I have a 1987 IROC with a tilt wheel (If that makes a difference). When I purchased the car the seller told me that the horn did not work because there was a problem with the horn button but the horn itself was fine. Today, I popped off the horn button cap from the steering wheel. I do not see a horn contact button which does not surprise me given what he said. However, I only see one yellow wire with electrical tape on it. My question is what does this wire connect to and should I have more than just one wire present. Sorry if this is a stupid question and thanks in advance for your help.

berryghardwick

This is not a stupid question. The yellow wire is your hot wire for the horn. The reason it is taped is because it is always hot (12 volts). On the back of your horn botton should be a spade terminal, the wire will hook up there. It uses the plate that holds the horn button to the steering wheel as the ground. You can see if your horn is any good by untaping the wire and tuching it to the steel of the steering wheel (do not touch the end of the wire with your fingers because it will shock you).

IROCmonkey

the horn button has 2 metal rings on the back of it, one has the aforementioned connector for that magic yellow wire, the other has the mounting clips to the steering wheel. Normally these 2 rings are isolated from each other, but when you push the horn button it forces the 2 to connect and complete the circuit. if you hook up the wire and the horn is always on, look closely at the metal rings and see if they are always touching.

if you ground the horn wire and it doesn't work, check the fuse.

barristerjim

Thanks for both of your responses. I really appreciate it. You guys gave me the information I needed to start trouble shooting and probably saved me from getting zapped in the process. Upon further investigation, it appears the horn button was being held together by duct tape. So it appears I need that part regardless. Thanks again, at least I now know where to start.