I am currently working on my newly acquired S2 2+2 originally from the US. So it’s LHD and 1969.
I have a conundrum…No apparent means of sounding the horn(s)! I have a wooden rimmed steering wheel with the three metal spars…and a Jag centre boss which is not a push button…when removed by loosening 3 grub screws…it is empty behind…no wires or connections…only the steering wheel nut visible. I removed the steering wheel in order to re-align it…but again…no wires under it.
I see that another normal method to sound the horn is with the indicator pulled towards you. In my case…this is the headlight flasher…no horn. There are no spare buttons anywhere else that I can see.
I took of both horn units yesterday and when checked with a wire to the battery…they work perfectly.
Andrew, the push button for the horn on my 69 activates when I push the metal button on the turn signal arm in. Pulling it back flashes the high beam for as long as you hold it. I attached a photo of the switch assembly showing disassembly in case you need to clean the contacts as I did. The horn button contacts activates the coil to the horn relay which in turn provides the higher current to drive the horns. Provided your car hasn’t been modified, your horn circuit should be the same.
Anthony
Oh thank you for that…and for the photo! I just went to try it…and there is no movement at the end of the stalk. The metal “button” doesn’t press in but it just spins when turned between my fingers.
Looking at your photo…it appears that the mechanism unscrews somehow…but I can’t yet see how to do that.
I will check again and see if I can do it. Perhaps the whole assembly needs to be taken off the steering column?
Hmm, very odd. My '68 is a LHD car and it does have the horn push on the stalk. Also, the center boss on the wheel is the same as yours, empty.
Do you have the owners manual for your car? That should show how the horn should work. Sounds like someone has screwed around with the stalk…perhaps they wanted to convert back to the old style or had trouble with said stalk or the wiring??
Hi Guys…the whole push in section was stuck and took a bit of a tap to make it move…so yes…it’s the correct mechanism.
However, I’m now having to remove the whole assembly as there is a bad contact withing the unit behind the steering wheel. The horn sounds…but only when the stalk is moved around. I will get it sussed somehow.
Are both wires OK coming out of the stalk ? A few years ago my ground wire broke right where it comes out of the stalk probably from years of flipping up and down. I ended up putting an eye connector on the ground wire and screwed it to the little metal shield on the stalk to ground it.
Andrew
Mine had a similar electrical problem, I found that the ground wire press fitted to the small casting under the stalk tube was broken. I was fortunate to be able to solder on a new ground wire to the stub that remained and heatshrink it. You can just make out the heatshrinked connection in the attached photo. However, if the violet plus wire is open or shorted inside the tube, you may have a bigger problem. Replacing a defective wire or repairing the connection at the base of the button has been discussed here a few times, but no solution has been found that I’m aware of. I was lucky, I got mine to work.
Anthony
My ground wire in the turn signal mechanism failed. I repaired it and the solder joint later failed again. Its a delicate wire and my solder gun was too big. Good spot for a proper crimp, but it’s a tiny, tiny eye and small gauge wire.
Male sure the horn relay is functioning properly before you tear into the steering column. Just an fyi, all the horn wires are led to the under dash cover to the left of the steering wheel. You can jump wires there to test the system, by passing the directional ground switch.
Hi Guys - Many thanks for all your prompt and very helpful replies.
My horn is now working fully based on the info obtained here!
Firstly…the press in end of the indicator stalk was stuck and was freed with a tap from my hand. Secondly…horn would only work intermittently, so after dismantling the steering assembly…found that indeed the braided ground wire has come away. I used a small pointed crimped connector which I forced into the stalk tube by the side of the purple wire. This went in quite solidly and gave the necessary grounding.
I also discovered why my indicators were not coming on very positively…there was a pinkish greasy substance all over the connectors which prevented a good contact. This was cleaned off and everything was re-assembled.
All now working as it should.
Thanks again to posters and to this very good forum!
In case it helps anyone here is photo that might show better what I did. I know this photo is bad but my ground wire broke right at the stalk so there was not enough left that I could see to crimp or solder onto on the stalk side. I got scared to try to take the stalk apart. I crimped on a small eyelet connector to the car-side of the ground wire. I then drilled a small hole into the metal shield on the stalk inside the slot in the plastic cover. I then got a small screw and nut plate to secure the ground wire to that metal shield. Horn has been working good for years now.
