Hello again, I just installed a new steering rack and wanted to tidy up a few related item. The PO installed a horn button on steering column under the dash. It was awkward so I thought I would pull the steering wheel and see if I could hook up original horn button.
I also found that the telescopic steering wheel needed help too. Anyway, I found that the wire to the original horn button was cut and only extended about 3” into column.
My question is where should the wire exit the steering column. I am thinking I can just splice it to the added horn button wiring but need to know if it exits under the dash or in the engine compartment.
You will likely need to remove the steering column from the car to access the wiring. It feeds down the center of the column to a brass ring at the base of the column.
Check your parts manual and it will show the placement of the ring on the column and the connecting wiring under the dash.
That ring jagmike90 was referring to is actually more a copper sleeve, mine was worn through where the contact tab rubs at the base of the column, with the column out an apart I used a piece of 1” K series copper tubing ~1” long which press fit over an isolation sleeve to the lower portion of the shaft and aligns with an opening in the column tube. The wire from the horn button Is soldered to the sleeve.
This is not the easiest connection you will have to make, but it comes down to connecting the wire from the horn push, via a “slip ring” to a contact on the outer side of the steering column through a hole in the outer column. There is a plastic block with a copper spring-contact to the inner slip-ring and an eye for the wire bullet connector. See picture.
I am used to using IDIDIT columns in my rest-mods. I think I will tackle this a little later as I want to drive the car soon. So waiting on parts and having column out does not work right now.
