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206 Posts
Hi,
Today I got back my re-upholstered steering wheel. That got me thinking that this could be a good oportunity to fix a small issue I've been having.
Both steering wheel horn "buttons" work, but the RH side needs a lot of pressure to activate the horn than the LH side. Since both sides work, I don't think there's a problem with the rotary coupler. The main suspects are the switch assembly and the horn springs.
I unscrewed the RH horn mechanism, checked the springs and reassembled. Nothing suspicious there. I found out the horn is engaged when any of the 2 ball-point terminals, located at the underside of the moving part of the mechanism, make contact with the terminals located on the fixed part of the mechanism. Terminals were clean, but I sprayed them with contact cleaner to be sure. Also, both screws have a fixed travel, so it's not a matter of calibrating the spring travel.
I also inspected the switch assembly circuit. Traces look good. Tested for continuity on the horn trace (each side has an independent trace). Since I'm a noob with the multimeter, I don't know what other relevant readings I should get while I'm at it. Any recomendations ? Checking for resistance gave me weird readings.
Apparently the previous owner lived with this issue for a long time, since SW airbag module had a big crack from top to bottom, all along the RH horn "button". I don't know if this was a consecuence or cause for this problem. I replaced the airbag module and the problem is still there.
So, what do you think ? I'm quite puzzled. Before attempting this fix I suspected the cause might be a cracked spring base, or a busted spring, or even worse, broken traces in the circuit, but none of that was true. Everything seems fine, but my RH horn "button" still is a pain to use.
Help please !
Here are a couple of reference pics.
N.
[attachment=3:1wrsgrut]IMG00046-20100218-1736.jpg[/attachment:1wrsgrut][attachment=2:1wrsgrut]IMG00047-20100218-1736.jpg[/attachment:1wrsgrut][attachment=1:1wrsgrut]IMG00048-20100218-1736.jpg[/attachment:1wrsgrut][attachment=0:1wrsgrut]IMG00049-20100218-1736.jpg[/attachment:1wrsgrut]
Today I got back my re-upholstered steering wheel. That got me thinking that this could be a good oportunity to fix a small issue I've been having.
Both steering wheel horn "buttons" work, but the RH side needs a lot of pressure to activate the horn than the LH side. Since both sides work, I don't think there's a problem with the rotary coupler. The main suspects are the switch assembly and the horn springs.
I unscrewed the RH horn mechanism, checked the springs and reassembled. Nothing suspicious there. I found out the horn is engaged when any of the 2 ball-point terminals, located at the underside of the moving part of the mechanism, make contact with the terminals located on the fixed part of the mechanism. Terminals were clean, but I sprayed them with contact cleaner to be sure. Also, both screws have a fixed travel, so it's not a matter of calibrating the spring travel.
I also inspected the switch assembly circuit. Traces look good. Tested for continuity on the horn trace (each side has an independent trace). Since I'm a noob with the multimeter, I don't know what other relevant readings I should get while I'm at it. Any recomendations ? Checking for resistance gave me weird readings.
Apparently the previous owner lived with this issue for a long time, since SW airbag module had a big crack from top to bottom, all along the RH horn "button". I don't know if this was a consecuence or cause for this problem. I replaced the airbag module and the problem is still there.
So, what do you think ? I'm quite puzzled. Before attempting this fix I suspected the cause might be a cracked spring base, or a busted spring, or even worse, broken traces in the circuit, but none of that was true. Everything seems fine, but my RH horn "button" still is a pain to use.
Help please !
Here are a couple of reference pics.
N.
[attachment=3:1wrsgrut]IMG00046-20100218-1736.jpg[/attachment:1wrsgrut][attachment=2:1wrsgrut]IMG00047-20100218-1736.jpg[/attachment:1wrsgrut][attachment=1:1wrsgrut]IMG00048-20100218-1736.jpg[/attachment:1wrsgrut][attachment=0:1wrsgrut]IMG00049-20100218-1736.jpg[/attachment:1wrsgrut]
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