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Horn doesn't work, seems to be something in the column

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    Horn doesn't work, seems to be something in the column

    I'm trying to fix a problem my mechanic doesn't want to deal with on my '94 Protege LX. Horn doesn't work, replaced the horn, still nothing, seems like there's something wrong in the column. I always assume it's a wire inside the column, especially in a case like this where the car has 225,000 miles on it. Does anybody have any ideas about how this can be fixed? I'd rather not put a button on the dash if I can help it, but that will be my last resort if necessary. How accessible is the wire that goes through the column? How easy would it be to replace? I need this to pass state safety inspection, this is on a car from Vegas, so it is a rare car in NY - an early Protege without rust!

    By the way, it isn't that my mechanic can't do the work, he just knows I wouldn't like the bill he'd have to charge me for the work. In the past he's just given me my inspection sticker anyway, but because my teenage son who drives the car has gotten pulled over a couple times for vehicle violations (exhaust was broken and too loud, headlight out, Vegas window tint too dark, etc etc) we'd rather it be fully legal.

    Thanks for any ideas about keeping this fun little car safe and legal

    Scott in Penfield NY

    #2
    if you look a few threads down from this one in this forum there is a thread on this topic. the foam in the horn pad likes to deteriorate and randomly let the horn go off. I bet it happened to the previous owner of the car and they just dis-connected it. First I'd remove the 3 10mm bolts that hold the steering wheel front cover/horn button on. then see if the wire is disconnected or damaged.
    -Steve

    94' Protege < Worklog<SOLD!
    VF10 powered!
    262 Whp & 257 Wtq
    13.1@107

    '02 Suzuki Bandit 600s

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      #3
      After reading about the steering wheel pad/horn button troubles that are common with first gen Proteges, I took my horn pad off, and immediately saw that the horn wire was disconnected in there. I connected it, but realized that without the horn pad being bolted to the wheel, there was no ground. I touched the horn wire to the wheel metal frame and "Beep!" Great news!

      I unplugged the pad and took it into the house. My LX also has cruise control, so those switches came with it. I took the horn pad apart, removing the big metal pan that sits against the pad by removing several screws. On the metal pan was a layer of thin foam rubber with holes in it, and then the big copper sheet with slots in it (which allows it to be "springy" when the horn is pushed.) Two plastic pins go through it all and hold it together, which I removed so I could inspect the foam pad. It was pretty limp. What I ended up doing was first flattening out both the pan and the copper contact plate. If I had some adhesive-backed foam, I would have used that (maybe some kind of door weather stripping from Home Depot, something like that.) Putting that all over the metal pan, except where the contact bumps and ridges are, would keep the plate from touching the pan unless the horn was pressed. Instead, what I had on hand (it was late at night) was a bag made of plastic closed-cell foam that a Harley Davidson muffler came wrapped in (preventing scratches on the chrome finish.) It wasn't quite as thick as I would have liked, really only about a millimeter, but I took that foam and cut holes in it everywhere there were pumps on the pan. This worked like adding just an extra bit of distance between the pan and the contact plate, keeping them apart unless pressed deliberately. I assembled the pan/foam/foam/plate "sandwich", put the plastic pins in, screwed the assembly back into the steering wheel pad, put it back into the steering wheel and put the screws in from the back. Moment of truth - turn on the key, and tap the horn pad - "Beep!" Nice! VERY sensitive, though, more than I'd like. I wondered if it would honk going over bumps. My son needed the car the next day, so I asked him to tell me if there were any problems, and he said it works great, no problems at all.

      I fixed a broken exhaust and a broken shifter that same night, so it was really a much improved car that next day. The entire shift lever would sink down into the floor several inches, and you had to pull it back up whenever you wanted to shift. This was caused by a broken weld between the shifter plate on the floor and the big arm that goes up towards the transmission. I went under there once and re-welded it, but my weld was, shall we say, not superior craftsmanship (first weld ever, yay!) and broke a week later. I think perhaps the engine mounts are letting the engine move more than the weld can accommodate. I drilled a hole this time and put a bolt in, holding the welder right up where it belongs. Just like new!

      Now it needs new tires, before the first snow accumulation puts my son (and the car) into a guardrail!

      Scott in Penfield NY

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        #4
        Yep my horn didnt work, then I saw this thread and sure enough, same thing. Unplugged with a buncha paper wadded up in it haha
        93 protege lx, stock as a rock and runnin great!

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