Horn will sometimes sound while steering left

[ChristianA]

Help! I’m driving around like a lunatic. About a year ago, I installed new cruise control buttons. This involved disconnecting the battery, replacing the buttons, and screwing everything in properly.

Everything was completely fine up until today. I made a couple turns, and each and every time my horn would go crazy when I would make a left turn. What could have gone wrong? I believe I may have heard something loose in the steering wheel.

 

[Brain75]

the signal from the horn and cruise buttons goes through a track card (circuit card with circular tracks on it that are rode on by metal contact nubs from the static colum) - sounds like the card is loose or moved out of place or got corrosion on it bridging the tracks. Take all the trim off the column and inspect the track card and contacts.

 

[RobbieD]

^^^ That; or . . .

I believe I may have heard something loose in the steering wheel.

. . . there's loose fastener (screw, etc.) or something metallic bouncing around inside the wheel pad area and shorting the tracks.

You'll have to go in and have a look-see.

 

[Brain75]

nice catch... I read it but missed the last sentence.... must be I was too hungry to focus and thinking more about cooking din...

 

[rubydist]

If the OP really has a 2002, then the steering wheel has a clockspring. Most likely the clockspring is going bad, and will short out from time to time. The solution is to replace that before it shorts out the airbag wires and blows the bag into your face.

 

[ChristianA]

Well that’s comforting!

If the OP really has a 2002, then the steering wheel has a clockspring. Most likely the clockspring is going bad, and will short out from time to time. The solution is to replace that before it shorts out the airbag wires and blows the bag into your face.

 

[ChristianA]

I suppose the screw I was thinking of was this small plastic black tab.

 

[RobbieD]

Plastic doesn't conduct electricity, so while that's not the direct culprit, if it held something that's part of the switches or clockspring, it could be a now-loose part that is causing the phantom horn blowing.

 

[ChristianA]

I am not seeing anything it was holding in. All the wiring checks out. ChatGPT says it’s most likely a faulty clock spring. Is it worth replacing?

 

[ChristianA]

Any good ways I can test the clock spring?

 

[RobbieD]

Not that I can think of, on an intermittent problem while driving, short of putting a midget with a flashlight in the steering wheel to watch things while you drive.

 

[ChristianA]

would it be fine to drive around with the airbag removed to reduce the risk of that? I kind of have places to be haha