OK...more horn problems..rag joint????
Thread Starter
|
Junior User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
OK...more horn problems..rag joint????
This should not be this hard...and let me say thanks to all who helped me track dowm my horn relay, which just as I thought was right under my nose.
So here is my problem...my horn does nothing. I replaced the relay, checked fuses, scouted wires, everything looks ok, except no horn, no clicking, no nothing. My horn pad is shot, so is the wheel for that matter, also my rag joint looks nothing like the one posted else where on this forum. Maybe I am looking at the wrong thing...I dunno.. I just dont want one of those horns mounted on the dash so it will pass inspection, I want it fixed right. Can anyone give me some more info on the rag joint and wiring it up? Thanks, David
So here is my problem...my horn does nothing. I replaced the relay, checked fuses, scouted wires, everything looks ok, except no horn, no clicking, no nothing. My horn pad is shot, so is the wheel for that matter, also my rag joint looks nothing like the one posted else where on this forum. Maybe I am looking at the wrong thing...I dunno.. I just dont want one of those horns mounted on the dash so it will pass inspection, I want it fixed right. Can anyone give me some more info on the rag joint and wiring it up? Thanks, David
Senior User
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 296
Likes: 0
There should be a ground wire/strap that connects the steering colum shaft with the shaft from the gear box across the rag joint. Your horn system is switched on the ground side. If your steering colum shaft is not grounded then the horn won't work. Try connecting a wire from ground (frame or other grounded metal surface) to your steering colum shaft and see if your horn works. This has been a common problem with most of the trucks I have come across over the years.
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 262
Likes: 0
From: Upstate South Carolina
I posted a picture in my gallery of a homemade ground strap over the rag joint.
I spent one whole day trouble shooting my horn on my 1977 F100. I eventually replaced everything, and I mean everything having to do with the horn but still it wouldn't blow.
I'm not an electrician but I can follow basic logic and a road map and my mind was telling me there was some problem with the center shaft of the column getting ground.
I didn't remember ever seeing a ground strap on the rag joint but I have seen original rag joints with metal incorporated into the rubber, so I gave this homemade ground strap a try...
And it worked!
I've seen other trucks with this homemade strap on them and I've seen stock rag joints with no ground strap which I am sure had working horns, so I do not know all the ins and outs of why some need this and some don't, but it sounds like your truck needs this grounding strap.
Good luck, and check out my picture in my gallery of the grounding strap.
I spent one whole day trouble shooting my horn on my 1977 F100. I eventually replaced everything, and I mean everything having to do with the horn but still it wouldn't blow.
I'm not an electrician but I can follow basic logic and a road map and my mind was telling me there was some problem with the center shaft of the column getting ground.
I didn't remember ever seeing a ground strap on the rag joint but I have seen original rag joints with metal incorporated into the rubber, so I gave this homemade ground strap a try...
And it worked!
I've seen other trucks with this homemade strap on them and I've seen stock rag joints with no ground strap which I am sure had working horns, so I do not know all the ins and outs of why some need this and some don't, but it sounds like your truck needs this grounding strap.
Good luck, and check out my picture in my gallery of the grounding strap.
New User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 0
Likes: 24
Originally Posted by FordTrucksKickGM
I doubt the rag joint has anything to do with the horn. Its basically a rubber disk at the end of the steering shaft that connects the shaft to the gear box.
See the metal tabs that cover both sides of the rag joint?
That's what needs to be in place for the horn pad switch to ground out.
Trending Topics
Thread Starter
|
Junior User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
Wow! Thanks for the pics, I always was a visual learner...so my rj looks nothing like the one the mil1ion posted, definatly missing something. Thanks to mikestrucks for the pic, I am going to try and do that to mine and see if it works...
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer
Joe Kucinski
2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)
Brett Foote
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies
Joe Kucinski
AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make
Brett Foote
Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!
Michael S. Palmer
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home
Verdad Gallardo
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?
Brett Foote
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,628
Likes: 0
From: Northeast Nebraska
Originally Posted by Mil1ion
See the metal tabs that cover both sides of the rag joint?
That's what needs to be in place for the horn pad switch to ground out.
That's what needs to be in place for the horn pad switch to ground out.
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,118
Likes: 0
From: Williamson, NY
What year/model is your truck? My 77 F150 2wd truck originally came with a polymeric style "rag-joint". It looked very similar to the one Mil1ion posted but had a plastic disc where the rubber is on Mil1ion's rag-joint. This was not one of Fords better ideas, since the plastic disc will literally disintegrated over time. The rubber rag-joints will eventually get sloppy, but they usually do not fail completely like the plastic one's will. I remember someone posting on this site that he almost hit his neighbors house when his plastic rag-joint failed.
New User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 0
Likes: 24
Okay...this pic is of the same coupler from my 77 4x2 F150.
I have nnever ever seen a plastic rag joint.
Ford refers to it as a rubber insulator.
The only plastic thing in that area I know of is the white plastic retainer on the column as shown in here.
I have nnever ever seen a plastic rag joint.
Ford refers to it as a rubber insulator.
The only plastic thing in that area I know of is the white plastic retainer on the column as shown in here.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 122
Likes: 0
When I pulled a used steering column out of a bone yard '77 last week, it had a semi translucent polymer disc instead of the rubber disc. On disassembly, it fell apart. The two '77 trucks I've worked on both had ground wires across the rag joint - there is no electrical continuity through the joint via the metal "clips" that I can see. The clips look like they help prevent the bolts from tearing the rubber/fabric disc. The one thing I wondered about is what effect if any, the current to pull in the horn relay has on the bearings in the steering box. One person told me that GM at one time used a special, (conductive?) grease to prevent problems with arcing on the bearings. Obviously this is not the case with the ATF lubed Ford PS box. I have a steering wheel from a newer Ford that uses two carbon brushes in the steering wheel to eliminate the need for a ground via the steering box shaft.
New User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 0
Likes: 24
My Parts Numbers and illustration discs don't show any plastic insulator whatsoever.
In fact, item 3A525 is shown as a coupler with the rubber attached part.
just like here on rockauto.
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,ca...,parttype,7418
In fact, item 3A525 is shown as a coupler with the rubber attached part.
just like here on rockauto.
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,ca...,parttype,7418
Last edited by Mil1ion; Sep 6, 2007 at 08:37 PM.