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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Horn trouble!!

I am having difficulty with the horn on my 67 midget.
The stearing column does not appear to be earthed. How can this be?
Any suggestions welcome
John
J Clack

this was the subject of much traffic on BBS recently..
The inner column is earthed via the pinion end cap to the frame..or is meant to be. I must admit I eventually gave up obtaining a reliable connection and made alternative arrangements...a push button on the dash
dave c

I had a similar problem and after trawling the archives it appears that there is an elusive earth wire that connects the rack mounting bracket to the end cap of the steering rack (parts 55 and 43 respectivley), I hooked one of these up and it worked a treat.


Mark Whitmore

Thanks Guys
If I for example put a jubilee clip around the steering column (in the footwell above the pedals) and connected a wire from it to the body would that affect anything else, it seems to work for a quick fix?
MOT tomorrow so it has to work!
John
J Clack

No John, as long as the clamp is not on a "moving" part I cant see why that couldnt remain as a "fix"

The real earth wire is a braided /woven strip with a ring terminal on each end, that fits body/mounting point to rack clamp

I gave my last spare one away, but very easy to make up a replacement with wire and terminals
Bill

Thanks Bill, which side of the steering rack was this attached too, it's still is a bit of a mystery as it used to work and I cannot find a braded wire anywhere!
John
J Clack

I had a problem with my horn where there was not power coming to the horns. I only had a clicking sound in the horns when engaged. Disconnecting one of the horns made the other one work so only when both were connected did I not get enough power.
Instead of trying to find out where I had too high resistance (somewhere in the stearing column or stalk presumably) I bought a realy and mounted by the horns. Now only the control current to the relay has to pass the stalk. Works like a charm. (the relay I bought was the kind that are sold for hooking up extra headlights).

//Erik
E Lindgren

Arrgghh back again!
Connected the outer steering column to the bodywork in the footwell and no joy! Is the inner steering column isolated from the outer?
Can touch inner steering column to earth and works ok?
Have tried connecting the bolts on the steering rack mounts to the car body and still no luck. I have a rubbish solution bearing in mind the MOT is tommorrow is to put a wire under the rubber gaiter jubilee clip on one side of the steering rack to earth and it works ok. So does this mean that the stearing rack mounts are isolated from the steering rack?
Clear as mud??

John
J Clack

My rack has a sort of fibre strip that seats the rack in its mount, both brackets, which I suppose is why there is a braided earth strap.

Do a rubbish fix for now and then...



leave it that way

all you want is earthed column after all
Bill

Thanks Bill
Everithing for the MOT should be OK now we'll see?!
John
J Clack

X is for fingers

' luck!
Bill

John,the inner column is isolated from the outer by the shaft bushes.I've had this problem on a few cars (VW Golfs,Porsche 911's etc),the easiest method Is to find a length of spring steel,a brake pad retaining clip is ideal,and attach to the body via a handy bolt or self tapping screw and have it rubbing on the exposed inner column in order to create an extra earth path.Hope this helps.Regards Steve
Steve Smith

You could fit an indicator arm unit from the later model with the hornpush on the end. No messing with earthing.
Bob T

>You could fit an indicator arm unit from the later model with the hornpush on the end. No messing with earthing. <

I did!

but you do need to catch up the earthing for the switch in the wiring loom behind the instruments. One of the several clusters of black wires.
Bill

<<You could fit an indicator arm unit from the later model with the hornpush on the end. No messing with earthing>>

Me too.
And makes it so much easier to install an after-market steering wheel.

Steve Clark

Ha hah. Thanks for the earth strap, Bill. What a little beauty it was, too.
Nick

I felt sufficently moved by this thread to fix my horn.

When I bought the car it had a spring loaded switch on the dash. One reached it by putting ones hand through the steering wheel. That's fun when in a hurry.

I found that my poor earthing was in the area by the collapsible part of the inner column. 2 clips and a short piece of wire fixed that.

The relay solution seems to be the next thing to do. My twin horns grunt a bit like my klaxon (I had one hanging around for years so had to use it someday) does.

Nearly got pushed of the road by a BMW couple of days ago when turning right at a crossroads, and he shot out without giving way from the opposite direction. Clearly he thought he owned the road and I didn't count. My resolve was greater than the other driver as he was forcing me into incoming traffic. Maybe the racket of the 1275 at bursting point made him back off. The dog was not too impressed either.

Roly


Roly

This thread was discussed between 22/06/2008 and 02/07/2008

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS is active now.