It appears the ground on my steering column is flaky

[lcvaldetaro]

The horn on my 74 ghia works intermittently.

I spend some time today with a multi-meter and narrow it to teh steering column. As you probably know, there is a wire that goes in the middle of the steering column, and that wire is fine. When you hit the horn button, that wire is then connected to the metal on the steering column and that closes the circuit that activates the horn.

A couple of years ago I replaced the steering because I was having too much play in my steering.

Initially everything was fine, but eventually the horn stopped. The problem is that sometimes there is no ground on the steering column. If you turn the steering wheel, the ground appears, then disappears....

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[fezzic181]

There should also be a jumper wire located at the steering coupler. This is up under the front of the car and has probably corroded or completely broken.

[fusername]

a simple fix a PO did on my bus was put a sheet metal screw thru the steering column and put a ring terminal there, instead of the fancy VW factory terminal which is hidden inside the column under the floor and a PITA to wire. looks a bit ugly but its hard to notice and works consistantly. Not sure if your wiring is the same.