So I have no horn....

I don't know why. The buttons are very hard to push. I'm hoping and praying I don't need to replace my steering wheel or something like that.

The 91-93 horn buttons are crap...you probably need to replace them. They snap into the airbag.

My horn was like that when I bought my '93. Chances are the contacts are broken and worn out. Only thing you can do is solder in new buttons or buy a new Airbag unit- I got mine on ebay for $45 with shipping. Thats what I did, took all of 10 mins to install. Really easy.

You can buy just the buttons to snap into your existing airbag, they plug straight in...no soldering necessary....

I looked up your car, I thought I might have a couple of horn buttons, but you have a caprice, and I do not have access to a 91-93 caprice at this time. The switches have a small clear plastic part inside which breaks. I saw a thread on the impala forum, where someone replaced the switch with a push to contact switch from Radio Shack. It was a pretty straight forward fix, and you should only have to do it once. He used the original external switch parts.

I have 5 wagons and only 2 of them have working horns. Just never got around to fixing them yet

Fred: this thread?

http://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=227901&highlight=caprice+horn+buttons



How would that work? I've never used a soldering iron before... lol (I know, I know, uber noob )

Try these:

"Horn switch in air bag" in the impalassforum or

http://www.impalaforums.com/resource...her-years.html

Here is the cheap, and easy fix. Not to mention better looking, and a far more functional horn. A Lumina Sport wheel. No more airbag, but at least you can honk at someone before you hit them!

This is mom's 91 Caprice, btw. I put the same wheel in my SS.

Hmm... that wheel is black though. I like my red wheel.

There is a red Lumina wheel

You could put an aftermarket wheel on it. I have a "Personal" wheel and a MOMO that I can interchange. The horn buttons on them are simple, and work every time. I gave up on the air bag. They can do more harm than good, and if you wear your seatbelt, they are not necessary. I have not figured out how to post pics, so you will have to use your imagination. I have posted them in the past on the impala site. I picked up the wheel on ebay, and got an adapter there too. If you watch the wheels, you can get a color which looks good in your car, or just get a redish mahogany (or if you have a lighter woodgrain trim, one to match) one with polished spokes, and the color will not make a difference. There are some nice polished adapters for under $50. You can even get a horn button with a Chevy emblem. I got one with an Olds emblem from Grant.

If you decide to go with an aftermarket, and run into some issues, let me know. I put wheels on 2 different cars, and have it figured out.

Well, ideally I want to get rid of the wood grain trim on the dash. I don't like it. I think It would look pretty cool with like, stainless trim (think Trans Am).


Hmmm let's hunt for a red Lumina wheel.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1990-93-CHEVROLET-LUMINA-EURO-STEERING-WHEEL-BLACK-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem48363336acQQitemZ310146971308QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

There's a black one... but I want red. Boo.

I am headed to the JY again tomorrow...I will look around for a wheel.

Bump.

Can anyone link me to a thread, and/or show me simple directions for fixing my horn? I don't want to go taking stuff apart in vain and realizing I can't figure it out. The simpler the better. I'm getting frustrated with a lack of a horn. lol

Have you determined what is actually wrong with your horn? Do you get power to the buttons? The buttons ground the circuit. All you would have to do to check for power, is remove the airbag, and ground the "Y" wire that goes to the horn buttons to the steering wheel. The horn will sound if you are getting power to the buttons. Once you have that figured out, then you can look into fixing the buttons.

The Radio Shack "push on" "release off" buttons will work and are pretty easy to install. You may have to solder the wires to them, or at least a lead with an insulated connector on one end. The other side of the switch has to ground to the metal of the airbag. You only have to drill a hole the size of the threaded shank of the switch. If you have to adjust the position away from the button, you can get extra nuts for the threaded shank.

How do you remove the airbag?

lol

Stingroo wrote:

How do you remove the airbag?

lol

Back of the steering wheel, 4 torx screws, take them out bag comes right off. unplug the old bag, dont destroy the clips on the plug, plug the new one in and you're done.

I do not know if the question is in jest or you really do not know how to remove the airbag. I will take it to mean that you do not know how to remove the airbag.

There are 2 or 4 #20 or 25 torx screws on the back of the steering wheel. Remove them (unscrew, but they will stay in place because of a retainer clip), and the airbag will almost fall in your lap. The horn wire goes into a hole in the steering wheel. It has a spring on it. To remove it push gently and twist gently counterclockwise about 1/4 of a turn. When installed, you can ground the other end of the wire, and it will sound the horn. Once you have become comfortable with that, the rest is pretty straight forward.

ANother note. Disconnect the battery and let it sit for about 10 mins just to be on the safe side. Call me paranoid, but id rather not have the bag blow up when I'm taking it out. I've had one go off once in an accident. And that was enough

Fred Kiehl wrote:

I do not know if the question is in jest or you really do not know how to remove the airbag. I will take it to mean that you do not know how to remove the airbag.

There are 2 or 4 #20 or 25 torx screws on the back of the steering wheel. Remove them (unscrew, but they will stay in place because of a retainer clip), and the airbag will almost fall in your lap. The horn wire goes into a hole in the steering wheel. It has a spring on it. To remove it push gently and twist gently counterclockwise about 1/4 of a turn. When installed, you can ground the other end of the wire, and it will sound the horn. Once you have become comfortable with that, the rest is pretty straight forward.

Yes, I was completely serious. This is kinda-sorta my first car (in a roundabout sort of way, long stories to be told there, though...) so I'm pretty clueless.

I'll have to pick up some torx screwdrivers to figure this out. I really do want my horn to work, that way during Thanksgiving or Christmas break I can put my Fleetwood trumpet horns to good use.

Thanks for the tip Cadet. I would never have thought about that....

To be safe you really should disconnect the battery, I am just lazy and forget about it. It can keep you from getting hurt. The only problem is that you can not test the horn circuit with the battery disconnected. If you disconnect the airbag, you can reconnect the battery and check the horn. Do not loose the little green lock clip for the airbag.

Noted. I'll have to run by Ace or Harbor Freight or something and pick up a torx driver set. I don't have any. lol

You can get a set of allen wrench style (bent wire) torx wrenches at Autozone or equivalent for about $10-15. There are some screwdriver sets that have an assortment of torx bits in them too.

It might (will be) necessary to unhook the battery. If you short or jump the wrong wire you just might learn what it feels like to eat an air bag. Unhook the battery and wait about 15 minutes. This will de-engerize the system. You can go to a gm dealer and get the correct parts or follow the direction on the Impala forum. I spent over 35 years as a gm parts consultant. We sold many sets of the horn buttons, but the momentary switches work better. I bought mine from ACE Hardware. I think they were like $6 each. You need 2.

shenny

Hmmm I still haven't done this. I need to figure it out soon. It's getting annoying not having a horn. lol

you can always direct wire it to a push button you mount on the dash some where.

of better yet put a train horn on the roof with a pull string like a trucker

I would TOTALLY do the train horn thing, but not in the dash. I'd hide them in the bumpers.

But I don't really like the look of push buttons in the dash. It would bug me. I'm weird.

A horn button on the dash really looks trashy. You could even gold plate it and it would still look trashy. Having to reach to push it would be a PITA too. It would really kill your reaction time.

My horn is a hair trigger and my steering wheel is flexible enough, that I can push the steering wheel rim, and the horn will blow.

Air horns under the hood would be a good thing too. I've been considering that for a while. I just haven't found a set that I like.

So I have an 88 caprice wagon and my horn does not work at all. I'm very new to the fixing your own car thing and need some direction. Please help!

I have no experience with 1988 horn buttons. I could be the relay, or the horn itself. You need a VOM to check for voltage. If you can find an FSM, it would help with the troubleshooting.

Not to go off topic.. but I have read a 94+ wheel will bolt into the 91-93, you just need to splice the wires. Is this true? One of my (newer) horn buttons is already going and I'm not good enough at soldering to try the doorbell trick.

Cadet57 wrote:

Not to go off topic.. but I have read a 94+ wheel will bolt into the 91-93, you just need to splice the wires. Is this true? One of my (newer) horn buttons is already going and I'm not good enough at soldering to try the doorbell trick.

You may be able to install the wheel by splicing in the airbag. The sensors are different for the 94+ units. The horn works the same way.

Bump.


So my predicament gets weirder and weirder by the day. If you've seen my most recent thread you know my steering rod key thingy broke (I know, my technical terms are unmatched!)

I got one from the junkyard with one of my dad's friends and got that fixed. We also took the wheel off to try and fix the horn, but we discovered that the wire to the air bag was cut - and I don't have a clockspring (I have no idea what that is or means, but I assume it's supposed to be there). So like, what's a clockspring? What's it do? Where can I get one? Is it easier to replace that thing and fix my current wheel or just replace it with an aftermarket (or a Lumina wheel...)

I'm confused and seeking wagon guidance.

Hey Stingroo go by Advance and just as you go in they have a display of little tool kits in small clear and yellow
plastic cases.One of these sets is a 66 piece package of all the most common torx,phillips,straight and allen in
SAE and metric.Quality is impressive and they cost just 5 bucks on sale all this month so dont wait.Never too
late to start a basic tool kit on the cheap.
Take care
Jim Gordon

The clockspring is a yellow(?) "ring" that goes on the steering column at the base of the steering wheel. Your source is going to be a junk yard for those. If you don't want to find and replace it then yes a non-airbag wheel would be a fine replacement as you don't really have an air bag anyway.

Yeah so I've decided I'm going to replace the wheel. I hate the way the factory wheel looks anyway, so why spend time and money fixing something I don't like, when I can find something I do like?