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ORIGINAL: silvercoupe97

This is a copy and past from another one of my sites thanks to Dynatos.


If you are like me and have had trouble with your horn buttons, this article is for you. The problem is the metal in the switch becomes corroded and causes intermittent or no contact whatsoever.

So I decided to tear it apart, and take care of it. Seems cleaning it works just fine, so here’s what you’ll need:

* 10mm Socket Wrench
* Small Screwdriver
* Contact Cleaner
* Multi-meter with continuity check preferable.

Just as a note, pencil erasers work good for cleaning contacts. This is actually what I used to get into the plastic pieces and it worked fine. So whatever you want to use to clean the contacts is up to you.

The 1st step is taking off the airbag. Unplug the battery and let it sit for 5-10 minutes (or wait longer if you’re paranoid like me) so that it won’t accidentally go off in your face. There are four 10mm bolts that hold the airbag to the steering wheel. These are circled in BLUE. Once off, pry the airbag contact off (GREEN). Next disconnect the horn button wire (RED).
http://home.comcast.net/~ecsolutions/dissassembly.jpg
Next, unbolt the bracket for the horn buttons. These are 2 10mm nuts, circled in BLUE. The horn buttons (RED) slide off the ends.
http://home.comcast.net/~ecsolutions/outofthebox.jpg
Here’s a close up of the switch. Pull the tabs(RED) and push up. This will open the switch up.
http://home.comcast.net/~ecsolutions/switchclosed.jpg
Remove the springs (GREEN) for now.
http://home.comcast.net/~ecsolutions/switchopen.jpg

This is the switch cap taken off completely. This isn’t necessary, but made for a good picture. The two metal surfaces (GREEN) and the two metal surfaces (BLUE) are what need to be cleaned. If yours is how mine was, the copper contacts (GREEN) will be almost black with corrosion. Here is where the multi-meter comes in.
http://home.comcast.net/~ecsolutions/exposed.jpg
Place your multi-meter on continuity check with tone. (That way, it beeps when the leads touch. Now you can place on lead on the wire, and one on the contact. At first, mine would hardly beep even moving it around. After cleaning the contact thoroughly, though, there was no problem at all.

If you don’t have a multi-meter (you really should invest in one if not) then just clean the contacts VERY thoroughly.

The last step is the springs. I stretched mine out a bit to add some more pressure on the switch. This is optional, but seemed to help for me. I also bent the metal plate that holds the switches a little bit more towards the vinyl of the airbag.
http://home.comcast.net/~ecsolutions/springs.jpg
You’re done, put it back together.

Disclaimer: I’m not responsible for any damage, loss of life, dismemberment and such.

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