I have a 74 chrysler New Yorker brougham 2 door and I have a small problem. I can't find the horn switch inside the vehicle. It has 2 working horns under the hood behind each head light however I can't find how to make them work or where the switch is located. I can take pictures or whatever is needed.
74 Chrysler New Yorker horn
- Thread starter Sry5705
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Wildbunch02
Senior Member
You probably have a rim blow steering wheel. Try squeezing the inner portion of the steering wheel rim.
The whole Rim Blow issue was in its deserved grave at that point in time. Things went back to "conventional wisdom" in '74 with the center part of the steering wheel being the horn button. It will visibly move when the center section is pressed.
IF that does not work, then check for the horn relay on the fuse block (usually on the fuse block) on earlier models. Get a flat blade screwdriver and straighten the housing tabs that hold the cover onto the base enough to gently pull the cover off. You'll find a solenoid and a simple contact point set. If it's looking "crispy crittered", you know there is a short in the system somewhere that "auto-engaged" the horn.
Under the steering wheel is the next-weakest link in the circuit, the turn signal switch. In the switch is the spring loaded contact that contacts the turn signal cancelling cam, which has the contact strip it contacts to send power between the horn switch (steering wheel) and the rest of the circuit. IF the horn auto-deployed very much, the spring under the bronze contact will weaken and recede into its housing. No contact, no horn. A new switch is needed.
These are the things I discovered/learned about with my 1970 DH43 with tilt and rim blow column. The later ones should "wire" the same, I strongly suspect, but what I mentioned is the typical way things worked. When I bought it, it had a non-operational horn. The horn relay, when I took the cover off, was "crispy-crittered" bigtime. A new horn relay fixed it, initially, until I discovered the reason for it when the horn went off by itself when temps rose past 80* F.
The 1974-style steering wheel was a HUGE improvement, to me.
Just my experiences,
CBODY67
IF that does not work, then check for the horn relay on the fuse block (usually on the fuse block) on earlier models. Get a flat blade screwdriver and straighten the housing tabs that hold the cover onto the base enough to gently pull the cover off. You'll find a solenoid and a simple contact point set. If it's looking "crispy crittered", you know there is a short in the system somewhere that "auto-engaged" the horn.
Under the steering wheel is the next-weakest link in the circuit, the turn signal switch. In the switch is the spring loaded contact that contacts the turn signal cancelling cam, which has the contact strip it contacts to send power between the horn switch (steering wheel) and the rest of the circuit. IF the horn auto-deployed very much, the spring under the bronze contact will weaken and recede into its housing. No contact, no horn. A new switch is needed.
These are the things I discovered/learned about with my 1970 DH43 with tilt and rim blow column. The later ones should "wire" the same, I strongly suspect, but what I mentioned is the typical way things worked. When I bought it, it had a non-operational horn. The horn relay, when I took the cover off, was "crispy-crittered" bigtime. A new horn relay fixed it, initially, until I discovered the reason for it when the horn went off by itself when temps rose past 80* F.
The 1974-style steering wheel was a HUGE improvement, to me.
Just my experiences,
CBODY67
Since it looks like you have a tilt wheel, your steering wheel probably looks like this. The horn relay, should you want to know where that is, is on the fuse block under the dash.
EDIT: This is a rim-blow wheel so squeeze the rim. There should be a black rubber piece on the inside of the wheel diameter. Don't be surprised if it doesn't work. They were trouble prone at best and everyone I ever owned didn't work well before I got the car and that was when they weren't 50 years old. The usual fix is a an add-on button under the dash. I believe a real fix can be done, but I never looked into it.
EDIT: This is a rim-blow wheel so squeeze the rim. There should be a black rubber piece on the inside of the wheel diameter. Don't be surprised if it doesn't work. They were trouble prone at best and everyone I ever owned didn't work well before I got the car and that was when they weren't 50 years old. The usual fix is a an add-on button under the dash. I believe a real fix can be done, but I never looked into it.
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To me, that looks just like the rim blow in my '70 Monaco, other than the name plate. That center section does not.
CBODY67
-------------------
After consulting the Library at www.hamtramck-historical.com 1974 Chrysler Data Book, I discovered that the Rim Blow was still alive for the 1974 model year. So what is pictured is that steering wheel I learned to not like, for the 1975 tilt/telescope Chrysler steering columns.
Which also means that all of my above comments CAN apply to 1974s with such columns and steering wheels.
CBODY67
-------------------
After consulting the Library at www.hamtramck-historical.com 1974 Chrysler Data Book, I discovered that the Rim Blow was still alive for the 1974 model year. So what is pictured is that steering wheel I learned to not like, for the 1975 tilt/telescope Chrysler steering columns.
Which also means that all of my above comments CAN apply to 1974s with such columns and steering wheels.
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I didn't look it up, figuring you were you were correct on the rim-blow horns being gone in 1974.
So... Now I really had to know. There is a tilt wheel lever showing in one of the pics, so it would be a rim blow! The '74 Chrysler dealer databook from The 1970 Hamtramck Registry - 1974 Chrysler Dealership Data Book - Chrysler
I also edited my above post.
6PKRTSE
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Probably just disconnected in the column. I have sometimes honked my horn while turning. I usually do the one or two finger deal at the center by the cross over for the horn. It doesn't take much to bump/press it while turning.
By the time I bought my car used in 1975, with about 85K TX miles on it, the "switch" was very hard and took a lot of pressure to actuate. Then the issues with the switch self-activating in the summer, so I began looking for alternatives. I eventually ordered a new wheel from Chrysler, which by that time was in "any color = black", but had the switch already installed.
I was thinking the newer steering wheel came out in '74, but it was actually later. I was looking for a bolt-on wheel. Just that they changed the color codes in '74 so no exact color match any more. Never did get deeper into getting it changed out, yet. Car became archived of sorts.
CBODY67
I was thinking the newer steering wheel came out in '74, but it was actually later. I was looking for a bolt-on wheel. Just that they changed the color codes in '74 so no exact color match any more. Never did get deeper into getting it changed out, yet. Car became archived of sorts.
CBODY67
This is the steering wheel. I will look further into a possible fix for this. Thank you all!
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