My RK horn wire emerges at the bottom of the column as it should, but is only about 3mm of bare wire! not enough to attach more wire to Obviously 87 years of twirling has taken it's toll. My first Seven (1930) had a remote button, and it was only 27 years old!
How can I dismantle the steering head to fit a new wire to the button contact? It does not look straightforward!
D

Location: Stratford upon Avon

Unscrew and remove the horn button and spring.
You will then see a small brass nipple with a blob of solder on top. Gently twist this back and forth with blunt pliers and gradually draw it out.
You can then remove the nipple and the old wire.
Solder on a new long length of wire and reassemble.

The wire you're looking at is the earth for the horn David. At the top of the column inside the car you'll find that the horn button unscrews revealing a metal 'peg' set in an insulating ferrule. The other end of your wire is attached to this peg. There's a spring under the horn button so, when you press the button, the underside of it touches the peg, completes the circuit and the horn sounds.

If you unscrew the horn button, the peg can be pulled out if your careful such that a new wire can be soldered to the peg and fed down the tube. Of course, the insulator might also disintegrate. In that case, I've found that a suitable small length of rubber tube can be used to replace the insulator and, with a bit of trial and error, it can all be set up so that the clearance between the peg and the underside of the horn button is such that the horn sounds when you press the button.

If you find that the button simply revolves rather than unscrewing, hold the collar underneath it with a small pair of grips and then unscrew the button.

Steve

EDITED: Henry beat me to it but we're saying the same thing.

Location: North Yorkshire

Thanks....tomorrow's job!

Location: Stratford upon Avon

David,
I have come across some columns with an insulating ferrule at the bottom of the of the box as well to avoid the wire chaffing. Whether this is original or not I don't know. On the RN saloon when the wire exits the bottom of the column it is held back onto the flitch panel with a small leather strap and 3/16" round headed screw and nut.

Location: Deepest darkest Kent

All early type steering boxes having centre tubes with horn button were fitted with Insulating bush lower BM 77 (I think originally wood) to stop the horn wire shorting out.

Tony.

Location: Malvern, Victoria, Australia.

Yes Tony, I've made such insulating bushes from small pieces of suitable rubber tube in the past.

The wire on my RM Saloon is certainly original. It lasted for 86 years before shorting out on the tube in May this year. Regretfully, we were in a queue of traffic in Ilkley town centre at the time and the resulting blowing horn that I was unable to stop was, to say the least, embarrassing

Steve

Location: North Yorkshire

The vintage insulating bushes were usually made of a dense red fibre material, similar to that used to make the Prima dip sticks.

I got a piece of nylon rod and turned it down to size, similarly the hole so the soldered 'button' fitted reasonably tightly into the hole.

My October '28 built saloon has the dense red fibre ferrule at the base of the tube so I would think they were fitted originally to some models

Location: Melton Mowbray

Thanks for the help & advice! I extracted the wire , soldered on a new length & covered it with a heat shrink tube (marvellous things!)then found a grommet / plug of suitable diameter, soldered & heat shrunk the other end of the wire an I now have a functioning horn! (Rists).
David

Location: Stratford upon Avon

I have bought ready made bushes from cherished suppliers in the past, too distant to remember which one

David