QuestionGood day sir. My name is Dale Smith, I have a 1989 Cadillac Fleetwood bro. An the horn won't stop blowing and also when I drive the car the battery drain but when its in park it charges but only a little it get a weak charge, I have a high output alternator(140) and I bring the battery the get charged and they say that the battery is fine.. Can u plz. Help me Sir.???
AnswerHello,
Of course I can help you, but you may have a parts issue with the horn, as well as not having the easiest time fixing he problem without specialty tools that may be possibly loaned at stores like AutoZone.
Unplug the horns for the time being.
To diagnose and repair, the tools you will need is a 7mm or 9/32 nut driver to remove horn pad.
Once the horn pad is removed, you need to reach down into the wire holder, press and turn counter clockwise and remove.
You will need a 1/4" nut drive to remove the 3 screws from the T&T knob assy. Then take a needle nose pliers and insert into the two holes in the T&T disc. Be careful on the outside unscrewing because the outside is sharp enough to cut your hand. Unscrew from shaft and remove.
You will need to see if you can rent a steering wheel puller. Do not hammer the shaft to remove steering wheel!
Remove the steering wheel nut with a 13/16 spark plug socket. Pay close attention for the line up marks on the top of the shaft and on the base of the steering wheel. If not lined up, you will need to take a screwdriver at the base of the steering wheel, hit with hammer making a mark even with the shaft mark. This way, when you reinstall, the steering wheel will be in the exact position before disassembly.
Remove steering wheel with puller and pull straight up without bending the horn spring.
You will now see the turn signal cancel cam plastic cover after you removed the steering bushing off the shaft. (rubber hose)This cover is a common problem because it is made of brittle plastic and prevents the horn spring from grounding causing the horn to stay on. To remove, it needs to be pulled straight up or it will break. I used to use a larger hooked awl, reaching under the piece and pulling upward. I do not know the name of the component, and I used to stock 5 at a time. If you go to the dealer, you should see the part on a microfiche. 1989 was the last year because 1990 no more tilt and telescopic because in 1990 air bags were installed.
The GM Tilt and Telescopic components were used as far back as 1970 n Cadillacs, Corvettes, Rivieras, Grand Prixs and Olds 98s.
If you can obtain that cancel cam insulator, get 2 for the future.
You will now need a lock plate compressor which you might get at a parts store. Crank it down. With the insulator removed, you will see a "C" clip. I should have told you before removing the steering wheel, turn to the right where the horn pad in facing up and down. The reason being is when you are looking at the C clip it will be at the 3 O clock position. Once the lock plate is compressed, take a screw driver and slide the C clip out paying close attention to the direction because it only fits one way. Remove the lock plate. Remove the cancel cam/horn contact. Replace.
reinstall lock plate.
Now, there is a secret here because if you try to compress the lock plate without what I will tell you, all you will do is find the upper shaft fell out in your hands and can be a mess.
Go to a hardware store an get a 5/16 x 18 1" long cap screw with an allen head. Have an allen wrench for it. Install the screw where the T&T assembly fits in the shaft. Make sure the shaft is pushed all the way down. Tighten the cap screw tight! Install the lock plate making sure you have the center correctly on the shaft. he lock plate only fits one way! You will see the three tabs of the cancel cam line up with the three holes in the lock plate, again only fitting one way.
Take your needle nose and slide C clip back in the slot of the shaft and as state will go in only one way. Do not force. The C clip will slide in. Release partial pressure on lock plate compressor. Grab with both hand and move lock plate, right to left to make sure bearing race underneath pops in. If it is not seated, upper part of column will be loose.
Install your insulator if you did not break it or a new one if you could locate by just pushing over the shaft. It too, only fits one way. Put bushing on shaft. Remove the cap screw.
Pull steering shaft up. Make sure the spring on the steering wheel seats center, while trying to line up the shaft and steering wheel notches. You may want to hold the upper shaft with a needle nose and wiggle the steering wheel so the shaft comes through it lined up. Put the steering wheel nut on. Have someone hold the wheel while you tighten the wheel.
Now, if the plastic coming through the steering wheel is broken, I used to have a small awl with a 90 degree angle. I would heat it with a propane torch, insert into the horn wire part and melt me some new groves. Insert the horn wire, push and turn to the right.
Install the part that goes under the T&T bolt. Screw the T&t bolt until hand tight. Line up the lower piece, install screws and tighten. Turn the lever to the right and wheel should be locked stationary Turn to left, column should move up and down.
Install horn pad.
Charging sounds ;like internal alternator failure. Put an ammeter between pos and neg battery cables, turn lights on and see what amperage is being put out. At that point, you should be putting out 100 plus amps. If not, you need an alternator. It should also be putting out at minimum 13.2 volts with a volt meter.
If you have a parasitic draw, that is easy to check too. This sounds like an alternator problem.
By the way, hook up the horns now.
http://www.autotheftexpert.com
Auto Theft Claims Master
