One of the iconic things about a Beetle is the horn. I hear the horn I still think of Herbie "The Love Bug". It's part of the Bug's personality and charm. It doesn't have the big boisterous horn American cars had in the 60's and 70's. It's more of a tinier and friendlier but still enough to say "Hey I'm here."and likely to bring a smile.
My Bug's horn did work but the steering wheel button didn't work. A previous owner had rigged up a button under the dash. It worked but was a awkward to use and and the ground wire had a tendency to wiggle off which added an aggravation factor on top of the awkwardness. Plus I knew this probably wouldn't pass the muster come state inspection time.
I reasoned that original problem lied in the horn button on the wheel didn't work hence the addition button on the dash. I researched the horn switch and found it reasonably priced but was on back order. I ordered it anyway as I had other stuff to do and winter was approaching so it wasn't an urgent item.
Fast forward to spring time I finally received the horn switch and decide to tackle this project. First step is to remove the plastic horn button cover from the steering wheel. Using a screwdriver I as able to pry the four corners off. One should be careful and not be too forceful prying as the cover is plastic and may break, you may have to work at it a bit. Once you get it off it is loose but still held in the middle. and you'll also see the horn wire going to the cover so don't just rip it off. Turn 90 degrees and the cover should now come off. You can then remove the wire.
Almost there. I see my horn wire but I still have to remove steering wheel to get to the horn ring. I believe it is a 24mm deep socket( I forgot to make note of it at the time) and an extension and good size rachet or breaker bar. I also soaked it with some Liquid Wrench as the that nut has probably been on there since Nixon was President(those were the days). I also put wheel in a locked position so the it wouldn't move. I don't remember it giving me a major problem.
Now it's just a matter of pulling the wheel off. A suggest marking the wheel before taking it off so you can line it up again. I forgot to do this so my wheel is a bit cockeyed, learn from my goof. You may need to wiggle it a bit but it should pull right off.
You'll now see the horn ring switch on the back of the wheel. It's only held on by three Phillips head screwdrivers. This is the easiest part. I removed the the three screws and installed the new ring. It only goes one way as the wire goes thru a hole and screw it in place. Now you just reinstall in reverse order. Hopefully you avoided my mistake by marking the wheel position ahead of time. Do as I say not as I did.
After I got it back together it still didn't work. I crawl underneath to see the horn is hooked up but it's hooked up to the rigged up horn button. I found the correct factory wire and hooked it back up to the horn. I pulled out the old wire as I have enough of rats nest behind the dash already. Now the horn works wonderfully. Like music to my ears!
