I forgot to post... IT WORKS. It just wasn't grounding itself because I was running it without a horn ring. Thanks guys for all the help.

William



1957 Ford Fairlane 500

292 Bored .30 over

Fordomatic

I don't think they drilled the shafts, I think they used schedule 80 pipe. I just used one from a 54 to rebuild my box and found out the 54 was 2" longerthan the 55 shaft. cut it with a pipe cutter beveled and rewelded it.

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?

Sorry..correction to my previous post..should have read..later "60s" Fords. (I don't know how to edit an existing post?)

Paul

Rick: that awful brush setup you refer to is found in one form or other on all 1958 & later 50s Fords. Apparently the reason was because of the earlier necessity to drill the entire column shafts, likely an expensive time consuming process..

Paul

Hi Bill



The bible, 49-59 Parts manual shows 55-7 all use the same column. 58-9 had that awful brush setup.

But the hope is that it goes Honk,Honk.

Regards

Rick - West Australia
Do Y Blocks Downunder run upside down? Gravity Sucks!!

it works by going Honk, Honk!

the relays have a live wire going to them, check and make sure sure you have a live wire to the relay. the horn is activated by grounding out the other side of the relay, if I am thinking correctly, just came back from a wedding so a little foggy. then from the relay is a wire to the horn which when the relay is activated sends power to the horn.

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?

Rick, i think its a 57 us model that has 59 type horn contact ring ontop of blinker switch, the contact wire is down side of column with other wires as the column is solid, just a detail not to mix up models,

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

The wire from the column comes out the lower end of the steering box in line with the column. The steering column is a hollow tube and the wire is passed down inside it. It may be hard to find but it should be there. If it is not there you can get replacements from most classic parts suppliers and slide a new one in from the top of the column. It is part #14308.

If you are asking about the wire in your harness, just remove it from the plug which connects to the turn signal plug connector .

Regards

Rick - West Australia
Do Y Blocks Downunder run upside down? Gravity Sucks!!

awesome!!! where's the easiest place to access the horn wire from the column?

William



1957 Ford Fairlane 500

292 Bored .30 over

Fordomatic

Fords of this era run a wire up the centre of the column which acts as a switch wire for the horn relay when earthed through the horn button.

You say you have an aftermarket wiring harness fitted. These are all generally set up to suit a Chev wiring system with the horn connecting to the turn signal plug group on the column. The wire for the horn is black in colour and needs to be removed from this plug and connected to the wire protruding out the bottom of the steering column. Just join a bit of wire to the black and run it through the firewall to pick up and connect to the Ford column switch wire.

Once you have done this you can check if it is right by touching a wire on the round terminal sticking out the centre of the steering column and touching the other end of the wire to the steering column. This terminal normally rubs against the bottom of the horn button. If you have it right the horn will work.

Most kits have a horn relay integral with the fuse panel with a terminal marked as horn out - this connects straight to the horn. The black wire I have mentioned completes the circuit for the relay to open and close.

Hope this helps.

Regards


Rick - West Australia
Do Y Blocks Downunder run upside down? Gravity Sucks!!