Horn/Airbag replacement

The '93 Caprice that I'll be picking up has a bum horn. The owner doesn't think its the actual horn unit or the solenoid. When I drove it and I went to "honk" it i hit the buttons and it didn't feel like anything was there, like the contacts wore out. Upon reading further, seems horns wearing out is a common problem and the only remedy is to replace the horn/ airbag unit or rig up new buttons in the unit. I looked on ebay for a replacement and it was $45 including shipping. How hard is this to swap out? I'm kinda leery about installing it as I don't want a bag blasting in my face if I screw something up.

Easy swap. Couple of torx screws on the back, pop the bag off, unplug it, plug new one in, couple torx screws, and you're done in 5.

Sweet. Anything I have to do before I start? Any fuses to pull? Disconnect battery?

Just to be safe, disconnect the battery and wait half an hour. Also make sure there is nothing plugged into your cig lighter.

Doug

I never did... But it's up to you.

Having seen airbags go off, I'd disconnect the battery too, lol.

Make sure the bag you get has the buttons in it. They ALL break from what I've seen. My 93 had 57K when I bought it and one was already broken. It still works if I push really hard, but I don't bother with it. One of the few things I hate about the car.

I hear the horn buttons from Radio Shack mod is a good fix for it...

toomanytoyz wrote:

I never did... But it's up to you.

I just see fire department extrication training videos every year of fireman getting throw through sunroofs by airbags...enough to make me wait half a hour...LOL

Doug

So the bag got here. I installed it properly. Still no horn. Fuse is good, horn in the fender is getting power. Anyone have any ideas?

What color is your interior.
I have a bunch of blue airbags.
I would think it would be easier to just change the horn buttons,
I'm pretty sure i have a few of those kicking around.
1 bugle or 2 ?

M.ROSS wrote:

What color is your interior.
I have a bunch of blue airbags.
I would think it would be easier to just change the horn buttons,
I'm pretty sure i have a few of those kicking around.
1 bugle or 2 ?

Grey. I just replaced the whole unit with a new one, the buttons work. I just cant figure out why its not working.

M.ROSS wrote:

1 bugle or 2 ?

That is kinda personal don't you think.

Horn should have 2 wires coming off of it. One is the ground which can be grounded anywhere you choose. The other is power which should only show power at the horn when the button is pressed or the alarm is activated.

If you have power at the horn when the button is pressed then check for a loose or bad ground. If the ground is also solid then replace the horn. It's really a pretty basic system.

Pooge wrote:

toomanytoyz wrote:

I never did... But it's up to you.

I just see fire department extrication training videos every year of fireman getting throw through sunroofs by airbags...enough to make me wait half a hour...LOL

Doug

I'm not scared of much in the fire service, but air bags, and hybrids scare the sh!t outta me. Volunteer 20 years now

So the pencil sized white plastic connector (red wire) was pushed in, thru the clock spring into its mate & twisted so it remains connected right?
If thats the case, check the Relay in the convenience panel (just somewhat convenient)
Take your foot off the brake & put it to the left on the floor
Convenience panel is directly above your toe & has the silver can flashers etc on it
Check for coil sound if horn switches are functional
Go to http://shbox.com/1/horns.jpg for schematic

EDIT: Not sure if you convenience panel is in the same place (no experience)

sdstick wrote:

So the pencil sized white plastic connector (red wire) was pushed in, thru the clock spring into its mate & twisted so it remains connected right?

Connected to where? That may be my problem...

With the airbag off
(Dont get cocky & just rip it off now, follow advise about removing power & waiting a few minutes)
look thru the 1/4" holes in the wheel.
Inside 1 hole you'll see the gold electrical mate to the pencil size connector attached to the horn buttons
Its set up like those inline fuses (except there's no fuse), where it pushes in 1 way (due to a tab on the plastic)
& when you compress the spring, it allows you to turn it clockwise a little & lock it in place

sdstick wrote:

With the airbag off
(Dont get cocky & just rip it off now, follow advise about removing power & waiting a few minutes)
look thru the 1/4" holes in the wheel.
Inside 1 hole you'll see the gold electrical mate to the pencil size connector attached to the horn buttons
Its set up like those inline fuses (except there's no fuse), where it pushes in 1 way (due to a tab on the plastic)
& when you compress the spring, it allows you to turn it clockwise a little & lock it in place

THATS how that went on. I could not figure that out, I had it just resting on that ring....

Ok. The little tab will not turn clockwise to lock and its driving me nuts lol

http://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=236716&highlight=steering+wheel

Are you sure the buttons that came in the bag are any good? It's pretty rare to find working ones...

In a related matter, is there a steering wheel we people doomed to hell with the 91-93 steering wheel can swap in (plug and play style) that had the good old fashioned horn where you can actually find it in an emergency and not some wimpy little button you can't find until it's too late (or you're not pissed off anymore)? I could have sworn I saw a Monte Carlo airbag wheel or something like that swapped into a Caprice or Impala before.

The only thing good about the pre-94 steering wheels is that they don't get as worn out looking.

Cadet57 wrote:

Ok. The little tab will not turn clockwise to lock and its driving me nuts lol

rotate the pc thats in your hand while holding into the mating pc. When the tab sinks into the mate, push straight in until it bottoms out, then rotate (it only rotates a little)
When you get it right it wont pull out. Dont gorilla it, just pull lightly to check

When I worked for the cab company, it was common practice to use parts off 91-93 on 94-96 cars and vise versa. if you take the wheel and airbag, and cut and splice the pig tail from the donor car to the air bag, you can put a later year air bag in the earlier car, and vice versa. That would give you the whole air bag area to push for a horn.

We got it in, and working. Part of the little tab to lock in the wire was broken. My father in his fatherly wisdom rigged up something. It works great. Dam that thing is loud. Thanks for your help guys!

"Are you sure the buttons that came in the bag are any good? It's pretty rare to find working ones... "

That was the first thing I checked when FedEx got here today, both contacts still work

No Moa wrote:

I'm not scared of much in the fire service, but air bags, and hybrids scare the sh!t outta me. Volunteer 20 years now

Kinda like this?