'88 Mustang Horn Problem

[FLSailinGirl]

I have a 1988 LX 2.3L convertible Mustang. About 3 AM I was rather rudely awakened by the horn which decided to go off for no apparent reason and was stuck. It was dark and cold, so I disconnected the battery to stop the noise and figured I'd mess with it in the day time. The next day my husband got under the car and just disconnected the horn so I could still drive the car until we can afford to get the horn problem looked at by a mechanic. However, now there is a clicking sound that comes from the steering wheel when I turn. Any ideas on what could possibly have caused the problem and if it could be something easy/cheap to fix? I live in Florida and that night happened to be one of the few nights of the year we actually had temperatures in the 30s. Could the cold have had anything to do with the problem?
Thanks!

[351wStang]

No this problem isnt related to the temp. I had the same problem with my car. Its a '87 ex 4cyl coupe. I just unhooked the horn and left it that way, but to fix it the right way my best guess would be a melted connector. The while plastic connectors in the Ford steering columns are bad to melt, ign switch is the most common though. The clicking was more than likely coming from the contacts that make the horn blow getting an accidental connection thrue the melted plug or connector. To find the source of the problem you could trace the horn wires all the way thrue the fuse to the horn button and see what looks bad. There should be a visible problem. Good luck! Keep us posted, if you figure it out and its not much trouble I may fix the horn on my car .

[FLSailinGirl]

No melted connectors, but I did get this advice on another Mustang message board that seems to have done the trick:
"I permananetly fixed my 89 GT myself that did this. Take the contact pad out. Peel the two plates apart. Get some gray open cell packing foam from somewhere and cut some small slices out the same thickness that the old foam was before it collapsed...maybe just a bit thicker. Cut small squares and glue the squares all over (you'll see when you tear into it). Glue the plates back together."
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthrea...=1#post6733291
When I took the plates apart, there was almost no padding to be found, which would mean an almost constant connection being made and that is what caused the horn to go off and be stuck as well as the clicking noise after the horn was disconnected. Hope that info helps anyone else experiencing this same problem!

[351wStang]

Well thanks for the advice! That is a great help. I guess I'll have to piddle with my horn now lol.