Horn won't work on 1986 vw golf

Check the fuse first (easy/cheap).

If that's not it, it's probably the steering wheel contacts.

Any time my horn has quit on my '91 GTI it's been at the steering wheel and it's usually dirty contacts.

Most VWs have two horns and if neither is working, that suggests to me it's likely not to be at the horn end of things (if not the fuse).

Pull the steering wheel. The horn buttons should just pop off somehow. Disconnect the wiring (should be two wires). Note which is where (although I believe since both are ground it probably doesn't matter...?)

Then loosen the center nut but don't totally remove it yet. I forget the exact size but it's either 22m or 24mm if memory serves me correctly. Once it's loose unscrew it to almost all the way off but leave it on a few threads.

Straighten the steering wheel first and/or somehow mark the position so you can put it on straight again when you put it back.

Now yank the steering wheel towards you. Might take some wiggle to unseat it. It might come off with quite a bit of force. This is why you leave the nut on a few threads so you don't knock out your teeth :).

Once off you should be looking at a metal ring on the steering wheel and a metal prong on the column. Make sure each is plenty clean and dry (mine somehow acquired a bunch of grease on the ring). Use a little sandpaper or an emory board (nail file). Whatever gets things nice and shiny and dry. Also pry outward the contact on the column slightly to make sure that it contacts the ring on the steering wheel firmly.

Reinstall. Done.

(BTW the wiring at the steering wheel is negative (ground) switched and the horns have 12V + to them unswitched. Hitting the horn buttong on the steering wheel is what grounds the horn. So if you do any testing with a meter, don't expect to see 12v+ at the steering wheel...only continuity through one of the two wires to ground...make sense?)

"angelno63" wrote

First you have to locate it. It is usually under the driver side wheel well with A2s-later A2s had one horn behing the grill and one in the wheel wheel. To access it, you take off the plastic wheel well inside cover that has like

6 or 7 scress and is easy to take off and replace. (this is that plastic if you reach behind the wheel upwardly and around)

Then you will see the wires going to the horn and the horn looking to the front of the car after you pull the plastic off.

This could be under the steering wheel isues but perhaps very likely it

*could* be grounding from the horn unit to the frame (not to mention a horn relay or fuse) and could be just the horns are shot being an 86.

Mine didn't work either and a drove a little while without it. I found out the horns had very bad grounds and were pretty shot. I simple pulled the horns from a later Jetta (92 or 93?) and clipped the terminals along with the horns that were different AS I wanted to set it up like the later Jetta/Golf with *one horn* behind the grill instead of 2 horns in the wheelwell.

The horn sounds much louder to me this way. Both of the original horns were pretty much shot from road salt, rusted grounds, etc. It is an easy job IF you find out it is the horns. If you put a horn on the front of the grill, (I think I had to drill one hole across the top grill member) pull the small flange from the donor car and you would need a bit of wire, solder and some shrink tubing to pull over the soldered wire (to do a neat job) for the extension puttint one horn in the front. AND you (if you use newer A2 horns will have to snip off the old horn connectors and solder on the new ones from the donor car. The later horns are grounded much better.

I am really pleased I put one of horns out front like the later A2s - seems much louder. In fact, it is pretty loud.

(older A2 horns are 2 together both in front of the wheelwell and kind of blanketed)

Harry

Check for a blown fuse, a bad horn relay, or dirty contacts inside the steering wheel - in the order listed. Most likely, its a blown fuse. Also, check for water leaks under the instrument panel. I have an '88 Cabbie. It had suffered water damage around the fuse box and the horn relay was bad. I repaired the leak and replaced the fusebox and relay. Many VWs of that era have water leaks.

Usually if you have any rust around the windshield...that's how it gets in.

Exactly. There wasn't any rust around my windshield, but the glass was cracked and the seal was bad (there would have eventually been rust). So I had a new windshield and seal installed. That took care of the leaks.