Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hello everyone,

I really have no clue about electronics, so please bear with me

I removed the steering wheel to install a new Moto Lita wheel, however since I'm missing a part I decided to put the original wheel back on because the weather is nice today and I wanted to take a drive.

However, now the horn goes off all the time. The brass ring behind the boss seems to have proper contact [0]. I cannot remember anymore where the cable went to (I should have taken pictures while taking everything apart) [1].

There's no helpful information in the workshop manual, so I hope someone can give me a hint.

Thanks,
Chris

[0] https://s3.amazonaws.com/herrherr/nzAEb.png
[1] https://s3.amazonaws.com/herrherr/B6kBW.png

I hope it's ok to answer my own question. But I thought it might be of help to someone who might have a similar problem in the future.

It looks like the problem was caused by the steering wheel touching the brass ring [0]. I guess I could insulate the back of the steering wheel to avoid this, but I think the problem has been caused by the fact that the inner steering column has shifted down a bit.

Best,
Christian

[0] http://herrherr.s3.amazonaws.com/IMG_2481.JPG

Undo inner steering clamp and raise a little. A big nut and grub screw.
Alan

herrherr wrote: but I think the problem has been caused by the fact that the inner steering column has shifted down a bit.

You are correct ! If there is any slackness in the inner/outer clamp, or the u/j at the rack, your weight under braking will push the steering wheel down on to the contact ring.

Do the final adjustment on the inner/outer clamp, but first loosen the u/j and ensure the the splined end is as far forward as any play in the locking groove permits.

This happened me once on a racing circuit. The driver in the car in front got very annoyed when my horn came on at every turn

Did he let you by or did he go faster and spin off
Alan

alan.barker wrote:Did he let you by or did he go faster and spin off
Alan

Ha ha ha !

I think a piece either perishes with time or wear in the upper column gets to a point where the horn will blow when you lean on the wheel. I ended up making a little insulator that stops it.