Datsun260z Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Hello and seasons greetings to all.. Having a slight problem in fitting a 240z steering wheel to my 260z and would greatly appreciate any advice thanks. After removing aftermarket wheel/boss kit and then putting 240 wheel on spline - the moment it contacted column internals horn goes off? I dont understand why as not applying any pressure or having yet even tightened spline /column steering nut. Is there some difference in 240z and 260z setup here or am I doing something wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Camouflage Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php?topic=12109.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsun260z Posted December 23, 2014 Author Share Posted December 23, 2014 http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php?topic=12109.0 I appreciate the link and I actually did read it prior to this question but it is of no help as this seems to be a different problem. My horn contact is actually same as last pic in link so this is not the issue.I notice though a spring is mentioned-does this sit behind wheel to prevent immediate contact ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Camouflage Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Pics of what you currently have would help. Basically there is a spring arm that supplies +ve voltage to the back of the steering wheel, and the black wire in the photos in the other thread connects the back of the wheel to the electrically isolated spring horn ring. If the ring is not electrically isolated the horn will sound constantly. What happens if you disconnect the black wire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsun260z Posted December 23, 2014 Author Share Posted December 23, 2014 okay -disconnected black wire and managed to seat wheel on spline without horn sounding but of course end result is i now dont have ability to use horn at all. Think I will just put sports wheel back on and be done with ito obviously (although I was advised otherwise on this forum) this wheel does not suit the 260 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilltech Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 FWIW, a while ago now I also bought a 240 wheel with horn pad to install on my 260, & couldn't figure out why I couldn't get the horn to work. Is the 260's steering column & horn contact set-up different in some respect? I don't have a 240 column to compare the two side-by-side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Camouflage Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 okay -disconnected black wire and managed to seat wheel on spline without horn sounding but of course end result is i now dont have ability to use horn at all. That was just part of the troubleshooting process. Obviously theres a problem with the isolating ring then. Do you have a multimeter? Post some photos of what you have. Dealing with this over the internet with a vague description is impossible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Camouflage Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Is the 260's steering column & horn contact set-up different in some respect? I don't have a 240 column to compare the two side-by-side. They are all pretty similar. You just need to make sure the arm touches the track on the back of the steering wheel. See pictures of 240/260/280 parts here http://www.new-datsun-parts.com/240Z-parts-electrical.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilltech Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Thanks Mr Camo. I think the problem with mine could be that the 260's spring doesn't seem to fit the 240's steering wheel, well that's if the 240 uses a spring under the hub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Camouflage Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Thanks Mr Camo. I think the problem with mine could be that the 260's spring doesn't seem to fit the 240's steering wheel, well that's if the 240 uses a spring under the hub. The spring arm attached to the indicator assembly? or the coil spring on the 260z assembly? If the latter: It doesn't. You don't use the 260Z spring. Its a completely different set up. You need to use the horn equipment that comes with the 240Z wheel. In that case there is no spring that you can see. its all captive within the horn equipment (see the photo I posted in your other thread) - notice you don't see a spring anywhere. The centre cap just clips on there and thats it. Check out this thread for an exploded diagram of the 240Z horn assembly http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/29090-steering-exploded-view/?p=257364 Although this guy did manage to swap a later horn button onto a 240z wheel if you don't have the 240Z horn assembly: http://dailydatsun.com/2013/04/20/240z-steering-wheel-on-a-280z-while-keeping-the-horn-pad/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsun260z Posted December 24, 2014 Author Share Posted December 24, 2014 And my thanks too Mr Camo-appreciate your assistance here-seems like this is a tricky question at best . Anyhow-when I disconnected black wire horn stopped but after I attatched wheel nut and later turned wheel it sounded again,so back to square A[url=http://s21.p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Camouflage Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Sounds like the spring arm might not be aligned correctly if you are having issues when turning the wheel. If the spring arm strays off the track and touches the hub it would cause the horn to sound. Maybe some careful adjustment of the arm is needed This is the bit i'm talking about: http://dailydatsun.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/daily-datsun-240z-280z-steering-wheel-7.jpg What's yours look like? and maybe post a pic of the back of the wheel too. Next thing I'd do it disassemble the horn assembly and make sure nothing internal is shorting out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsun260z Posted December 24, 2014 Author Share Posted December 24, 2014 Okay-after seeing your link Mr C . of the exploded view it seems I was remiss in my initial question put to this forum of-"does anyone know if the 240z steering wheel will fit the 260z" when I SHOULD have asked- Will the 240z steering wheel fit the 260z ..AND .. will the horn activator be compatible. Well in fairness - the first question was answered correctly, but the horn is the oversight here as they are completely different and totally uncompatible and would require additional parts or scratchbuilt replacement of required parts to do job. I've decided to give up on this idea , firstly I dont have the mechanical know how to go any further and secondly I need the car for Christmas Day so its back with the sports wheel and an end to this stress ! Thanks for your help Mr C - hope you have a great Christmas !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Camouflage Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Okay-after seeing your link Mr C . of the exploded view it seems I was remiss in my initial question put to this forum of-"does anyone know if the 240z steering wheel will fit the 260z" when I SHOULD have asked- Will the 240z steering wheel fit the 260z ..AND .. will the horn activator be compatible. Well in fairness - the first question was answered correctly, but the horn is the oversight here as they are completely different and totally uncompatible and would require additional parts or scratchbuilt replacement of required parts to do job. I've decided to give up on this idea , firstly I dont have the mechanical know how to go any further and secondly I need the car for Christmas Day so its back with the sports wheel and an end to this stress ! Thanks for your help Mr C - hope you have a great Christmas !! It should work and be a straight swap if you have the 240Z wheel, horn assembly and horn button, only gotcha I can see is the spring arm might be slightly different, but I don't have a Z handy to compare. Of course these are 40 year old parts and things wear out, previous owners mangle stuff, etc. Maybe a handy member local to you could have a look at it when you have some free time. One last thing i'd check is that there is a decent gap between the top ring and the lower contact ring. I think you can adjust this by loosening the 3 screws slightly, although its a been a long time since I've seen a Z wheel. I'm not sure if its possible but if someone overtightened the screws there might not be a gap, therefore the horn would sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilltech Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 Mr Camo you're the font of Z knowledge, thankyou for taking time to help out, I'll have a fresh try at installing the 240 wheel on my 260. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsun260z Posted December 26, 2014 Author Share Posted December 26, 2014 Hi guys although this has gotten the better of me I know I am not the only one here totally stumped by this problem so I am posting pic of my steering column internals in case this helps in anyway.Once again my profound thanks to the awesome Mr Camo for his patient and gracious help here....As can be seen the spring arm on the 260 appears to be attatched to opposite position of 240 spring arm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Camouflage Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 The previous photos were from LHD cars - they were all I could find on the net. RHD are mirrored, so the same as yours. Its a basic switch design. +ve voltage comes from the spring arm, to the track on the back of the wheel (isolated from ground), The wire carries the +ve to the top isolation ring. When the isolation ring is depressed it makes contact with the second ring which is earthed via the steering wheel/column completing a circuit, closing the horn relay that sends 12 volts through the horns to ground. Make sure the track and the spring arm contact are clean (use a bit of emery cloth or other suitable abrasive paper to clean them up), and maybe apply a bit of electrical grease or vasoline to stop them oxidising. Some tests you can do: With steering wheel off, use bit of wire to earth the spring arm to the steering column centre : horn should sound (If it doesn't you may have a problem with a fuse or the horn relay) If horn sounds, With steering wheel on, use a bit of wire to earth the top ring to the steering column centre : horn should sound If not, then there is a problem with the spring arm not contacting the track on the back of the wheel, or the wire is not conducting voltage to the top ring. Some gentle bending of the spring arm may be required so it makes good contact. Try pressing the horn ring directly, without the centre button trim thing on. Horn should sound. If your horn button is cracked it may not allow the ring to depress properly. Some test you can do with the wheel itself: If you have a multimeter, set it to measure resistance. With the steering wheel off test that there is an open circuit between the track and the centre splines. Have someone press the horn ring, resistance should drop to about 0 ohms. If it doesn't there is a problem with the horn assembly and should should take it apart and inspect it. With the steering wheel on, test that you have voltage between the horn ring (+ve lead) and the steering column (not horn should sound) and meter should read around 12 volts I'd guess. Thats about all I can think of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsun260z Posted December 27, 2014 Author Share Posted December 27, 2014 Ok thats very helpful-yet again. Thankyou kindly I will try to get to the bottom of this over the next few days. Best regards and profound thanks for your knowledge/advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsun260z Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Hello again Mr Camouflage--just noticed an obvious difference in the internals with my 260z pic showing black wire attatched to rear of spring arm and your earlier post of the 240z not showing any wire attatched. Also note that spring arm of 240 is much closer to edge of column than my 260.Surely then it must be either of /or combination of both ,that that is creating the problem? What do you think ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilltech Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Well further to this, I've just compared the back faces of the 240 & 260 steering wheels, & they look identical. From looking at the 240 wheel pic one of you posted, the bit I'm missing is whatever the little black wire attaches to on the front face - on the 240 wheel I bought there's just a hole, whereas there must be meant to be a little captive nut, to screw into, maybe with an insulation collar around it? Can someone please advise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Camouflage Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Well further to this, I've just compared the back faces of the 240 & 260 steering wheels, & they look identical. From looking at the 240 wheel pic one of you posted, the bit I'm missing is whatever the little black wire attaches to on the front face - on the 240 wheel I bought there's just a hole, whereas there must be meant to be a little captive nut, to screw into, maybe with an insulation collar around it? Can someone please advise? Can you post a picture of your wheel centre. From what I've seen in your other thread, it looks like you might be missing the upper ring. See exploded diagram below. From memory, the upper ring had a threaded punch hole that the screw screws into, and the ring directly below it has a cut out for clearance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Camouflage Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 exploded view Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilltech Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Thankyou!!! for all your help. That explains it, I'm missing that upper ring #18 & whatever little bolts/nuts/washers #24-28 come with it; I have two push-on padded horn caps but they're both 'empty'. I'm also missing the spring #21; the 260 one is too large in diameter. Oh well, at least I finally know what I'm missing & will just have to keep my eyes peeled. PS. my metal ring part #22 floats up & down on screws atop the nylon ring #19. I presume that the missing ring #18 is also supposed to be secured by those same screws. Not the sort of odd part anyone's likely to have lying around, I'll try advertising but suspect I'll just have to replicate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.