Aftermarket Steering Wheel - No horn

[Luftdad]

I installed an aftermarket steering wheel from Berktuning. I love the wheel's look and feel but my horn does not work. My tech tells me that the rubber posts in the wheel are not stiff enough to activate the horn. I have noted on a couple of youtube videos that the oem posts are removed and installed in the new wheel and I note that many oem steering wheels on eBay do not have the 3 posts... I already sold my OEM wheel. any solutions or comments- please

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[lucky phil]

I installed an aftermarket steering wheel from Berktuning. I love the wheel's look and feel but my horn does not work. My tech tells me that the rubber posts in the wheel are not stiff enough to activate the horn. I have noted on a couple of youtube videos that the oem posts are removed and installed in the new wheel and I note that many oem steering wheels on eBay do not have the 3 posts... I already sold my OEM wheel. any solutions or comments- please

Not sure what the exact issue is with your horn maybe a connection problem or a blown fuse but your mechanic sounds like he's got no idea. All the OEM parts are transferred to the new wheel which in reality is only the wheel rim and a bare centre core structure. Maybe the horn wasn't working before the steering wheel change so it's a latent issue? did you check it's function before the wheel replacement? I never use the horn so mine might not work either for some reason and I'd never know, which is why I ask.
Phil

 

[Z4m40i]

the cores sometimes do not have the brass fittings pressed into the wheel core. In the first photo, the red arrows show the locations of 3 out of 4 holes where they would be pressed in. If these are missing, the spring plate (second picture outlined in green) won’t be able to actually ground itself and activate the horn. You can use really small self tapping screws and dremel the heads off of them, and leave the nubs slightly higher than flush.


Secondly, verify the actual electrical connector is connected to the spring plate (second picture, yellow arrow)

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[Z4m40i]

Not sure what the exact issue is with your horn maybe a connection problem or a blown fuse but your mechanic sounds like he's got no idea.
Phil

You seem to offer advice on things often and you don’t have any real advice to give.
Z4m40i

 

[lucky phil]

You seem to offer advice on things often and you don’t have any real advice to give.
Z4m40i

So check the basic stuff first isn't advice worth giving? The common issue most have with the horn during a wheel replacement is the horn stays on not it won't work. BTW is it even a BMW G series wheel he's fitted to his car? The std Supra airbag/horn setup looks to be completely different to the common Supra aftermarket steering wheels that take the Supra OEM airbag.
Phil

 

[lucky phil]

I installed an aftermarket steering wheel from Berktuning. I love the wheel's look and feel but my horn does not work. My tech tells me that the rubber posts in the wheel are not stiff enough to activate the horn. I have noted on a couple of youtube videos that the oem posts are removed and installed in the new wheel and I note that many oem steering wheels on eBay do not have the 3 posts... I already sold my OEM wheel. any solutions or comments- please

Was it a BMW G series wheel you fitted or the Berktuning Supra aftermarket wheel?
Phil

 

[Luftdad]

I replaced the OEM Supra wheel with a Berktuning aftermarket wheel. Adjacent to the 3 mounting posts for the airbag are 2 short posts that touch/contact the horn contact points on the airbag. Rather than depress/activate the horn when the airbag is pushed, they are collapsing. See the second photo. I guess I was supposed to pull the posts shown and install them in the new wheel but since the new aftermarket wheel already had them I didn't bother

 

[Razors Edge]

Have you reached out to Berktuning? Usually he is quick to respond and fix any issues.

 

[Luftdad]

I have contacted Phil directly but he has not answered. When I made the initial post I did not have a clear picture that mounting posts were the problem. I don't think I can buy these posts separately so maybe Phil has a solution

 

[lucky phil]

I have contacted Phil directly but he has not answered. When I made the initial post I did not have a clear picture that mounting posts were the problem. I don't think I can buy these posts separately so maybe Phil has a solution

I don't have a wheel in my hand at the moment but I do have an aftermarket one like yours I assume in the workshop. Those posts you have indicated look to be part of the oem horn/airbag spring receiver mounts that are usually transferred over from the oem wheel to the aftermarket wheel during the wheel replacement so I'm not sure they would be an issue. They look like steel posts on a spring steel mount in your images. On the Supra airbage they appear to contact a pair of spider leg style earthing arms. Did the aftermarket wheel have the airbag receiver mount lugs already fitted? You might need to pull the airbag and see whats going on.
Phil

 

[razorlab]

You seem to offer advice on things often and you don’t have any real advice to give.
Z4m40i

Shhhh, it worked on his wife's Mercedes.

 

[Luftdad]

I don't have a wheel in my hand at the moment but I do have an aftermarket one like yours I assume in the workshop. Those posts you have indicated look to be part of the oem horn/airbag spring receiver mounts that are usually transferred over from the oem wheel to the aftermarket wheel during the wheel replacement so I'm not sure they would be an issue. They look like steel posts on a spring steel mount in your images. On the Supra airbage they appear to contact a pair of spider leg style earthing arms. Did the aftermarket wheel have the airbag receiver mount lugs already fitted? You might need to pull the airbag and see whats going on.
Phil

The posts look like the photo . The base with 2 small posts is too flexible to push up and cause the horn ring on the airbag to make contact. My tech showed me photos but I don't have them. In hindsight I should have transferred the posts from the OEM unit to the new wheel but since there were ones already in place I did not see the need

 

[lucky phil]

The posts look like the photo . The base with 2 small posts is too flexible to push up and cause the horn ring on the airbag to make contact. My tech showed me photos but I don't have them. In hindsight I should have transferred the posts from the OEM unit to the new wheel but since there were ones already in place I did not see the need

Ok whatabout if you remove the airbag and buy some small thin walled clear plastic tube from the hardware store that will slide firmly over each post to stiffen them up. You can buy that type of tube in various small sizes and if you buy a size thats slightly too small in ID you can heat it with a heat gun or boiling water and it with be soft enough to expand a little and make a tight fit. Failing that a slightly larger ID and glue the tube over the small posts.
Phil

 

[Luftdad]

Phil
Finally I have removed the posts from the Berktuning wheel and can see the root cause of the problem: 1. The aftermarket horn posts are not cylindrical like the OEM. but are a semi circle shaped rod with a round button at the top end 2. The flat base of the horn posts is too thin to fill the cavity in the wheel and when downward pressure is applied they flex into the cavity rather then put force upward against the horn ring in the airbag
My issue was solved by installing OEM airbag mounting posts into the wheel which I should have done initially as many YouTube videos suggest. I had to buy a used OEM wheel for the parts. So now I am going to try to make the defective horn posts work. I tried putting tubing over over the horn buttons as suggested but the base still flexed. So now I am going to glue a plastic strip onto the base, thick enough to fill the cavity and stop the flexing motion.
I mention this because others may encounter the same problem with their new steering wheel. The supplier has never answered my queries nor offered any solutions of his own
I should have inspected all aspects of the new steering wheel before installation and maybe would have avoided this problem

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