Horn Relay Work & Inspection

Since switching to power steering, my horn has not worked.  The steering column was grounded as was the entire steering wheel.  My original setup used that ground to trigger a relay sending power to the horns.  However, when I switched to power steering, I switched to a rag joint and the steering shaft and steering wheel are no longer grounded.  

The original horn wiring was damaged by a short before I purchased the car.  There are two wires that run to the horn button.  Originally, one was powered and the other was to the horns themselves.  When the horn button was pressed, the two wires were connected.  I changed this up to send a ground through one wire which connected to the other when the horn is pressed.  I then use a relay to switch that to a positive feed to mark the horns work.

This was an easy change but just took a minute to readjust to the wire colors and how everything was setup.  After that was done, I was able to get the car inspected and am ready for another year!

Loose Ends

I started addressing a few loose ends on the Mustang after work yesterday.  

The first project was to ensure all the rear leaf spring related bolts were properly tightened.  I left them all a little loose and drove around a bit to let it settle.  With all the bolts now tight, I checked the ride height and found it to be 25 3/4" on the driver side and 25 7/8" with the 1" lowering blocks.  The ride quality is greatly improved with going back to a 4.5 leaf spring.  

I then bled the brakes again.  All the fluid came out with no bubbles but I kept bleeding to run more new clean fluid through the system.  The old and new is no doubt rather mixed but it has a good clean appearance.  I then topped off the master cylinder with more of the Summit brand DOT4 fluid.

I removed the front tires to bleed the front brakes a little easier.  With both front tires off, I cycled the power steering through quite a few lock-to-lock turns to ensure the system is full of fluid.  I then checked and it is still full so I should be good.  It sometimes makes a little whine when turning but didn't at the end of my cycling it side to side so many times.

I used a ratchet strap to pull the ending as far to the passenger side as possible.  This was to create a little bit more clearance around the clutch linkage.  I then torqued all the bolts which mount the engine and transmission in position.  

I finished up by cleaning the exterior of the Mustang and vacuuming out the interior.  Once I was done, Ashley and I drove it around for a while and everything seems to be working well.  

There are a few remaining things to address:

1) Finish the parking brake setup under the vehicle.

2) The horn wiring needs some work as it no longer works.

3) The front windshield needs the seal replaced as it leaks.

4) I have an A/C solenoid to install that will increase engine RPM.

5) I need to swap the passenger side exhaust manifold gasket