hey guys i have a 63 850 and the horn is not working.
i have had the horn out and tested it by connecting to a battery and it works fine.
so i checked all the wiring, all seems fine all connectors are plugged in, so that makes me think it's the horn pad.

can i replace this by itself or do i have to change the whole wheel?

or my other option is to bypass the horn pad and wire in a separate button, is this a good idea or not?

Check the contact on the top of the blinker switch where it rubs on the steering wheel. They are sometimes damaged or bent.

Chase it out, it should not be too difficult. The horn is wired from the factory to the 12 volt supply continuously, and it is the negative which is switched in via the horn pad button. So first up, get a multimeter and test for 12 volts at the horn. If there is not 12 volts there, then chase the wire back to the fuse block where it should be connected to a constant 12 volt side of the fuse block so it works all the time.

You will get 12 volts on both terminals when the horn is not blowing because there is no current being shorted to earth to allow the voltage to drop on the negative side.

Next, test for 12 volts under the horn pad. If it is not there, then chase the wire back to the next connector under the dash, to find where the continuity is being ruined.

If there is 12 volts under the horn pad, try shorting it to earth to try and make the horn work (it should by now if you have ensured all the previous checks so far are correct..)

Check the brush which is under the steering column cowling and make sure it is contacting the steering column firmly as well.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

The two wires on the horn. (if the wiring is stock)
One is purple and it runs to the fusebox.
The other is purple with a black trace and it runs to horn contact on the blinker switch.

the wiring has been played around with at some stage as it has a later model 1100 motor. there is new wires joined to old all over the place.
and all the original wires have lost the colour from the cloth covering.
it has a new indicator stalk so the contact between the column and that are ok.

it still will not work. i haven't checked with a multimeter yet, i will do that and let you know how it goes.

also does it make any difference that it is still generator and pos earth?

No, the current doesn't mind which direction it comes from, as long as it starts at a fuse at one end, and ultimately ends in a secure chassis connection.

You will still get 12 volts at the connections, but the polarity will be reversed.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

got the multi meter out.
there was power at the horn pad and at the horn. so i chased the wires all looked ok so i checked the fuses and they both looked ok so i thought i'll swap them and see if it works which it did but then the headlights wouldn't work so i think the fuse was stuffed so i'll get some new ones.

i also looked at the connector between the wires comming off the steering column to join into the rest of the loom and it looked a bit stuffed aswell so i changed that over too.

So does it work now?

having a potential difference of 12 volts at the horn pad points to the original recommendation, check the connection through the horn pad switch and back to the brush which contacts the steering column.

_________________
SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

sorry i didn't explain that very clearly.
i got it working but i need to replace two fuses. the one in the horn wiring and in the indicator wiring. i swapped the two fuses to see if the horn would work and the horn did work but indicators wouldn't but then i shorted two wires and blew both fuses.

so i will replace them both tomorrow and hopefully it will work again.