OEM Horn Button Replacement

[snake11eyes]

One of my OEM horn buttons actually just fell off so I ordered a new one for Acura. I have a couple of questions for anyone who has done this install before:

1. I read the service manual and I believe it mentioned that they airbag unit needs to be removed to get to the horn button. Is this true? If so, is this difficult to do? I am just a little nervous about doing a DYI that involves removing the airbag.

2. Once I get the new horn button unit in there, do the wires need to be soltered or any other special method of securing the connection? Or is this really a plug and play type of deal?

As always, thanks in advance.

 

[shawn110975]

the new buttons are a complete unit. and no you dont need to soilder them on they just slide on, and dont worry about which wire goes where its a simple circuit it just touches the wres together to close the curcuit.

but I think the black goes on the thicker one, and the red goes on the actual moving part of the button.

DO-NOT test fit them before you connect the wires, once in 99% chance they will break if removed again. so connect the wires first then test fit, and finally press the button in and done

 

[snake11eyes]

shawn, thanks for the quick response. The only instructions that I could find during my research on replacing the OEM horn button was in the service manual. I was very confused by the instructions (I know party due to the fact that I'm not that handy). So could someone PLEASE provide me detailed, step-by-step (literally) instructions on what I need to do this DYI. E.g., Do I actually need to disconnect the battery cables, disconnect those wires within the steering wheel, remove the airbag, etc.? Maybe it's a really easy job and I'm just being paranoid but I just get very nervous when it comes to tinkering with parts that affect the functionality/safety of the car.

As always, thanks in advance.

 

[Joshs]

I replaced one of mine a while back. No need to remove the airbag in my case ('91).

I just pulled the existing one out of the slot - it's pressure fitted, so you just put your fingernails or something around the border between the plastic and the leather of the wheel), and pull it out..

Disconnected the wires, reconnected it to the new button, and slid it back in. Super easy!

-Josh

 

[snake11eyes]

I replaced one of mine a while back. No need to remove the airbag in my case ('91).

I just pulled the existing one out of the slot - it's pressure fitted, so you just put your fingernails or something around the border between the plastic and the leather of the wheel), and pull it out..

Disconnected the wires, reconnected it to the new button, and slid it back in. Super easy!

-Josh

You mean just literally pull the whole button unit out from the FRONT side of the steering wheel? Can any confirm is this will work for a model that has an airbag?

 

[rbirling]

They all have airbags.

 

[Joshs]

You mean just literally pull the whole button unit out from the FRONT side of the steering wheel? Can any confirm is this will work for a model that has an airbag?

As 'rbirling' says the '91 still has a drivers' side airbag..

What I did was buy a steering wheel from another owner, which still had the buttons in it (cheaper than buying new buttons). I removed the button from the other wheel, and swapped it with my broken one.

If you want, I can take a picture of the spare wheel, and maybe even demo the process using the broken button... It's really not a big deal if you are replacing the entire button.

-Josh

 

[shawn110975]

new buttons are like 38 bucks a piece. Ok heres your step by step instructions.

1 get tools ready ( you need a very small flathead screwdriver or butterknife.)
2 get in car. LOL
3 stick butterknife/screwdriver into between the button and the leather, be very careful not to cut the leather or press down on the leather with the knife// screwdriver as this will leave an Impression on the leather which will not pop out over time.
4 slowly pry the button out it will take about 20 small pry's on all 4 corners to get it out. do not pry on the sides or the top/bottom only the corners,
the sides and the top/bottom are where the prongs are located and if you pry at them they will snap off.

5 after the button is free from the wheel you will see a red wires and a black wire just pull them off, if you dont have any slack in the wires its ok pull on it till you have enought to get them off the metal connectors inside the steering wheel there is lots of slack so no worries.
6 connect the red wire and the black wire to the horn connectors.
7 press the horn button into its new home, THE HORN WILL SOUND while pressing it in its ok it doesnt hurt.
8 Drink beer/ smoke cig

Pry where the red arrows are, do not pry where the Blue X's are,

 

[snake11eyes]

Thanks josh and shawn (especially shawn for posting the pics). this looks pretty fool-proof (knock on wood...haha).

I'm really excited to try this when I get home because I'm soooo tired of driving around with a spring sticking out where the horn button use to be. It doesn't really affect anything but it's just soooo ghetto looking and annoying.

 

[shawn110975]

did you get both horns buttons or just the one?

on one of the pics, where it has the Aqua arrows, those are where the prongs are so, you can see that prying near them could pop them off. just
pry where i showed the red arrows and your good.

but since you got news ones, pry where ever you want since its already broken

 

[snake11eyes]

did you get both horns buttons or just the one?

on one of the pics, where it has the Aqua arrows, those are where the prongs are so, you can see that prying near them could pop them off. just
pry where i showed the red arrows and your good.

but since you got news ones, pry where ever you want since its already broken

Well, just the face of the button fell off and got lost (I think by a valet because I don't remember it happening but noticed it the day after I had valet parked somewhere in LA the night before) and Acura doesn't sell that component separately so I just bought the whole button unit (about $35). It's just one button and it's a lot to pay but a small price to alleviate the ghetto factor of a spring sticking out of the steering wheel. I mean this is an exotic car and not like some old beater, right?

Thanks again for the tips and I'll report back as to how the repair goes.

 

[clr1024]

Well, just the face of the button fell off and got lost (I think by a valet because I don't remember it happening but noticed it the day after I had valet parked somewhere in LA the night before) and Acura doesn't sell that component separately so I just bought the whole button unit (about $35). It's just one button and it's a lot to pay but a small price to alleviate the ghetto factor of a spring sticking out of the steering wheel. I mean this is an exotic car and not like some old beater, right?

Thanks again for the tips and I'll report back as to how the repair goes.

I did it another way if I remember correctly, with the horn button, of you can get either a pair of pliers or pry tool to the back of the horn button "box" and pull it out, this way the only thing you risk damaging is the old horn buton box which you are going to throw away anyway. Just my $.02

 

[snake11eyes]

I did it another way if I remember correctly, with the horn button, of you can get either a pair of pliers or pry tool to the back of the horn button "box" and pull it out, this way the only thing you risk damaging is the old horn buton box which you are going to throw away anyway. Just my $.02

I didn't get a chance to read this post from "clr1024" until now. However, I attempted the repair over the weekend and that's just what I did. I used a butter knife to create some space between the horn button unit and the leather of the steering wheel and then used a pair of pliers to grip the horn button unit (not the button itself but the side of the unit) and pulled the entire unit out. It was really easy as the pliers provided good grip for extracting the unit without putting pressure on the steering wheel leather which could have damaged it. clr1024 makes a good point that using the pliers creates the risk that you may damage the button unit itself. But since I bought a new OEM button unit to replace the old one, this wasn't an issue for me. After the unit was out, detaching the wires from the old unit and attaching them to the new was was a snap. And it was simply pushing it back into the slot as it is not secured by screws, bolts, etc. Only secured by the pressure of the slot on the unit.


Thanks for the help everyone. Case closed!

 

[clr1024]

Glad it worked out and as you can see from doing it pretty simple. :wink: