Page 30 - KCRPCA SeptOct 2022

TECH
NUTS & BOLTS
HORN FAILURE
HITTING THE BRAKES MAKES THE HORN HONK
TECHNICAL EDITOR KARL WILEN
There I was driving along, enjoying a beautiful drive in my Boxster. The light in front of me turned red and I applied the brakes. Suddenly, BEEP, the horn went off. I tapped the brakes again, and BEEP. At first, I was surprised. Then I laughed to myself. Then
I realized the lady in front of me thought I was honking at her. Then
I laughed out loud. This brake-honk process was fun... until it wasn’t.
equivalent of your hand pushing it forward. Without the rubber bushing to stop it – BEEP!
Replacing the rubber bushings is very straightforward.
PHOTO 1
Always disconnect the battery first when working on anything electrical. The battery in a Boxster is located in the frunk between the spare tire and the front windshield. It is hidden under a plastic cover. On this Boxster, a 10mm wrench does the trick. It’s important to secure
the cable in a way that it will not slip back and touch the terminal. A shop towel worked in this situation. It is recommended to wait more than 30 minutes with the battery disconnected before you remove an airbag.
PHOTO 2
Next you will need a T-30 torx wrench. You will be accessing two
16YEARS
This Boxster is a 1999 model. It’s old, but not that old. As is tradition when things age, they tend to wear out. My knee can lay proof to this, and so can the bushings between the horn and the steering wheel.
I’ve seen this issue before. The bushing that separates the airbag from the horn wears out. Basically, when the brakes are applied, the centrifugal force causes the weight of the airbag forward. The weight of the airbag moving forward is the
30
Der Sportwagen