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        General >> Problems >> Faulty Horn
        
(Message started by: landbarge on Apr 10^th, 2006, 6:51pm)

Title: Faulty Horn
Post by landbarge on Apr 10^th, 2006, 6:51pm

My 2.9 12 Valve no longer has a working horn. Checks prove the horn does work and the relay is fine. I have removed the airbag and cleaned all contacts for the horn on the steering wheel, I also separated and reconnected the multi plug. Still no horn! Before I remove the steering wheel and delve further; has anyone encountered this problem and solved it. Coincidentally the airbag warning light flash rate suggests a problem behind the wheel. Any info greatfully recieved.

Title: Re: Faulty Horn
Post by Sturdybloke on Apr 10^th, 2006, 9:00pm

You say that the horn does work, I guess you mean that you have put 12v to it direct from the battery and you had a sound? Also you mention that you cleaned the contact behind the wheel. Try holding down the horn and turning the wheel at the same time, if you get a sound then its most likley that the clock spring needs cleaning - its a circle device that allows the wheel to turn without the wires getting caught up in the colum (happens on my Xantia every so often - the airbag light flashes and the remote sterio buttons dont work or go ballistic). Try the jiggle test first and then get back to us - Craig.

Title: Re: Faulty Horn
Post by landbarge on Apr 11^th, 2006, 8:42pm

Thanks Craig. I have turned full lock both ways - no sound from the horn at all. Will I have to replace the Clock Spring assembly or will a separation and clean suffice? The "jiggle test" is separating and refitting the multi blocks? The instructions are straight forward (as they always appear to be) but are there any hidden problems that are not mentioned. Kind regards, Rory

Title: Re: Faulty Horn
Post by sector-9 on Apr 11^th, 2006, 8:50pm

Remove the relay and bridge contacts 87 and 30 in the fusebox (look on bottom of relay to see which they are) - if the horn works then the relay isn't being operated and you'll need to check the switch circuit. You should get power between the remaining two contacts when the horn pad is pressed.

OTOH if it doesn't work then check 1) power to contact 30, 2) continuity between contact 87 and horn.

Darren

Title: Re: Faulty Horn
Post by Sturdybloke on Apr 11^th, 2006, 9:44pm

I clean mine with some carb cleaner (works wonders ;)) and then a very light spray of WD40 afterwards. Do you have a multimeter or voltmeter to test the contacts with? If you are local to me then you can borrow mine.

P.S *Be very carefull when tampering with the clock spring as you can trip off the seatbelt pre-tensioners - disconnect battery and wait a few hours*

Title: Re: Faulty Horn
Post by landbarge on Apr 12^th, 2006, 10:12am

;D Thanks for the info, folks! Will check the electrics first. When I prised the old relay out it set the horn working ( presumed relay was OK then ). I noticed the Ford instruction on the Air Bag and Seat Belt Pre-tensioners - have double set of ear defenders and long arms! Will pop to Halfords for some Carb Cleaner. Will try cleaning without removal as the prospect of spontaneous air bag discharge whilst driving is a worry!

Quick note on Mercedes air bags. Relays are at the back of glove compartment. Mechanic sits on sill to reach them. Must remove in correct sequence or risk discharge of explosive material. Where - in sill !! Mercedes now have a full soprano choir !

Title: Re: Faulty Horn
Post by landbarge on Apr 13^th, 2006, 4:21pm

I have jiggled the contacts to no avail, the horn still does not work.

The clock spring was slightly misaligned, so followed the Ford instructions obtained from this site to correct it. The instructions were slightly misleading. To release the locking tab you have to undo one of the fixing screws - good safety feature. Problem - the inner part will not rotate when in the 'unlock' position. However, followed instructions with the tab in the lock position and arrows now line up. However, is this the reason why the horn still does not work!!

As the Clock Spring is for all purposes a 'sealed' unit, I was not able to open it up to clean the surfaces. The small gap that does exist was given the carb cleaner treatment but as I have said - still no horn.

As to the electrics. My appreciation of the terms is somewhat confused at the moment. I hope someone can put me right on where I can locate these contacts and whether I need to operate the horn with relays and fuses removed or with a meter applied?

Deep frustration ???

Title: Re: Faulty Horn
Post by sector-9 on Apr 14^th, 2006, 7:46pm

A relay is an electrically operated mechanical switch. So (assuming it isn't mechanically faulty inside) the problem will either be that the relay is not operated when you press the horn pad, there is no power going to the relay switch contacts or there is but there is a bad connection between the relay switch contacts and the horn.

Because the relay is basically just a switch, you can unplug it and connect the terminals in the fusebox together using a bit of wire. If the horn then sounds when you do this you know it's the relay or the circuit that operates the relay. There are two separate circuits for the horns because the current required by them would be too much for the steering wheel pad to handle reliably; the pad simply operates the relay which is what actually switches the horns on.

If you look on the bottom of a relay you will see it's terminals are numbered. 87 and 30 are the switch contacts so their corresponding terminals in the fusebox are the ones you need to connect together. The remaining two terminals operate the relay - you should read 12V between them when somebody presses the horn pad.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say that the horn sounded when you prised the relay out - this cannot happen unless you shorted the terminals with the screwdriver blade as you removed the relay - the horns are physically disconnected from any power source with the relay removed.

I think that's enough to be going on with; basically you need to find which circuit the fault is in before you can go any further.

Darren

Title: Re: Faulty Horn
Post by landbarge on Apr 15^th, 2006, 9:08am

Thanks for the 'heads up' , Darren.

Must have shorted the contacts as you mentioned. Will try the multimeter as suggested.

I have subsequently found the link to the site displaying the wiring diagrams - very useful - and can see what you mean by contact 30 and 87.

Kind regards

Rory

Title: Re: Faulty Horn
Post by landbarge on Jun 4^th, 2006, 11:23pm

Problem solved. Replace the Clockspring. A simple and cheap solution. I have written a small piece on the subject in the 'Advice to others' section. Hope this helps.