i hit my horn and it doesnt work, what is wrong?

 

shorted

 

Usually horns are actuated by a relay. The horn "button" in the car with power a relay and the relay will transfer power to the horn. There may also be a fuse for the horn. My owners manual isn't handy but you can find out in there.

 

On my '90 the horn relay is just under the dash to the right of the steering column. There is also another relay there, that I'm not sure what it's for. If you find it, you could try gently tapping it while holding the horn button, but be prepared to pull it cause it could just hang in the ON position. Also, don't forget to check all of the fuses, make sure you don't simply have a blown fuse.

 

A short by definition is a circuit that is prematurely closed. So if the horn was shorted then the circuit would have electricity running through it constantly...causing the horn to always be "on".

Check your fuse. The horn is a 5 AMP (Brown) fuse. Your cigarette lighter should not work either. They are tied together.

Relays rarely ever go bad. So that should not be the problem.

 

Regarding the above, yes check your fuses as I stated earlier, however relay's can and do go bad. There's a reason I know where it is. Had to find it (by listening for the click) so we could find it on my cousin's '89. His had gone bad in the ON position while going down the road after blowing at a deer.

 

im not to handy or knowledgeable with electronics. So i should look under the steering colum for a brown wire?

 

No, what Pure5.0 was refering to as brown was the color of a 5 amp blade type fuse. Look in your fuse panel and check the fuses first. Look in your owners manual to tell you where your fuse panel is and which fuses protect which circuits. You can pull the fuse out and look at it through the side to see if it is blown. If it is not the fuse, then you should check the relay. The relay will look like a small plastic box that's either grey, or black or brown. It will unplug and have 4 electrical terminals sticking out after it is unplugged.

 

sorry but i know my electrical ****. a horn circuit can have a short in it. your horn is tied into yoru cruise system. both of mine are shorted and not working. also without me really checking it out, the battery goes dead after a day or so.

 

sorry but i know my electrical ****. a horn circuit can have a short in it. your horn is tied into yoru cruise system. both of mine are shorted and not working. also without me really checking it out, the battery goes dead after a day or so.