Horn Clicks but No Noise

[72MetallicMalaga]

Alright, so my horn stopped working.

 

When my car's ignition is set with the electrical is on, and I press the horn button, I hear clicking, but no horn sound. The click is the relay, not the horn, right?

[John76]

Where is your horn relay?  Can you hear it click while sitting in the driver's seat? (It is not very loud).

 

Here's a map to trouble shoot your horn. Most likely the button and slip ring on the steering wheel.

 

['76mintgrün'02]

I'd start by wiggling all of the wiring connections and twisting fuse #6 in its holder.  Then maybe swap the wires from that relay to a headlight relay, to see if that fixes it.

[Hans]

Is yours wired like "  better  "?

[John76]

9 hours ago, Hans said:

Is yours wired like "  better  "?

Mine is.

I like really loud horns and keep as much current as possible from flowing through the ignition switch.

John

[72MetallicMalaga]

Here's the relay, this clicks when I hit the horn, but no sound. I'm gonna try checking out the horns and any wiring this afternoon. Relay wires look like they've seen better days, i'll probably put some new connectors on those too.

 

Mine is just wired stock. I checked the fuses too, moved them around a bit, and nothing. Mine is a '72, so I think the horn fuse is #7 (not 6)?

 

It's just odd, the relay works, but no horn sound. Theres two horns, and for them to stop working at the same time seems weird. Unless i've just been hearing a single horn this whole time, when it was working.

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by 72MetallicMalaga

[John76]

19 minutes ago, 72MetallicMalaga said:

It's just odd, the relay works, but no horn sound.

The horn circuit is similar for all years.

If the relay clicks, check for 12V on the wire(s) going to the horn(s) when you push the horn button.

If voltage, then check horn(s) and ground.

No voltage, then replace relay.

[Mike Self]

Your car should have two horns (visible by looking through the grille) and if neither work, chances are good the problem is a loose or corroded connection.  Check them first.   After you've checked all the connections/terminals, if there's still no honking, first of all make sure the relay is actually providing current to the horns.  Take your voltmeter and put the + lead on terminal 87 on the horn relay (the terminals are numbered) and the - lead to ground; press the horn button and see if the voltmeter reads 12 volts.  If it does, then proceed to check the horns themselves.  

 

There should be a small adjustment screw/bolt on the back side of each horn that you can turn back and forth to get the horn honking again.  You'll probably have to remove the horn and connect it temporarily to the battery to do the adjustment.

 

However, it's kinda unlikely that both horns would simultaneously go out of adjustment, so I'd suggest the problem is either in the relay or connections...and the connections are those downstream of the relay (between the relay and the horns)...

 

Cheers

mike

[72MetallicMalaga]

Alright, I just tested the relay, yeah it looks like the 87 connection gets a full 12 volts when I hit the horn button, i'll check out the horns and their connections tonight.

Edited October 18, 2022 by 72MetallicMalaga

[72MetallicMalaga]

Alright, figured this out. The ground connectors on both horns were pretty corroded. I stripped both wires on both horns, put new connectors on them, and horn is working again!

 

I thought it was the steering wheel ring, guess I took apart my column for nothing haha. I did learn some new things from it, though, and fixed a blinker issue while I was in there.

 

Thanks everyone. Again, priceless info on this forum.

[72MetallicMalaga]

Alright, small problem, now when I go around turns, the horn will honk intermittently. In addition the headlights do not work anymore.

 

I disconnected both horn button wires and removed the button,  and it still honks when I make right/left turns!

 

Most likely a relay issue here, correct?

[Son of Marty]

No, most likely a short in the steering column due to a pinched or bare wire.

[72MetallicMalaga]

Ok I JUST figured this out.

 

The headlights weren't working because too much gunk in the left low/high beam stalk. Sprayed some contact cleaner in there and took care of that. I can't believe how finicky these stalks are.

 

The horn ring on the steering wheel was slightly loose, and I think it was making contact with the ring on the steering column when turning, which I think was grounding it out? I re-set the steering wheel one and everything seems OK, will test drive tonight.

 

How do the brass rings for the horn work? Aren't they making contact constantly? I don't have any bare wires in the column as far as I am concerned...

[Son of Marty]

The brass ring connects to the graphite plunger and the horn button when pushed completes the circuit to ground which allows the horn relay to close sending 12v to the horns.

[72MetallicMalaga]

So my steering wheel doesn't have the plunger. The ring on the steering wheel has a built in connector that's bent inwards towards the driver, that a red wire goes through. the steering wheel ring is all one piece.

 

In the horn button, the cover has a brass spring, and the plate has a brass button, which connects to a yellow wire that's screwed in to ring of the steering wheel. So is the ring constantly making contact with this type of steering wheel?

 

I wish I would have taken a pic of this when the steering wheel was off, sort of looks like the attached pics except the connector is female, and the stripped wire is wrapped with it.

 

Edited October 20, 2022 by 72MetallicMalaga