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Wagon Horn Not Working 200 1993

posted by  JSL1028 on  Sat Feb 19 12:12 CST 2022
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Hi Everyone -

My horn all of a sudden stopped working...now for the enigma!

I have tested the following:

1. I have 12v coming out of the fuse panel...tested behind the panel
2. I have 14v at the end of the wires/connectors that attach directly to the horn
3.. The horn does work when I hook it directly to the battery posts...scared the crap out of me when it sounded!
4. When I attach the wires/connectors to the horn...no sound when I push the horn on the steering wheel!

Everything tests out fine except why am I getting 14+ volts at the end of the wires?
Does the horn not operate if >12v at the horn?
Can anyone help?








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    Wagon Horn Not Working 200 1993

    uid 27's pic
    posted by  Art Benstein on  Sat Feb 19 12:54 CST 2022
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    last visit: Fri Oct 17 20:10 CST 2014
    [RELATED]

    Two things:

    One, you need a complete circuit for current to flow. That means the switch in the steering wheel supplies the return, or ground, to complete the circuit.

    Two, measuring voltage at the end of a wire, or in a circuit that isn't complete can be misleading when something in the source has high resistance, like the commonly found corrosion at the ends of those fuses. Testing with an incandescent test lamp (as opposed to the LED sort) can supply enough load to give you more confidence sufficient power is available.

    The horn will work with 12V or the 14 you might measure when the alternator is charging the battery. Check for a loose ground wire at the steering column before disassembling the wheel.



    This is for a '90.
    --
    Art Benstein near Baltimore

    All I wanna do is have some fun
    Until the sun comes up
    Over Santa Monica Boulevard
    Cheryl Crow








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      Wagon Horn Not Working 200 1993

      posted by  JSL1028 on  Sat Feb 19 16:08 CST 2022
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      Hi Art...thank you for your help!
      I checked the ground and IT WAS LOOSE...I tightened, but it didn't fix the horn, so I guess I had two problems. I am guessing the issue lies in the steering wheel?








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        Wagon Horn Not Working 200 1993

        uid 60851's pic
        posted by  Grey245 on  Sun Feb 20 03:58 CST 2022
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        The issue may indeed lie in the steering wheel, and to determine that without taking it apart (yet) you could hook up a testbulb, as Art suggested.

        Connect a testlight between the plug on the horn that has the yellow and black wires going into it. The other side of the bulb goes anywhere on a bare piece of metal on the body. Make sure it's a good connection.

        Turn the ignition on: the testlight should light up brighlty, but the horn should remain silent.
        If the testlight doesn't come on at all, or not very bright, there is likely a high resistance in the circuit somewhere that needs to be investigated first (fuses!).
        If it lights OK, then push the horn button on the steering wheel and the light should go off (or at least a whole lot dimmer) and the horn should sound.

        As suggested by Art, use an incandescent bulb, say 21 W. It will draw a few amps and expose bad connections. An LED or digital multimeter draw way too little current for that and can lead to false interpretations.

        These images might also be helpful:






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