I just got my horn working again! Had some time yesterday and had some luck.
My symptoms: No horn. When arming/disarming, the horn chirps work, so I knew the horn wan't really dead. Changing the relay did nothing, and the fuse was fine. It once worked again (for a short period of time) when fiddling w/ the relay... but now I know that was just coincidence.
Thank Treepete for your helpful resources and info!~
Basically, the horn switch needs to have it's spring stretched again to make a solid electrical conection.
*I am just sharing what I did to fix my horn. Do this at your own risk, I am not responsible if you screw up, or get hurt. This may or may not be the best or correct way either, but this is how I did it. Hope it helps~
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Tools: Torx bit #20 and #25, A thin flat blade screwdriver.
The fix is very simple. Almost stupid simple. The trick though, is to get the airbag pad off the steering wheel. Here's what I did... if you know a better way, please share!~
-With the key out of the ignition, pull fuse #10 fromt he fuse box on the side of the dash (drivers side). This is the airbag fuse, and some repair manual note I've read says this will disengage the airbag. I didn't disconnect the battery. You can still start the engine... but the airbag light will stay on. Later when you replace the fuse, the airbag light will turn off.
- Pull the drivers seat back for some working space. Rotate the steering wheel 90 deg to the side, and tilt the steering column all the way up.
-Behind the steering wheel, a rectangular slot holds a #20 torx screw. Remove this, and the one on the other side as well. This will allow the back cover of the steering wheel to be loose.
-Remove the two #25 torx screws from the bottom of the steering column, and pull the lower column cover down.
-Now you should have a little room to spread the back steering wheel cover
away from the airbag. The airbag is only help in place by a metal mounting peg on each side. The steering wheel base has a steel wire that is locking the airbag pegs. You have to push on this wire w/ a screwdriver, and the airbag comes off.
-You don't need to disconnect the airbag. Just look for the white plastic part w/ 2 red wires comming out of it. This is the horn switch. I just gave it a twist to get it out.
-Now test your connection, just to make sure this is the problem. I stuck a wire down the hole where the horn switch goes. This jumper wire was about 10", w/ only the ends stripped bare. Make sure one end of the wire touches deep inside the hole, and touch the other end on the metal frame of the steering wheel. It should honk.
-If your horn honked, then just stretch the spring on the horn switch, and reassemble. If your horn switch is screwed up... you can get a new one for $1.75
*You could probably put some dielectric grease on the end of the horn switch... but since it was originally dry, I left mine dry too.
-To reinstall the airbag pad.. just align it and push it in untill it clicks in. Very easy. Then install the four screws you removed. Don't forget to replace the fuse too.
My symptoms: No horn. When arming/disarming, the horn chirps work, so I knew the horn wan't really dead. Changing the relay did nothing, and the fuse was fine. It once worked again (for a short period of time) when fiddling w/ the relay... but now I know that was just coincidence.
Thank Treepete for your helpful resources and info!~
Basically, the horn switch needs to have it's spring stretched again to make a solid electrical conection.
*I am just sharing what I did to fix my horn. Do this at your own risk, I am not responsible if you screw up, or get hurt. This may or may not be the best or correct way either, but this is how I did it. Hope it helps~
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Tools: Torx bit #20 and #25, A thin flat blade screwdriver.
The fix is very simple. Almost stupid simple. The trick though, is to get the airbag pad off the steering wheel. Here's what I did... if you know a better way, please share!~
-With the key out of the ignition, pull fuse #10 fromt he fuse box on the side of the dash (drivers side). This is the airbag fuse, and some repair manual note I've read says this will disengage the airbag. I didn't disconnect the battery. You can still start the engine... but the airbag light will stay on. Later when you replace the fuse, the airbag light will turn off.
- Pull the drivers seat back for some working space. Rotate the steering wheel 90 deg to the side, and tilt the steering column all the way up.
-Behind the steering wheel, a rectangular slot holds a #20 torx screw. Remove this, and the one on the other side as well. This will allow the back cover of the steering wheel to be loose.
-Remove the two #25 torx screws from the bottom of the steering column, and pull the lower column cover down.
-Now you should have a little room to spread the back steering wheel cover
away from the airbag. The airbag is only help in place by a metal mounting peg on each side. The steering wheel base has a steel wire that is locking the airbag pegs. You have to push on this wire w/ a screwdriver, and the airbag comes off.
-You don't need to disconnect the airbag. Just look for the white plastic part w/ 2 red wires comming out of it. This is the horn switch. I just gave it a twist to get it out.
-Now test your connection, just to make sure this is the problem. I stuck a wire down the hole where the horn switch goes. This jumper wire was about 10", w/ only the ends stripped bare. Make sure one end of the wire touches deep inside the hole, and touch the other end on the metal frame of the steering wheel. It should honk.
-If your horn honked, then just stretch the spring on the horn switch, and reassemble. If your horn switch is screwed up... you can get a new one for $1.75
*You could probably put some dielectric grease on the end of the horn switch... but since it was originally dry, I left mine dry too.
-To reinstall the airbag pad.. just align it and push it in untill it clicks in. Very easy. Then install the four screws you removed. Don't forget to replace the fuse too.
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