Finally got horn to work but.....

[tjcoyote59]

Need help guys.
Got a new horn and button. It worked for a dozen or so toots then quit. Ya think it's the horn relay? If so, where the heck is that booger? Just trying to be as street legal as possible.
Thanks.
TJ

[marco_1978_spyder]

Should be under the dash, not to far from the fuse box.

Just sort of hanging off the main wire loom, if I remember correctly (on a monza)

[73Sedan]

I think for early Vega it's on the firewall near the windshield wiper motor??

[spyder_xlch]

Just use the old "middle finger out the window" trick.

[77 Spyder]

Just use the old "middle finger out the window" trick.

That might quit working after a half dozen times too. Or at leat get a you a ticket

Lol

The Monza relay, is just as marco described near the kick panel. No clue on Vega's But I'll bet its simular.

[tjcoyote59]

Well after the new horn relay........ nothing.
It was under the dash close to the kickpanel.
I can hear the horn relay click, but no power to horn.
Is there a fuse for this? I didn't see it in the fuse box.
And the horn wire goes into the fuse box.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
TJ

[77 Spyder]

I think the same 12V that supplies power to the relay coil, also travels out to the horn wire.
So If its clicking, & its a new working relay, you should have power to the horn.

I have a spare harness, I'l take a quick peek.

Carl

[77 Spyder]

I just took a look. Its a very simple relay.

Red wire has the +voltage, black wire to the horn button, & the Green goes out to the horn.

If your relay is clicking, you either have a bad relay, bad horn, or a compromise in the green wire.

Do you have a test light, or volt meter?

Carl

[marco_1978_spyder]

I bet the horn needs to be grounded better

[doogiediamond]

Its also possible the horn just took a $%&# on ya.
A bad ground connection between the horn and car body could also cause it.
You might try a direct power line to the horn from the battery and ground the horn somewhere else just to make sure its not the horn.

I once made a test light out of 2 nails, 2 feet of wire and a dash bulb. Worked well until I could get a real light.

On a side note I ditched all the wimpy single horns on my cars to modern dual horns.
My cars sound like freakin freight trains now.

[vega_man_larry]

Living on an island in the Gulf of Mexico teaches you how quickly corrosion can become the gremlin in the horn circuit. The connector to the horn is old tech non enviromentally protected. It probably needs a major cleaning. Also your ground path through the horn to the unibody can also become compromised. Each year before I take the Vega in for it's annual inspection I am required to clean all of my horn connectons to get it to work again. It is usually non functional again in a couple of months. The salt air is to blame. My car is sealed in the garage and is only exposed to the elements when I occasionally drive it (not much this year with all the rain) or when the garage door is opened. It doesn't take much to make an H Body horn quit working. Get a fresh scotchbrite pad or some emery cloth and clean all your connection points.

Larry

[tjcoyote59]

I have a test light. I had my Wife press the button while I checked current on the green wire. No power.
I'll have to trace down the fault. If there's no fuse. It's gotta be wiring. It being 32 years old, that could be a problem.
Since I have a quick disconnet steering wheel, I spiced a switch into the wire in the streeing colum harness. I soldered all connections.
Making a wire to the battery is out of the question, battery is in back.

[77 Spyder]

There's a fuse, but If the relay is clicking, its not blown.

See if you can slide your test light probe next to the wires, into the relay socket.

check the red wire with your test light. It should light constantly while your clicking the horn button.

Then see if you can get the tip of the test light slide in the connector with the green wire. It should light while holding in the button.

If you have steady power on the red wire, & nothing on the Green while the relau is clicking, the relay is your problem. If the green wire supplies power for your test light when its clicking. You problem is somewhere in the green wire. or connection with the green wire.


With all that being said, you could just unplug the relay connector, make a jumper wire from the red to the green, while at the same time tap your test light on the loop you just made. If the light is on, but no horn. Then leave the loop in place & stick your test light at the horn location. That shoudl narrow it down.

Who knows maybe your relay & horn are bad? Let us know what you find.

Carl

[tjcoyote59]

Thanks Carl.
I tried it all. Ended up running that jumper, and got power to the horn. Replaced the new relay with the old one and it worked.
Go figure.
The only thing I can figure is maybe a bad wire making intermitent contact?
I've only hit the horn with short blasts. Hopefully I scared the gremlin away.
Thanks again Guys!

[zeke]

move to wiring section pls