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Car Forum / Toyota / Toyota Cars / March 2007Horn doesn't work
My horn does not work and we checked all of the obvious, fuses, etc. All good. A mechanic said that because we have air bags the repair would be costly and it needed to be done with at an electrical repairshop. Can I buy some kind of replacement horn and by-pass the old horn and wiring so that I can have a working horn so that we can pass inspection? Thanks for your help. > My horn does not work and we checked all of the obvious, fuses, etc. But have you checked the horn itself? My horn stopped working a while back, and I checked all the obvious too, then decided to buy a new horn (about $52), and all is fine > All good. A mechanic said that because we have air bags the repair > would be costly and it needed to be done with at an electrical > repairshop. "Good mechanics" are sometimes full of sh.t. > My horn does not work and we checked all of the obvious, fuses, etc. All > good. A mechanic said that because we have air bags the repair would be > costly and it needed to be done with at an electrical repairshop. Can I > buy some kind of replacement horn and by-pass the old horn and wiring so > that I can have a working horn so that we can pass inspection? Thanks for > your help. Well, yeah, you can, if that's the problem. Here's an easy way to check: remove the horn from the car, connect some wires to the termonals on the horn, and touch the wires to the battery. If either horn blows (there should be two) then the horns are not the problem. Note...wear hearing protection, or at least turn the horns away from you, or you'll be saying "WHAT?!?!" for a week. And, make sure there are as many cats as close by as possible! ;) I don't have the same inspection you have, but I seriously doubt that you can pass if the horn button (activation mechanism) is not on the steering wheel. You can disconnect the battery -- the ground terminal is fine -- and then remove the airbag. My guess is that the horn contact on the back of the steering wheel has failed (worn out). Normally, the contact will work intermittently for a long time before it fails. You can attempt to operate the horn while turning the wheel to different positions and see if the horn is completely gone, or only gone in some spots. This will give yo an idea of how many parts you might need. Of course, BEFORE you do any of this, you should find out if you have voltage at the horns, or not. If you remove the airbag -- remember to disconnect the battery first -- then attempt to start the car, or simply set the ignition switch ot ON, this will trigger an Airbag Fault that can only be reset by somebody with the proper diagnostic scanner. An airbag fault is considered by the computer to be a fatal error, and service must be performed by a qualified technician before the error can be reset. Obviously, if you power up the system with a bag removed, this will appear to the computer as an error. You should be able to explain to a repair shop that you had the bag out of the car, and the ignition was switched ON, and therefore no further service is required. The diagnostic scanner will confirm that story, and the error can be cleared. > My horn does not work and we checked all of the obvious, fuses, etc. > All good. A mechanic said that because we have air bags the repair > would be costly and it needed to be done with at an electrical > repairshop. Can I buy some kind of replacement horn and by-pass the > old horn and wiring so that I can have a working horn so that we can > pass inspection? Thanks for your help. >I don't have the same inspection you have, but I seriously doubt that you >can pass if the horn button (activation mechanism) is not on the steering >wheel. I recall some early '70s British cars with the horn activated by a stalk on the steering column. > You can disconnect the battery -- the ground terminal is fine -- and then > remove the airbag. My guess is that the horn contact on the back of the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > horn is completely gone, or only gone in some spots. This will give yo an > idea of how many parts you might need. I would be very surprised if the horn is gone only in some positions when turning the steering wheel. I believe that Toyotas with air bags just have a switch, which is connected to a spiral wire along with the airbag and cruise control wiring. > Of course, BEFORE you do any of this, you should find out if you have > voltage at the horns, or not. Reminds me of an episode of *M*A*S*H* where they are trying to disarm a bomb, and the instructions say "cut the red wire" so they snip the red wire, and the next step is "but first, cut the blue wire" BTW, air bags remain energized for a while after the battery is disconnected so include a one minute wait after disconnecting the battery before messing with any air bag. It is not necessary to turn the key to the on position to check the horn, so I would not recommend giving that advice and setting a trouble code when it is not necessary.  SignatureRay O (correct punctuation to reply) > BTW, air bags remain energized for a while after the battery is > disconnected so include a one minute wait after disconnecting the battery > before messing with any air bag. It is not necessary to turn the key to > the on position to check the horn, so I would not recommend giving that > advice and setting a trouble code when it is not necessary. I am not sure that Toyota requires the ignition to be ON or not to power the horn circuit. I did not intend to give advise that the key be switched ON, I meant to give advise that if the key was switched ON, then a a fault would be stored. If it is not necessary to switch the ignition ON to test the horn, then the issue is moot because the fault will not be triggered during a horn test. The fault could be set if the vehicle is used to make a parts run while in a state is partial disassembly -- so covering the point is probably a good idea. >> BTW, air bags remain energized for a while after the battery is >> disconnected so include a one minute wait after disconnecting the battery [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > ON, I meant to give advise that if the key was switched ON, then a a fault > would be stored. On all Toyotas, the horn circuit is live all the time. SignatureRay O (correct punctuation to reply) >> BTW, air bags remain energized for a while after the battery is >> disconnected so include a one minute wait after disconnecting the [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > while in a state is partial disassembly -- so covering the point is > probably a good idea. The horm ckt is on all the time. Better than European cars! I was sitting in my Volvo one time just getting out, and someone almost backed into it. With the keys in my hand, I had NO HORN!! They stopped about 1/4 inch from the damn car!!!! > My horn does not work and we checked all of the obvious, fuses, etc. > All good. A mechanic said that because we have air bags the repair > would be costly and it needed to be done with at an electrical > repairshop. Can I buy some kind of replacement horn and by-pass the > old horn and wiring so that I can have a working horn so that we can > pass inspection? Thanks for your help. I would find a competent automotive technician who knows something about cars. Diagnosing an inoperative horn is very simple, especially for a competent technician. The first thing to check when a horn does not work is to see if there is voltage at the horn(s). Some cars have one horn, some have two. The best way to check for voltage at the horn(s) is with a volt meter (can be had for under $35 at Radio Shack), the next best way is with a 12 volt test light (can be had for under $15 at an auto parts store). If there is voltage at the horn(s), then there is no need to check fuses, horn relays, or the horn switch itself because power is getting to the horn. If there is voltage at the horn, then the horn is bad, which is the most likely scenario. If there is no voltage at the horn, then work backwards through the circuit to the power supply. SignatureRay O (correct punctuation to reply) |
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