When a car horn dies many people just ignore it. They don’t use it very often and no policeman is ever going to ask you to test the horn. However, if you’ve ever driven a car with a dead horn, you know how significant it is in those rare moments when it is necessary. Screaming “NOOOOO” as loud as you can is not good enough.
There are several reasons why the horn doesn’t let off any sound. We’ll run through them and give you some advice on what you might do. Most of them are possible to be done by yourself and are also very cheap.
Car horn not working – Here’s why!
1. Fuse
Horn works using electric power and, just like any other electrics-dependent part, it has a fuse. If the fuse is blown, you’ll simply need to replace it. Modern car fuses have that fork-like look and if the wire between them is broken, then you’ve found your problem. Just replace the (very cheap) fuse with the appropriate colored one and you can scare people with loud honks again.
2. Relay
If it’s not the fuse, there is a strong possibility it’s the relay. They are also very cheap, albeit more expensive than fuses. You will probably not be able to inspect the relay visually. Luckily, most relays are the same, so if you have the same one in the relay box, just swap it to see if the relay is the problem. If so, buy the right one and replace it. Otherwise, check the other possible causes.
3. Wire connector
Sometimes all you need to do is clean the wire connector and reattach it.
4. Horn
If the fuse and the relay are good, there is a strong possibility that the horn itself is bad. In order to test that, you need to give it electricity. Connect a probe to the horn wire and use jumper wire to connect one of its ends on the positive battery terminal and the other one on the horn. While you are touching the horn with the other end of the jumper wire, make sure you do it quickly and remove the jumper wire from the horn immediately. This is important because, if the horn works, if will sound and scare the life out of you.
5. Horn switch
It is in the place that you press to sound the horn. In most cars it is in the steering wheel, so if it is broken, you will likely need to visit a mechanic, unless you know how to open the steering wheel and deal with the airbag and the electronics inside. If you do know all this and have the right tools, you probably aren’t reading this article anyway. Moreover, airbags are dangerous and if you accidentally set it off, it can hurt you seriously. If it’s the horn switch and you are not a mechanic, don’t touch it.