6 easy to follow tips for fixing a broken car horn

A stuck car horn is a real nuisance. It doesn’t only annoy you, but it’s also annoying those around you and could get you the wrong kind of attention. What’s worse is that it’s also draining your battery as well.

If you’re ever in this situation, you should first shut the horn off. Philkotse.com has prepared a couple of tips that are tried and tested to get you out of the situation.

1. Stuck car horn: The first steps

In the event that you’re driving on a highway and this suddenly happens, try pressing on your horn just as you normally would do. The assembly inside may be stuck or a few wires could be lodged in places where they shouldn’t be.

If that doesn’t work, you should drive out of the highway and go to a parking space where your jammed car horn can disturb fewer people. Once in a safe spot, twisting your steering wheel left and right, back and forth. This may help dislodge the wires in the car horn assembly.

Drive out of the highway and go to a parking space where your jammed car horn can disturb fewer people

If the two tips above didn’t work for you, consider turning off your engine. You will need to disconnect your battery but you need to wait until the engine compartment has cooled down or you might burn yourself. You would find it easier to wait for the engine to cool down if you parked under a clean, shaded area.

>>> Read more: The history and importance of car horn.

2. Turn off the engine

Removing the battery will shut your horn off. It may also reset the horn and resolve whatever issue it was that was causing it to honk non-stop.

However, even after removing the battery and solving the problem, there may still be underlying issues as to why it happened and that may happen again if not addressed properly. You will also need to do this to continue with the next steps, but for now, follow these tips when disconnecting your battery.

• Turn the engine off and leave it off.
• Wear a pair of insulated gloves, put on some safety goggles and take off all your metal jewelry. Even the ones you’re not wearing on your fingers.
• Take a socket wrench that will fit the terminal. It is usually the one that measures 3/8 of an inch.
• Use your socket wrench and try to remove the negative terminal first. This bears the negative symbol or the minus sign. You will also notice that this is connected to a black-colored wire. Be careful that you don’t create a short shock of electricity when touching the wrench and the wire.
• Use the same steps when you disconnect the positive terminal.

Use your socket wrench and try to remove the negative terminal first

3. Disconnecting the fuse

You will now need to disconnect the fuse that’s connected to the horn. You will need your manual for this. It should have instructions on how to locate your fuse box. Once you find it, you should see that the cover has an illustration that points out each fuse and what it is for.

You should be able to see which fuse is connected to the horn. Then, turn off the ignition and use your hands to pry open the fuse. You can use fuse pullers if you have one, these are also safer.

Disconnect the fuse that’s connected to the horn

Tips:

• If there’s no illustration on the cover of your fuse box, your manual will also have the same illustration.
• If you lost your manual and there’s no diagram on your fuse box, you can search for this information online. Simply type in your car’s make and model in any search engine and add the word “fuse diagram” or “manual” on your query.
• Most vehicles have their fuse boxes installed under the driver’s side dash. It can also be on the driver’s side of the door jamb but could also be in the glove box.

>>> Related: Car horn installation: tips, tricks, and how-tos

4. Taking the horn relay off

A lot of cars come with a horn relay to feed extra current into the horn whenever you press it. You will need to find this to proceed to the next step.

Tips:

• A horn relay is a small, cube-shaped object that has a diagram drawn on its side. You can find this plugged into a little slot right in the under-hood fuse box.
• Take a look at the wiring schematic as indicated on the lid of your fuse box (or owner’s manual) to correctly identify the relay.
• If your car horn sounds different or there is no clicking sound when you try pressing on it, your relay is most likely shorted.
• You can buy a relay similar to the one you will replace. After replacing try to identify what could have caused it to be shorted out e.g., water contact, damaged wire, etc.

Removing the relay can stop your horn from honking, but it is also possible that the cause of your trouble if a relay jammed in the “on” position.

A horn relay is a small, cube-shaped object that has a diagram drawn on its side.

5. Disconnecting the horn

Some vehicles don’t have a relay so it has the horn’s fuse plugged into the same circuit where other important components are. Look for this and remove the horn.

Tips:

• This is usually located right under the hood, behind the front grille. You can also find it attached to your vehicle’s firewall right behind the engine.
• What you’re looking for is the actual horn. It’s shaped like a compact, loudspeaker or a doughnut.
• A lot of cars have two horns to increase sound volume. However, these are hardly separated and are usually found right next to each other while attached to the same unit.
• If you can’t find your car’s horns, you can refer to your manual or simply utilize the internet’s help.

Once you find it, make sure to disconnect all the wires connected to it. Then, cover the exposed wires using electrical tape.

Disconnect all the wires connected to the horn.

6. Getting the right help

Now that you’ve finally shut the horn off, you would to have it fixed as well as find out what may have caused it. The problem with horn issues is that you would usually need the help of an expert mechanic because this concerns the area underneath the sensitive airbag assembly.

Call a towing service to take your car to the nearest auto repair shop. You can also call a fellow driver to assist you on the road by honking in instances that you need to. Just until you get to the auto repair shop and have your car horn repaired.

>>> Visit Philkotse.com to find more useful tips and advice.