A car horn is a small but essential part of your vehicle. If you need a new car horn, you should visit Car Smart.
A car horn may seem unnecessary, but it may be the difference between being involved in an accident or not. When your horn stops working, it may be challenging to know why.
Once you know why your horn is not working, it is easy to fix the problem. The following are common reasons why your car horn may not be working:
Table of Contents
A Blown Fuse
Horns on modern cars work using electric power. As with other electric components in your vehicle, it has a fuse.
If you blow a fuse in your horn, the horn will not work, and you will have to replace it. A fuse in a modern car will have a fork-like shape with wires between the arms that will cause it not to work.
You may only have to connect the wires or replace your horn’s fuse to start working again.
Damaged Relay
In some cases, it may be that it is not the fuse but the relay with the problem. That means that the signal relay to the electrical system when you press your horn does not work.
Most vehicle relays are similar, so you can swap one with yours and use the horn. If it works, it is a problem with the relay; if so, you will have to replace the relay.
If not, the cause is something else.
Wire Connector
The wire connecting your horn to the electrical system may also be damaged. If that is the case, you may have to clean the wire and reattach it.
If that does not work, you will have to install a new wire connector.
The Horn
If the problem is not with any of the above components, then the horn itself might be the problem. You will have to remove the horn and connect it to an electric power source to test it. Your car battery will do just fine.
If it does not work, then you will be sure that the problem is with the horn. Be careful when testing it as the car horn may be deafening if it works and may cause you to make a mistake.
Horn Switch
If everything else works, including the horn itself, it may be the malfunctioning horn switch. The horn switch in most cars is in the steering wheel.
It is difficult to know if the horn switch is the problem as you have to open the airbag and remove the airbags to fix it. A mechanic is best qualified to determine if the horn switch works.
Airbag Problem
Your car’s airbags may be the reason why your car horn will not work. It is especially so after you are involved in an accident where the airbags pop out and you have to replace them.
The good news is that if there is a problem with the airbags, the dashboard’s airbag light will be on or blinking. If that is the case, you will have to visit the mechanic.