brucksch

About a mile from home this morning, the horn starts blaring. Had to pull off the road and disconnect it. Any ideas or history on this?
Note: a few weeks ago I had the smell of something electrical burning under the hood but could not locate it. Somewhere near the battery/relay compartment.

73Corvette

Well, that doesn't sound good... pull the codes if any and post them...did you take out the battery and inspect for possible leaky battery or water intrusion on the floor board of passenger side? Lots of electrical stuff in that area...
you can take off the front passenger side wheel and there is an access panel to the PCM and more wiring in there... mice seem to like this area, very comfy place for them to establish a new home.

dadaroo

Sudden horn blowing is typical of the steering wheel horn membrane closing the circuit.

Not hard to determine if that is it. I doubt your "smell" in that location is related but I will not rule it out at this time.

Replacing the membrane is not hard and I have the DIY info at home.

I have the horn schematic at home and can post later for you.

73Corvette

Why are the words common and typical associated with things that happen on a C5 that I've never even heard of happening before...then it seems it's always followed up with some "how to" remove, replace, rebuild, and a schematic to decipher... it's really starting to make me paranoid. I don't know if I'm qualified to be a C5 owner

brucksch

Disconnected the battery and waited a bit. Reconnected the battery and the car was fine.
The horn was constant not pulsing like an alarm.
I have not had time to check the codes yet.

If the horn membrane is the issue, why didn't my horn blow again after I reconnected the battery?

calvins

How'd you manage to quiet it in mid-rush hour traffic?

rrwirsi

I trying to understand the horn problem before it happens to me. With the owners that have had the sudden horn blowing issue, question, did you recently use your horn and do you use your horn occasionally? Is it a wear issue or a gremlin issue?

I already stop driving in the rain (wiper motor issue), diving in the night (headlight issue), stop rolling down the windows (window motor issue), stop using the auto seat adjustment (seat mechanism issue), only use Texaco gas (gas gage issue) , do not use my keyfab (not sure what needs to be replace if it fails), replace the battery every year so the car starts when I get in to drive, pray I do not get the Service Steering Column message, and now I have to worry about the friggin horn blowing. God, I love this car!

brucksch

In my case the horn is rarely is used and had not been used the morning this occurred. The car is also garage kept and does not see much water except when I wash it.

jdvann

Did ya'll not read the common issues that can occur with the C5 posted above? Also this is the place where the world comes for help, so I believe you see an unusual amount of issues here which may skew perception. Horn membrane is easy fix if it turns out that is what it is...the 2 guru's (dadaroo and 8vette7)are already watching this thread waiting to help which should be comforting. Good luck!

calvins

Thanks! Hopefully I won't need that info but ya never know... better to be prepared. I'll remember the towel trick if we end up relocating to Fla.

dadaroo

Here is guidance on replacing the membrane.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...sn-t-work.html

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1586035480

brucksch

Horn membrane ordered. In the mean time I have installed a quick disconnect switch for the horn in case it happens before I get it fixed.
I'm not looking forward to removing the air bag.

dadaroo

Don't be concerned about the air bag. Just disconnect the battery negative cable and wait 5 minutes. Remember you drive behind the air bag all the time and never even think about it.

73Corvette

Thanks for the reminder Sam now I'll be a nervous wreck next time I drive...

brucksch

Finally had time to work on fixing my horn issue. The hardest part was getting the 2 screws out that hold the center section to the steering wheel. Everything else went fairly easy. Took about an hour of work but I kept watching the videos to be sure I was doing it correctly. Thanks for all the help.

Now how do I clean the center section that I took off? Seems like the plastic or rubber is deteriorating and trying to clean it makes it worse.

dadaroo

Is this your issue? One of the longest Threads on the Forum.


https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...r-melting.html