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horn issues on 97 vette

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Old 02-17-2014, 10:23 PM
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theoldmusicman
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Default horn issues on 97 vette

Strange problem. Horn will not work from steering wheel, when I lock the doors, or hit the panic button. The horn relay is on all the time and 12v is present at the connector that plugs into the horns. I tried jumping 12v directly to the horns and they still don't work. Am I dealing with multiple problems with this issue?

Thanks for the help, my inspection sticker is out and I can't get the car inspected without the horns working.
Old 02-17-2014, 10:38 PM
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themonk
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You'd probably get more answers if you post this over in C5 Tech. Good luck.
Old 02-17-2014, 10:41 PM
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theoldmusicman
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Originally Posted by themonk
You'd probably get more answers if you post this over in C5 Tech. Good luck.
Thanks!
Old 02-18-2014, 09:42 AM
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dadaroo
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Here is the schematic. Sounds like the ground is the problem if you have 12 V going into them. The horns are in parallel so if one is bad the other should still work. Rig up a temp ground and I bet they work.

Old 02-21-2014, 12:10 PM
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Originally Posted by dadaroo
Here is the schematic. Sounds like the ground is the problem if you have 12 V going into them. The horns are in parallel so if one is bad the other should still work. Rig up a temp ground and I bet they work.

Tried grounding the horns but they still don't work. I think the diaphragm in the steering wheel is shorted keeping the relay latched. Also the horns don't work. I took them out and put 12V to both of them and neither one will honk. I'm not sure how the horns went from working on day to short circuited and burned out the next. I going to order a diaphragm and 2 new horns and see if that doesn't fix the problem.

Thanks for all the help.
Old 02-21-2014, 01:30 PM
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bighank
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Default Before buying horns test them FIRST

It's a simple matter to take a wire from the plus side of your battery, jack up or put the front of the car on ramps and remove the cardboard splash shield, and try activating the horns by taking the end of the wire on the lead that normally goes to the plus terminal on the horns. If they are good they will sound. If you want to remove them I think it is a single nut holding the bracket for both horns. I had mine out when one of them wouldn't sound. Replaced it with a junkyard horn with the same tone and installed an AOOGA horn along with the other two. I added a relay so I can use just the original horns, the AOOGA horn or all three at once.
Checking the grounds is a good idea too.
My membrane in the steering wheel was shorted and sounding the horns all the time. Removed the top of the steering wheel, (after first disabling the airbag) and was going to replace the membrane. Fooling with it fixed it so I did not have to replace it (YET). I added a switch that goes to the wire that the membrane shorts to ground to activate the horns. If the membrane fails again I can just disconnect it and use the almost invisible black button switch I installed near the left DIC area. Don't waste $100 on horns you don't need.
Old 02-21-2014, 05:55 PM
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dadaroo
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Originally Posted by theoldmusicman
Tried grounding the horns but they still don't work. I think the diaphragm in the steering wheel is shorted keeping the relay latched. Also the horns don't work. I took them out and put 12V to both of them and neither one will honk. I'm not sure how the horns went from working on day to short circuited and burned out the next. I going to order a diaphragm and 2 new horns and see if that doesn't fix the problem.

Thanks for all the help.
I think you are doing something wrong. Double check what you did. I can't believe the membrane failed and did not sound the horns---and --- the horns both failed at the same time. I have seen strange things but unless Rod Serling was here.....

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