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Out of the blue today my '98 horn starts blaring in the garage. I was able to press the horn on the steering wheel and it stopped. For a few hours that is, then it goes off randomly and stops before I can pull the fuse. Has anyone seen this crazy behavior? There have been zero recent upgrades or wrenching at all on this car. It is my daily driver with about 103k on the clock.
Last edited by Brad-in-STL; Aug 11, 2025 at 07:09 PM.
Out of the blue today my '98 horn starts blaring in the garage. I was able to press the horn on the steering wheel and it stopped. For a few hours that is, then it goes off randomly and stops before I pull the fuse. Has anyone seen this crazy behavior? There have been zero recent upgrades or wrenching at all on this car. It is my daily driver with about 103k on the clock.
Discussed in the forum many times over many years. Usually the horn membrane switch.
Okay, replaced the horn membrane switch today. The worst part for me, was getting the two Torx bolts out and back in. But now I can feel the horn relay clicking, but the horns don't sound off. Another thing that is weird to me, is that the horn relay will click with or without the horn fuse. And the fuse checks good.
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Brad-in-STL
Last edited by Brad-in-STL; Aug 30, 2025 at 04:16 PM.
The horn fuse has nothing to do with the relay operation One side of the relay coil is hot at all times, and the other side is provided a ground via the horn membrane switch. Just because a relay is clicking, does not mean that the contacts are functioning. Put the horn fuse back in, and check for 12volts at the fuse when you press the steering wheel. Test light works perfect in this situation.
The horn fuse has nothing to do with the relay operation One side of the relay coil is hot at all times, and the other side is provided a ground via the horn membrane switch. Just because a relay is clicking, does not mean that the contacts are functioning. Put the horn fuse back in, and check for 12volts at the fuse when you press the steering wheel. Test light works perfect in this situation.
Appreciate the info. Just checked and yes using a new test light I get current at the fuse with each horn press. Does this mean the horn(s) is bad?
Thanks,
Brad-in-STL
You must mean voltage and not "current"...2 separate things...the first thing is to check that you have a good ground...if all available current is not dropped across the horn circuit it will not operate...I can't remember how many amps the horn draws but it may be somewhere around 2-3 possibly...you always load a ground dynamically with the expected amperage in the circuit...NOT RESISTANCE CHECKS...I would get yourself a 50 watt headlight bulb and connect it between the 2 connector wires...press the horn and if the light is bright the ground is good...if the ground is good the horn is most likely bad.
You must mean voltage and not "current"...2 separate things...
Good catch. I was only using the test light, so only detecting the presence of the current. Switched over to the multi-meter and I am getting the same 12.4V at the 20 amp horn fuse, when pressing the horn button, as at the battery terminals directly. So it seems like I'm good to that location.
Remind me where the horn(s) are located... ahead of the right front tire?
Final update: Bought High/Low horns from AC Delco and I've got normal horn function back! Finally! I'm guessing one horn failed years ago and the second one went as the membrane switch failed. Neither original horn would sound off when connected directly to the battery, just to confirm they were both bad. Had to splice in the original connector:
Splice to OEM Horn Connector New Horns with New Splice
Random car horn sounding off
