Horns chirp once

[thescifiguy]

I bought some standard replacement 2-wire horns from the auto parts store, installed them, and found that they only chirp once....quietly. There don't appear to be any adjustment screws and I did a little wire swapping on the terminals(although not all 4 configurations) and still I get just one brief chirp out of them. The previous oem horns did the same thing.

What's my likely cause? Low voltage due to dirty contacts at either the button or the horns? Isn't there a relay that occilates the horns?

[Dennis Texas]

I bought some standard replacement 2-wire horns from the auto parts store, installed them, and found that they only chirp once....quietly. There don't appear to be any adjustment screws and I did a little wire swapping on the terminals(although not all 4 configurations) and still I get just one brief chirp out of them. The previous oem horns did the same thing.

What's my likely cause? Low voltage due to dirty contacts at either the button or the horns? Isn't there a relay that occilates the horns?

my guess would be the horn relay itself since it chirps once horn button has picked up the relay use a volt meter or a 12 lamp if you don't have meter handy to check circuit.

[wrench459]

I believe that battery voltage is supplied to the horns when ever the key is in the on position, the horn button controls the ground.
But I've been wrong before.

[Lindsay]

Horn button is ground (negative). I don't have my wiring chart at work, but GTs' did not use a horn relay. Sounds like the problem could be the grounding ring (for horn button) in steering column.

[thescifiguy]

I went out and emory-clothed both horn button brass ring surfaces and both ends of the spring-loaded cartridge thingy. Man, I really thought that was it. No luck, still one chirp. It seems that plenty of power is getting through, since the amp meter nosedives nicely to the left when the button is pressed.

I suppose I could remove my new horns to see if there's a hidden adjustment screw, even though I see nothing and the instructions mention nothing.

I guess I could run current straight from the battery and they should make noise...right?

tick-tock...tick-tock.....

Okay, I just went out, removed one horn, and jumped power from the battery to it. Honkkk! So, that means the horns are okay. I guess I'll have to do surgery-by-feel tomorrow and reach my hands through the grill and remove/replace the female terminals on the horn wires.

[wrench459]

I guess I could run current straight from the battery and they should make noise...right?

Correct "IF" you've got a good ground in the steering column.

[thescifiguy]

I think I MUST have good steering column ground since the amp meter almost pegs when the button's pressed. I'm gonna hope that my wire terminals are corroded and are making a high resistance connection. I think my previous GT had the same issue 25 years ago. I live in the Land of Corrosion here in Jersey and electrical troubleshooting always begins with the cleaning/replacing of terminals.

[wrench459]

I don't think the horns even comes close to drawing 30 amps.
Let us know what you've found out.

[First opel 1981]

I would put money on a short somewhere between the ground wire feeding the horns and a hot wire along the way.
It is the only reason the AMP gauge would peg like that and not operate, obviously functioning, horns.

[ungermm]

May just be corrosion at the terminals of the horn wiring terminals at the horns. If I'm reading your test method right, you're testing for the ground at the horn button. Try using a test light connected to the battery positive side and either ground at the horn. With the key on, you should be able to see the test light glow when you press the horn button. Another test would be to test the positive leads at the horns by connecting them to the battery negative with a test light.
Jerry

[hrcollinsjr]

I bought some standard replacement 2-wire horns from the auto parts store, installed them, and found that they only chirp once....quietly. There don't appear to be any adjustment screws and I did a little wire swapping on the terminals(although not all 4 configurations) and still I get just one brief chirp out of them. The previous oem horns did the same thing.

What's my likely cause? Low voltage due to dirty contacts at either the button or the horns? Isn't there a relay that occilates the horns?

Try only one horn at a time. I've replaced horns on GT's before where one went bad and caused problems. I simply tested across the terminals looking for continuity, meaning I would have a dead short when I pushed the horn button. New parts don't always work!

You may need to install a relay for the horns to operate properly.

Harold

[Redskinsjbs]

It sounds like a continuity difficulty to me. Check the resistance between every section of wire in the circuit. If both of the horns work, it may simply be a crushed wire. It could technically have continuity, but as soon as any power is applied, the bad section of wire heats up, adds resistance, and prevents power from flowing, producing a chirp.

[markandson]

I doubt it is a short, things would be melting or arcing if it was. Corroded connections seems likely to me. BTW I did add a horn relay to my GT and the horns work great. The new horns I bought were higher power than the OEM ones and I wanted to make sure the circuit could handle the power.

[hrcollinsjr]

Jay, if your stock horns work properly, why don't you do a quick check of how far the amp meter dips when the horns are applied and report back? IIRC it discharges fairly strongly. Now over the years resistance has probably increased because of corrosion and the simplest 'fix' may be to add a relay.

Is the steering column grounded with the additional ground wire that is supposed to be there? I believe an earlier poster alluded to this when asking if the column was properly grounded. I would be sure of this first before anything else. The relay is still a good idea especially if you've upgraded the horns as Jeff did.

Harold

[thescifiguy]

I put new terminals on all 4 wires, plugged in just the driver's side one 'cuz it's closest to source and has the jumpers that feed the passenger side horn, pressed the horn button and.......one chirp. After I got done cussin', I fished the old horns out of the recycle bin and plugged one in. HONK! Plugged them both in. HEEONK!

So, short of running new wire throughout and grounds, it looks like MARKANDSON is the winner with the closest to best likely answer:

The new horns are higher power than the OEM ones.

Just for everyone's information the horns I bought were MAXI SOUND 320-2T.
They're red/black plastic with chrome outlet covers and chrome support bars. I still like them a lot(because they match the color scheme of my car), so I'm gonna pop a relay in there when I get a chance.

Thanks for all your suggestions guys!

[hrcollinsjr]

You may need to install a relay for the horns to operate properly. Harold

So, short of running new wire throughout and grounds, it looks like MARKANDSON is the winner with the closest to best likely answer:
The new horns are higher power than the OEM ones.
Thanks for all your suggestions guys!

I's been robbed!

Maybe Jeff's was a tad more DIRECT.

Harold

[First opel 1981]

And run the horn relay so the horns are fed directly from the battery.
Just an option.

[hrcollinsjr]

And run the horn relay so the horns are fed directly from the battery.
Just an option.

Don't mean to sound like a smart*$$ this time, but seriously that is the main purpose of the relay to not only take the load off of the switch but to insure the least voltage drop since the current path is more direct. I saw an article once where they measured the voltage drop at the headlights of a vehicle and then measured the voltage after installed a relay. IIRC there was something like a 1.5v or better increase at the headlight which translated into more light.

Harold

[sawdust]

And run the horn relay so the horns are fed directly from the battery.
Just an option.

How about fuses........

[First opel 1981]

How about fuses........

Yeah, a good idea to toss a fuse in there as well. Between the battery and the relay would work fine but make it a hefty fuse.

Don't mean to sound like a smart*$$ this time, but seriously that is the main purpose of the relay to not only take the load off of the switch but to insure the least voltage drop since the current path is more direct. I saw an article once where they measured the voltage drop at the headlights of a vehicle and then measured the voltage after installed a relay. IIRC there was something like a 1.5v or better increase at the headlight which translated into more light.

No worries. I was saying directly to the battery as to remove the wiring to the fuse box and heep the necessary wiring to go direct from going through the wiring harness. When I say directly from the battery, I mean the wire would only be a couple feet long (at best).

Also, I would suggest a solid state relay as opposed to a mechanical one. That way you could mount the relay near the horn to 1) save wiring since you can use the horn wires to power the relay, and 2) you can encapsulate the relay and make it waterproof.
Mounting the relay next to the horns would be much easier that way. (IMHO)

Harold