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Horn doesn't blow on 47 Dodge


central52

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What does your repair manual say about troubleshooting the horn? How did you check the wiring? What voltage do you have at the horn relay? Do you have voltage at the horn?  It works by grounding the circuit after the current passes through the coils on the horn assembly.

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Ed, did you verify your horn is wired as per the factory schematic...some PO's change things for whatever reason over the years.  Your question is good, but your supporting facts on what you have done is a little unclear and makes it hard to make suggestions.  But as already stated, verify the horn will work first then it is just working your way back per the schematic.

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You have had the car since December.

 

Has the horn ever worked?

 

Look at this as 2 circuits.

 

Circuit 1:

Power is available at all times at the battery terminal (BAT) of the horn relay. It waits there until the horn relay is energized. Once the horn relay is energized the voltage passes on to the horn.

 

Circuit 2:

When the key is turned to the "ON" position power is then present at the IGN terminal on the relay. Pressing the horn button on the steering wheel provides a ground, and energizes the relay. (the generic diagram is labeled "S" (for switch). Your relay is labeled GND) The 6 volts that was waiting at the BAT terminal now connects up with the wire going to the horn.

 

Things you can do in the order of your choice.

 

1) as suggested  --a jumper wire from the battery to the horn to see if it toots. Just a touch, and pull away.

 

    If the horn does not toot, most likely a ground problem.

 

  If it toots with a jumper:

 

2) Check for 6 volts at the BAT terminal

 

3) Check for 6 volts present at IGN terminal when the key is "ON"

 

If 6 volts is present at BAT, and IGN:

 

4)  With the key "ON" use a jumper wire from the GND terminal to any suitable ground. (this bypasses the horn button, and the wire that runs up the center of the steering column.

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Edited by shel_ny
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Thanks, guys., good info. Love your answer, shel_ny, those pics are great. I didn't know there's a fuse in the relay. Easy to get at? Will do as suggested. Ed

Edited by central52
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Thanks, guys., good info. Love your answer, shel_ny, those pics are great. I didn't know there's a fuse in the relay. Easy to get at? Will do as suggested. Ed

That is a "generic" horn relay diagram to show the circuits. You will have no fuse.

 

EDIT: and your relay may not be mounted as shown. Just pay attention to where the wires are going.  It should be labeled IGN, GND, BAT, HORN on the mounting bracket, but may be hard to see.

Edited by shel_ny
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Emphasis on shel_ny's most excellent dissertation - "Circuit 2" - the ignition has to actually be turned on for the horn to work.  Mine "didn't work" once many years ago, and I just about went nuts troubleshooting it.  It completely eluded me that I didn't have the ignition switch on.  On a whim I hit the horn ring while the car was still running when I pulled it back in the garage, and it worked.  I just didn't think about it because at the time I had also been working on a similar era Ford product, in which the horn circuit is always energized.  

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OK. I think I may have misplaced the four wires on the relay. I took it out to clean the contacts, and made a diagram of where the wires should go back. Not sure now if I reconnected them properly. So, the horn does toot, Shel, then I did the next step, there is power on that first contact. So, hopefully the top two connections are correct. The bottom two, I'm going to switch, and see what happens. Ed

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Problem solved. Horn toots beautifully. I'm embarrassed to say that it was just a simple thing like connecting two wires. One from the horn, the other to the wire that goes up the steering shaft. When I was rechecking the relay, I looked down just below the generator, and noticed a loose wire. Reaching further down, I located the other one. Plugged them together, and, voila, horn blows. Sorry to trouble you guys over this problem. Next time when something comes up, I'll check out all the options first. Ed

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