02 ST Horn isnt working after changing cruise control buttons

[Jargri]

The other day i changed out the cruise control buttons on my 02 Sport Trac for some new ones from amazon. I had the battery disconnected, and when i went to reconnect it my horn started blaring continuously. I decided i had accidentally tightened the spring loaded horn system in the steering wheel too much and it was making continuous contact. Then after loosening those a bit, neither my horn or my cruise control buttons worked.

I checked the fuse panel under the hood, and i had blown the fuse designated "horn" in the Owners Manual. Now, after replacing that fuse, my cruise control buttons work but my horn still does not work.
It cant be the cruise control buttons ground because those buttons work now. And its not the relay, because i can hear it clicking under the hood when i press the airbag/horn area of the steering wheel.

Any suggestions? please, and thank you!

 

[SuperNova76]

I had exact same issue as you and made the same first conclusion. However, after I backed off the main bolt my horn worked correctly....until I went into town. Then as I pulled into traffic (after 30+ min driving) it started blaring again. I had to pull into parking lot, disconnect battery, and then removed airbag to be able to drive it again. (Fuse would have been easier but in the moment...) I have since checked and fuses aren't showing damage.

Did you ever solve your issue?

 

[Jargri]

Apologies for the late reply. No, unfortunately i have not solved the issue yet...had my fuel rail go bad on me apparently so i was spewing gas all over my engine block. got that fixed at a local shop, so thats what the most recent catastrophe has been haha.

I expect that when i pulled the battery cable off, it caused an electrical spike and overloaded the fuse, and possible destroyed the horn mechanism as well. I still have yet to check the current downstream of the fuse to see if its getting to the horn device. Thats my next step.

That is curious though, that it just started blaring again after you backed off the bolt to loosen up the mechanism. I would expect that the vibrations from the motor or driving caused it the mechanism to jiggle a little and then completed the circuit? Have you looked into it more since?

 

[SuperNova76]

Apologies for the late reply. No, unfortunately i have not solved the issue yet...had my fuel rail go bad on me apparently so i was spewing gas all over my engine block. got that fixed at a local shop, so thats what the most recent catastrophe has been haha.

I expect that when i pulled the battery cable off, it caused an electrical spike and overloaded the fuse, and possible destroyed the horn mechanism as well. I still have yet to check the current downstream of the fuse to see if its getting to the horn device. Thats my next step.

That is curious though, that it just started blaring again after you backed off the bolt to loosen up the mechanism. I would expect that the vibrations from the motor or driving caused it the mechanism to jiggle a little and then completed the circuit? Have you looked into it more since?

I did probably hours of searching and it looks like it's a relatively common Ford issue for most vehicles of our late 1990s to early 2000s. I never did find anyone who solved the issue though. I did find a couple of people who suggested backing off the side bolts, the ones that hold the airbag on, and not putting them on tight. So I've done that I have not driven it again yet but it feels like it's working it's not constantly blaring and when I push the button it does honk.

*Fingers are crossed*

 

[Jargri]

I did probably hours of searching and it looks like it's a relatively common Ford issue for most vehicles of our late 1990s to early 2000s. I never did find anyone who solved the issue though. I did find a couple of people who suggested backing off the side bolts, the ones that hold the airbag on, and not putting them on tight. So I've done that I have not driven it again yet but it feels like it's working it's not constantly blaring and when I push the button it does honk.

*Fingers are crossed*

The ones that mount the airbag to the steering column?

 

[SuperNova76]

The ones that mount the airbag to the steering column?

Yes, someone in all the threads mentioned those. I had tightened them using my drill originally, so I tightened them now just using hand strength.

 

[Jargri]

Interesting. I would think that would just change how tightly the airbag is connected to the horn circuit paddles, but i suppose if it was too tight it could pull it too close.

 

[SuperNova76]

Okay, I have driven my truck all over the place the last 2 days without a return of blaring horn issue. So backing off the bolts on the side of the steering wheel that hold on the airbag solved my horn issue.