Horn stopped working

[bnewt]

Any idea on horn issue as follows.........

yesterday morning horn working fine, on way home used the horn & it didn't sound proper. Once I got home, I left the vehicle running & closed the drivers door to get the double honing sound....again not the correct sound. Sounds as if only the higher pitch is functioning.

Any ideas..........been driving for over 40 years & never had a horn go out & I hate going to the dealerships.

 

[peterk9]

If you don't want them replaced under warranty, you can buy the horn assembly yourself. Shown at $17.49 on this site. Have you checked the wiring at the horn itself?

Peter

 

[bnewt]

no I haven't checked anything yet
just hard to think wiring could become faulty just sitting at work

 

[peterk9]

no I haven't checked anything yet
just hard to think wiring could become faulty just sitting at work

Thought that perhaps a connection to the horn may have been loose.

 

[Jon M]

Mine went out, had it replaced by the dealer.

 

[sheltonfilms]

Thought that perhaps a connection to the horn may have been loose.

Bingo. Peter.

The Explorer uses dual Fiam horns (one for high pitch, and one for low pitch). Fiam makes horns for every OEM (we used them for Kia and Mercedes). To keep costs down Fiam makes the same physical horn for everyone and they just make a different connector adapter based on what the OEM wants.

Problem is these adapter connectors are easily bumped loose when other items are installed in the vehicle. It either causes an intermittent or inoperative condition.

In my 5+ years in automotive as an engineer I've never seen a bad Fiam horn.

Just need to track down which horn is inop and make sure the connector is fully seated to the body of the horn.

 

[bnewt]

where are the horns located? are they easily accessible?

 

[peterk9]

where are the horns located? are they easily accessible?

They are in the area of the hood latch. While looking to get a picture of the location I discovered that my Explorer actually does have a block heater. Thank you.

Peter

 

[Jon M]

In my 5+ years in automotive as an engineer I've never seen a bad Fiam horn.

I can tell you about one...if that's what's on the 2013 as well

 

[sheltonfilms]

I can tell you about one...if that's what's on the 2013 as well.

And that was "diagnosed" by the dealer but I bet it was still a loose connection to the horn. IF only 1 of the three clips is loose you will have bad connection but to the untrained eye you wouldn't see it and consider it as a bad horn.

I've been involved with the production of over 1.8 million vehicles, all of which have had a Fiam horn (some having two horns). Every "bad" horn has been a connection that had 1 on more clips bumped out of place.

 

[bnewt]

I go the problem resolved....but It took 2 trips to the dealer. The 1st trip the dealer acted like they knew nothing about the problem, even though I had an appointment. Then he told me that he didn't have anyone that could work on a horn. I laughed & said are you serious. Finally agreed to check it. Two hours later he said, yes the horn is bad & we will have to order it in. Today, I went back & after nearly 3 hours it left the dealership.

Still wondering why they put the vehicle on a lift & had it in the up in the air to replace the horn. Can anyone shed any light on this?

 

[jmr061]

They have to remove the front bumper cover which means the front wheels come off as well. This is the way the service manual says to do it.

 

[peterk9]

They have to remove the front bumper cover which means the front wheels come off as well. This is the way the service manual says to do it.

I a second look at the picture I posted above and it doesn't seem to be a readily accessible area so the work to replace them does seem to be rather involved. Sort of like one of the early year Cadillacs where you had to remove the rear bumper to replace a tail light.

Peter

 

[smcnair]

Anyone have directions on replacing the horn? What do I need to take off to get to it? Wife is going nuts because her horn is only using the high note and she feels emasculated.

 

[peterk9]

Your thread was merged with this existing one found with the 'Search' feature. If the 2014 is similar to the 2017 and it isn't just a loose connection, then you may have some work ahead of you. See post #12.
Good luck.

Peter

 

[davepond88]

The horn stopped working over time... It was fine, then it would be intermittent/stuck off, and I would be able to get it again by pushing different parts of the steering wheel. Then, it would work fine, and go intermittent again, until it finally crapped out.

I checked the fuse (didn't think that was the case but figured I'd start there). What's next? With it going on and off over time, before finally crapping out, maybe a connector or something? or would that be the horn relay going bad before it was DOA?

Not a mechanic, so any help would be fantastic!

 

[peterk9]

Hi Dave. Could be an issue with the steering wheel since you had to push on different locations to get the horn to work. You might be able to check to see if the horns themselves work by connecting power to them alone. I doubt that is the issue but it would eliminate them. I may have missed it but I didn't see a fuse for the horn, only a relay #22 in the cabin fuse box.

Peter

 

[davepond88]

Thanks! That's the fuse I checked (22) - it sure was fun to try to get to that fuse box! Any ideas on how to check the steering wheel? Last thing I want to do is blow up an airbag in my face!

 

[peterk9]

Thanks! That's the fuse I checked (22) - it sure was fun to try to get to that fuse box! Any ideas on how to check the steering wheel? Last thing I want to do is blow up an airbag in my face!

I really have no idea how one would go about that. I would guess disconnecting the battery would be the first step. There are posts about the steering wheel control buttons failing but I don't believe I've read anything about the actual inside of the steering wheel. I don't know if this type of issue would store a trouble code. Have you checked the electrical connections at the horn?
Perhaps other members may have ideas as well as to the possible cause.

Peter

 

[harleybro]

I have a 2018 explorer XLT. The horn stopperd working. I've checked the fuse and relay and trhey ar good. I even replaced the relay with a new one from Ford. The relay was clicking at first when you pushed the horn and now you can't hear it click. I haven't taken off the steering wheel trim cover yet. Could it be a clock spring? All the other controls on the steering wheel work. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks