Horn just DIED!! Help & WTF???

[Chris Harrach]

Greetings & good morning all. To the point: I just removed the 2 Cruise Control circuits that are on either side of the steering wheel. Reason being that the covers were in very bad shape & I NEVER have used Cruise Control. Both came off and I cleaned out the waxy crap that was in there. Now the horn wont work. Is the horn somehow connected to this??? Is the horn on some other relay that I should be checking? I found out about the horn the hard way when some a#@hole almost hit me this morning. Im extremly pissed right now as I cant figure out why its not working. I put the 2 curcuits back and still no luck. The fuses arent blown. Can someone help???? Thanks in advance.

P.s. Dont knows if this means anything, but I just went outside and locked the truck with the remote switch and the horn blows lile it should for that. But it wont work when I push the steering wheel pad. WTF???? I dont get it.

 

[Jstcruz]

When you push on the steering wheel pad -air bag- it pushes down on some spring loaded pieces that close the circuit for the horn to activate. If you took off a ground for the cc buttons it may have something to do with the horn, or you unintentionally knocked a ground off of one of those spring loaded parts. Go back in behind the air bag and see if everything is covered.

 

[Chris Harrach]

When you push on the steering wheel pad -air bag- it pushes down on some spring loaded pieces that close the circuit for the horn to activate. If you took off a ground for the cc buttons it may have something to do with the horn, or you unintentionally knocked a ground off of one of those spring loaded parts. Go back in behind the air bag and see if everything is covered.

Thanks for the reply Jstcruz. I'm going to pull it apart in a minute & see whats up. Hopefully I can fix it quick. You know if the "Clock Spring" or the Cruise Control are connected to the horn in some way? As I said the horn works just fine when I lock it with the remote.

 

[Jstcruz]

I know there is a ground for the cc buttons. maybe just screw that down and see what happens. Its not gonna hurt anything

 

[budwich]

all wiring from the steering has to go thru the clock spring as that how the wires are able "turn" with the wheel.

 

[Chris Harrach]

Horn just DIED!! Help & WTF? Problem Solved.

I know there is a ground for the cc buttons. maybe just screw that down and see what happens. Its not gonna hurt anything

Found out that the connector plugs that go into the Cruise Control circuit boards on either side of the steering wheel, were the cause of the horn not working. Apparently, disconnecting the CC circuits, kills the connection with the horn. Glad that I didn't have to fool with the Clock Spring. Apart from the hassle of replacing it, a used one would have cost me about $75.00. I hope this will help anyone else who may have a similar problem. Thanks Jstcruz & Budwich for the responses. Now all I have to do is find something to cover the exposed circuits. Cheers.

 

[Jstcruz]

I just sold a set of cc buttons lol. Check parts yards and or ppl parting them out in your area. Cruise control is a new must have option on my cars!

 

[Joe Dirt]

Also check Amazon- sometimes they have new Motorcraft button sets for $35...

 

[Chris Harrach]

Final thought.

Thanks to everyone who replied to this. However I was curious as to why Ford made the Cruise Control switch cover material so ....flimsy/fragile. It has all the properties of candle wax! At least thats the impression I had of it when I took them off. I saw in the junk yard that Mercury Sable & Ford Taurus had the same size & shape CC switches as in the Explorer, (I think the steering wheel was the same too.) but they were made of ABS plastic. Of course the actual switch circuitry was a different style & design as the Explorers, but they were a lot more sturdy.

 

[snoranger]

Your hold died -or- you killed it?