Horn not working.

[drock87]

So, after realizing that middle fingers are, in fact, silent when someone is merging into the same lane as my 112 bHP (when new) car, I decided I should probably get a new horn. The old one was damaged in the collision. I found one wire that looks like it goes on such a thing, put it on, the horn said if the car only has one wire to ground the other terminal to itself, and that's that. And I got nothing. I went to my service manual, but they are taking about a lot of things like "wiring harness" and "fusible link" that I don't totally understand (ok, I understand, but get stuck when I'm staring at all this stuff). Ideas?

[IowaEagle]

Check the horn relay.  Right side on the inner fender wall.

[drock87]

BUMP! So I realized that I never reinstalled a horn relay after the accident. Ok, no big deal. I bought a relay on RockAuto and a horn, and hooked everything up, and when I press the horn it is not loud (I bought the loudest "oem" horn AutoZone sells) and puts a HEAVY drain on the electrical system. I can watch my headlights dim and the volt gauge dip severely. What could be wrong? Could I not have a good enough ground?

[Mernsy]

How well did you ground the horn itself?
If the relay is the original style be sure it's grounded well as well.

[drock87]

How well did you ground the horn itself?
If the relay is the original style be sure it's grounded well as well.

Ahh, so you mean, by this, that the horn relay has to be grounded to the body? I think I ground the horn itself pretty well to the body...the only concern I'd have is the back side where the bolt head is was kind of muddy, but the front side where I mounted the horn was clean. My existing wiring was still there from the accident; just the old relay was gone.

[Mernsy]

Yes, the relay needs a good ground.

[drock87]

Yes, the relay needs a good ground.

Thank you....I will properly mount the relay and report back.

[carnuck]

The horn is attached to the body. If the body ground from the battery isn't strong enough, the ground is pulled through everything in the vehicle which can cause brown outs and even blow the ignition module.

[1985amceagle]

the horn relays that gm and mopar use will work if you are unable to find an amc unit. that is what i am using currently. it is a plastic case, and there case does not need to be grounded. the horn relay has a hot wire going into the relay, a ground which goes to the horn button on the steering wheel, and another wire to the horn. it may be a issue at the steering wheel that is causing your horn not to work, it may be the relay, or the horns are not working. it is possible to remove the relay, and come from the power feed wire to the horn wiring to test if it is a horn system. if it works, next I would find a way to back probe the ground wire temporarily, and with the relay re installed, touch it to a ground. if the horn works, then the issue is somewhere from the relay, to the horn button, or even the horn button. what steering wheel do you have?

[1985amceagle]

another thought, some AMC era jeeps, you had to have the key in run or accessory position for the horn to work, I cant remember if the eagles were that way.

[drock87]

the horn relays that gm and mopar use will work if you are unable to find an amc unit. that is what i am using currently. it is a plastic case, and there case does not need to be grounded. the horn relay has a hot wire going into the relay, a ground which goes to the horn button on the steering wheel, and another wire to the horn. it may be a issue at the steering wheel that is causing your horn not to work, it may be the relay, or the horns are not working. it is possible to remove the relay, and come from the power feed wire to the horn wiring to test if it is a horn system. if it works, next I would find a way to back probe the ground wire temporarily, and with the relay re installed, touch it to a ground. if the horn works, then the issue is somewhere from the relay, to the horn button, or even the horn button. what steering wheel do you have?

I have the leather 3-spoke wheel. I think the problem is the actual grounding of the relay. I hadn't bolted it to the body of the car when I was testing everything out....I'd just had it plugged in. I was getting noise out of the horn, just not a lot and had a major draw on electrical system. I am thinking that is what it really is because otherwise, it TECHNICALLY works (lol). I bought the relay off of RockAuto that had the correct spec relay in stock.

[carnuck]

One of my fav bumper snickers

[1985amceagle]

re-reading the first post, the horn sounds like it has two terminals? the factory horn was grounded through its mount. I think eagles had two horns, one on each side of the bumper support. behind the front valence.