Horn--1997 Ford Escort LX

I was told that when my horn went out in my other Escort (Wagon), the only way it could be fixed was to have a whole new airbag assembly put in (as one was integrated within the other). The horn in my LX just went out (all I hear is a click when I push it). Has this happened to anyone here as well? If so, was the airbag replacement the only way to repair the problem (or is there another suggestion I could pose when I try to have it fixed)? The car has approx. 90K miles but other than the horn it runs very well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If you are hearing a clicking sound every time you hit the horn coming from under the dash, then your horn electrical circuit is working to the horn relay, which is what you hear clicking. So, your problem is between the relay and the horns themselves. Hopefully it is nothing more than a loose connector or a ground issue. Less likely is you have lost the horns. I'm pretty sure if you hear the clicking of the relay, you are getting power, so it's not a fuse issue, though you could check it to be sure. Anyway, you will need to check to be sure you are getting power to the horns if you find nothing else wrong. You could stick a test light or voltmeter into the horn connector and see if you get power when you hit the horn. It is possible your horn relay clicks but does not pass on the power to the horns. If you can backprobe the relay connector wire to the horns, you can check if power is actually being sent by it.

If it seems nothing else is wrong, then I suppose your problem is in the steering wheel. I can't at this point get my Ford TSP CD to work, so I'm not 100% certain on your mechanic's claim that the whole airbag module needs to be replaced to fix the horn, but it certainly seems absurd that that would be the only way to fix the problem and Ford would do it that way. I do know that the horn shares it's ground with the cruise control if you have it in the steering wheel. All three things utilize a clockspring/slip ring arrangement for each conductor that needs to go between the steering wheel and the column. If you have a slip ring that has a gap in it, that would cause your horn to loose connectivity. Do you presently have or recently in the past had the airbag light come on or stored airbag codes? That would be consistent with any problems with the horn. I would think replacing the horn switch, fixing wires, and soldering would be able to overcome any problem inside the steering wheel involving the horn. If and when I can get my CD manual cooperating, I'll hopefully be able to give you more detail and better answer directly the horn in the steering wheel issue.

Thanks so much for this information. I appreciate it a great deal. I'll come back and let others know what my outcome was in the event they find themselves in a similar "predicament".....



If you are hearing a clicking sound every time you hit the horn coming from under the dash, then your horn electrical circuit is working to the horn relay, which is what you hear clicking. So, your problem is between the relay and the horns themselves. Hopefully it is nothing more than a loose connector or a ground issue. Less likely is you have lost the horns. I'm pretty sure if you hear the clicking of the relay, you are getting power, so it's not a fuse issue, though you could check it to be sure. Anyway, you will need to check to be sure you are getting power to the horns if you find nothing else wrong. You could stick a test light or voltmeter into the horn connector and see if you get power when you hit the horn. It is possible your horn relay clicks but does not pass on the power to the horns. If you can backprobe the relay connector wire to the horns, you can check if power is actually being sent by it.

If it seems nothing else is wrong, then I suppose your problem is in the steering wheel. I can't at this point get my Ford TSP CD to work, so I'm not 100% certain on your mechanic's claim that the whole airbag module needs to be replaced to fix the horn, but it certainly seems absurd that that would be the only way to fix the problem and Ford would do it that way. I do know that the horn shares it's ground with the cruise control if you have it in the steering wheel. All three things utilize a clockspring/slip ring arrangement for each conductor that needs to go between the steering wheel and the column. If you have a slip ring that has a gap in it, that would cause your horn to loose connectivity. Do you presently have or recently in the past had the airbag light come on or stored airbag codes? That would be consistent with any problems with the horn. I would think replacing the horn switch, fixing wires, and soldering would be able to overcome any problem inside the steering wheel involving the horn. If and when I can get my CD manual cooperating, I'll hopefully be able to give you more detail and better answer directly the horn in the steering wheel issue.

Tripletdaddy is correct. The problem is NOT in the airbag or the steering column. It is definitely a problem with the horns themselves or the ground. The noise is the relay clicking which means you are sending current through the column properly, it's just not getting tho the horn itself.
If you do get into an airbag problem, here's a site that will explain everything you need to know about airbag lights and resetting the system. http://www.airbagsolutions.com/

This website gives you the procedure for diagnosing and resetting airbag lights. See if your car is listed here. Although it’s a pay site ($14.95/day), it’s a lot cheaper than going to the dealer
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/vehicles_list.aspx

On most vehicles, the airbag light should come on for @6 seconds, and then go off if the system is working properly. If there is a fault or a problem in the system, the light will remain illuminated, or flash continuously. If the airbag light does not work properly, some vehicles have an audible tone that sounds indicating a problem with the airbag light system. When the light is on (or the tone is sounding), the airbag will NOT deploy, even in an accident.
The flashing light on your car is telling the answer you need. On some vehicles, the light is flashing a two digit code. Once you know the code, you can most likely repair it yourself. There are fairly easy procedures that most people are capable of repairing.
Airbagsolutions.com has the fault code charts to tell you what is wrong and how to fix it!

Some vehicle manufacturers accommodate systems without a scanner (like Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Infinity, Honda, Acura, Ford, Lincoln, Mazda & Mercury) and some require a scan tool.

Check out these websites also for more info on airbag systems and the light.
http://blog.airbagsolutions.com/archive/2007/11/18/why-is-my-airbag-light-on.what-should-i-do.aspx

Lastly, check your vehicle for recalls through this link also:
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/nhtsa.aspx

I think the first step you should take is to get a meter or test light. Then disconnect the horn and have someone push the horn button to see if there is power there. This would certainly narrow it down.

I think horns are the most useless thing on an automobile. About all they are used for is to piss people off and start road rage incidents. :2cents:

On a couple of my cars (all older like my 92 Escort) I have had to unbolt the horn from the car (use penetrating oil) and connect it with large gauge wire, across the battery terminals - and it starts working again. Sometimes the electrical contacts inside the horn will get corroded over the course of a winter - and not conduct well. Sometimes all it takes is getting a clean & tight connection to ground again. Once or twice it also helped to whack the horn with a hammer while there was current going through it. Some horns have an adjuster screw on them - so you can vary the pressure on the contacts when they are 'at rest, to get the loudest tone when the horn has 12 volts applied to it.