Horn honking in unmanned car at night

[HighMileage230000]

1997 Windstar 3.8, 254k

It has actually done this several times. And everytime, conveniently at around midnight. Its as if someone just lays on the horn for about a minute until the fuse blows. I can't for the life of me figure out why it is doing this!

Oh, and BTW, my van overheated on Saturday so I popped the hood and the reservoir was dry (after being topped off only 10 days earlier. Dipstick was at a normal level but there was green goop all over the bottom of the oil fill cap. SWEET!

[wiswind]

Horn.....do you have a security system.....alarm?
Otherwise....maybe sticking relay.

Common coolant leaks into the crankcase (oil) on the post 1995 3.8L windstar are front cover (aka timing cover), which is a MAJOR job.......gasket is cheap, but labor in a lot....and takes skill........
The other common leak is lower intake manifold gaskets......not too bad......but use a beam type torque wrench....follow the torque specifications (IN/lbs........not FT/lbs).

Head gaskets are quite reliable.

Of course, look for coolant leaks OUTSIDE the motor......you might get lucky.
If the water pump is leaking at the shaft seal......gotta raise the motor on that side about 4" to get clearance to remove the water pump.
Water pump and oil pump are mounted on that timing cover.

[wiswind]

Horn.....do you have a security system.....alarm?
Otherwise....maybe sticking relay.

Common coolant leaks into the crankcase (oil) on the post 1995 3.8L windstar are front cover (aka timing cover), which is a MAJOR job.......gasket is cheap, but labor in a lot....and takes skill........
The other common leak is lower intake manifold gaskets......not too bad......but use a beam type torque wrench....follow the torque specifications (IN/lbs........not FT/lbs).

Head gaskets are quite reliable.

Of course, look for coolant leaks OUTSIDE the motor......you might get lucky.
If the water pump is leaking at the shaft seal......gotta raise the motor on that side about 4" to get clearance to remove the water pump.
Water pump and oil pump are mounted on that timing cover.

[HighMileage230000]

No aftermarket alarm, just the factory keyless entry/panic button. Come to think of it, I did replace the horn relay when I first bought this van because the fuse would blow the instant I honked the horn or hit the LOCK button on the key FOB.

Any-hoo, as far as the overheating/coolant in crankcase, I made the mistake of moving the van in my driveway yesterday and the oil looks like a frappucino now and it wont start again.

A guy is coming buy to buy the van before the weekend is over for 200 bucks, so I bought a '04 Pontiac Grand Prix. I guess that also means that I wont be in this forum anymore. Thank you to everyone that helped me through my hectic 12 months with this van.

[tomj76]

A very long time ago the horn in my Ford Escort started blaring until the battery went dead. I was on a week long trip at the time and the car was at home. My neighbors were not too happy.

It happened during a cold snap, so believe it was caused by the low temperatures somehow making (closing) the contact in the steering wheel. My guess was that the plastic cover shrank and squeezed the horn contacts in the freezing conditions.

[rickisrad]

if you have a factory key fob the chances are that it may be shorting out. take it apart and clean the contacts and look for any burnt connections indicating a short.