Horn Not Working - Help
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Not many rules really, this board being aimed at technical issues, it shouldn't fall foul (hopefully) of some of the more personal issues that can affect forums.
Rule 1 - Is that you need to think very carefully before posting anything technical or asking anything technical relating to the security system of the car - See 'Security Issues' sticky for more info.
Rule 2 - We (MGF Register) do not support copyright infringement and therefore references to CD ROM, PDF versions or paper copies of the workshop manual (for instance) should not be posted on the forum. We don't want to get into trouble and we'd rather sell you a genuine hard copy through our Regalia shop anyway!
Because advice is honestly and freely given in this technical section, much of it will be amateur experienced based, so any information is given in good faith and is not guaranteed as correct.
Horn Not Working - Help
Hi,
I have a 2000 MGF and the horn switches on the steering column don't work, the horns themselves do work as they sound when the alarm goes off.
I have removed the air bag but can't figure out how to get at the horn switches. They used to work but were always a bit flakey. I checked the fuse in the front compartment (labelled horn/stop lights), funilly enough the stop lights work with the fuse removed.
I've tried a multimeter on the connector behind the airbag but can't seem to get a reading.
Any ideas?
I have a 2000 MGF and the horn switches on the steering column don't work, the horns themselves do work as they sound when the alarm goes off.
I have removed the air bag but can't figure out how to get at the horn switches. They used to work but were always a bit flakey. I checked the fuse in the front compartment (labelled horn/stop lights), funilly enough the stop lights work with the fuse removed.
I've tried a multimeter on the connector behind the airbag but can't seem to get a reading.
Any ideas?
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- Model of Car: 1998 Abingdon vv
Re: Horn Not Working - Help
Hmmm. In my simple mind that would suggest to me that either there is a 2nd circuit to the brake lights or crossed wire / earth leak / additional power source leaching in somewhere. Or that despite the label, that is not actually the correct fuse. I know that my ZS handbook had some incorrect info relating to headlight bulb positions, but wasn't aware of any other mis-labelling.
When you remove that fuse, does anything else stop working?
The only other thing that springs to mind is that on my ZS the horn did occasionally blow the fuse - at which point the horn and brake-lights stopped working. After happening loads (10 fuses in 1 year), it then hardly happened again. (Nb: Most of the 10 fuses were when I tested it rather than aggressive horn use). I have no idea why it started or how it largely repaired itself.
I don't really get on well with elec-trickery though so best ignore all the above!
Re: Horn Not Working - Help
I think I found the problem, there's no earth connection on the 'slip ring' behind the steering wheel (part YRC100300). Now I have to find one and they're not cheap new.
- Neil Rushton
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Re: Horn Not Working - Help
Quite a few reasonably priced on eBay?
Unfortunately I’ve migrated to Facebook like most people.
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Re: Horn Not Working - Help
There are several connections through the rotary coupler (aka slip ring) that are unused in the F/TF, they are there for stereo control and cruise control in the Rover 45.
You can use one of these to carry the earth across the rotary coupler.
You can use one of these to carry the earth across the rotary coupler.
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Re: Horn Not Working - Help
Mmm, I hadn't considered moving the pins in the plugs. Not sure how easy that would be as the pins are quite delecate. But as others have suggested there are a few on Fleabay at the moment.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
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Re: Horn Not Working - Help
It can be a real pain. I remember when I had issues with my old Jeep's horn, and it turned out the contacts in the steering column were all gunked up from years of use. Have you tried giving the horn switches a good clean with some contact cleaner? It might help if they're just a bit stuck or dirty. And if you're thinking of upgrading, I've heard good things about the bosshorn for a louder, more reliable sound. Might be worth considering if cleaning doesn't do the trick.
Last edited by maxgyllsdoll on Wed May 29, 2024 11:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Horn Not Working - Help
Slip ring ? If you mean the clocksping then this contains multiple internal helical wires, some of which may break over time. Now on manual Fs and TFs it is practical to swap to an unused pair of wires as some of the clockspring wires are spare as they are only ever used for the gear shift buttons on Stepspeed automatics. Check the connections here with a multimeter to establish which sets of wires still work and then jiggle the wires in the plugs to use these instead using a very small jeweler's screwdriver or picks. Several people have done this successfully to save buying a new clockspring.
In case you are concerned,although Internally the airbag wires in the clockspring work just the same they have their own dedicated connectors which cannot be confused, so there's no way you could mess up the airbag by repinning the horn button connectors
In case you are concerned,although Internally the airbag wires in the clockspring work just the same they have their own dedicated connectors which cannot be confused, so there's no way you could mess up the airbag by repinning the horn button connectors
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Re: Horn Not Working - Help
the rotary coupler?
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Re: Horn Not Working - Help
thats the baby