You may own some of the best automotive models there are, but there is not so much that you know about your companions.
They truly look fancy on the road, but that style vastly fades once you notice your buddy suddenly “screams”. It’s such a nuisance for both you and other drivers.
Imagine you’re out on the move and your car horn honking by itself without you knowing how to turn it off. How embarrassing! That’s why it’s never pointless to learn everything about your vehicle.
Let’s scroll down and discover how it works and what you can do about this situation!
How Does Car Horn Work?
The Technology
The technology behind car horns is actually more basic than you might have thought. It was introduced long before, and most manufacturers still keep it intact up to this day.
The simplest idea of how the horns work is a switch of some type connected to the electric horns. It is located beside your steering wheel, and pushing it will activate your horns.
Not all vehicles come with only one horn. To give out the best effect, some have two units, each having its own frequency range.
Dig deeper into how those operate, you’ll find things more difficult than just a switch and a horn. The relay is the unit connected to the button or the switch.
Then, this unit will connect with your horns and the battery positive. Pushing the button or switch is ordering the relay to supply your horns with power.
Probable Causes For Malfunction
So, if there is anything wrong with your horns, the problem can lie anywhere from your horn wire, components, relay, or switch. It just costs one of those components to “fail safe” to disable the system.
Your broken horn switch can’t activate your relay. Your faulty relay can’t supply your horns with power, leading to the malfunctioning horns not working.
If the problem lies on your horns, there are cases where just one out of the pair is broken, not both. At that point, the horns will still honk when you need it, but with the wrong sound.
The problem with a malfunction in horns is that you won’t notice it until the situation comes and you need it to honk.
It’s extremely dangerous if you need to alert someone or something about your existence on the road, but you can’t.
Car horns have never been low. They are designed so that everyone on the street will pay attention when it honks.
The quietest honk releases sound at 93 dB for the EU automakers. Oftentimes, you will see an average car horn with that measurement of 100 to 110 dB, or even louder.
To some of you, car horn honking by itself while driving seems like an impossible thing to happen. But in fact, it’s real, and it is potentially dangerous and tremendously annoying.
Prolonged exposure to its sound can make you suffer from hearing loss since they are all louder than the safe point of 85 dB.
What if someday you have to face this situation? Stop searching: car horn keeps honking by itself reddit, as the answer will unveil itself in a few more sections.
Why Is My Car Horn Honking By Itself?
We have learned about how there can be an issue with this car feature. Let’s move on to this specific malfunction.
The relay and the horn switch are the two probable causes of your car horn honks by itself. These two components can even fail and put your vehicle in an always-on state.
The first step ever to take is to calm yourself when this happens. You don’t want your panic to harm everyone. Just a wrong gesture can result in something bad.
Everyone else will just think that there must have been something wrong or that you’re totally mad and out of control. After reclaiming your calmness, find somewhere safer that other vehicles can’t harm you to start the work.
To carry out the next steps, you must know where the fuse box is. Pull out the fuse to temporarily disconnect everything and set the horns quiet.
If you can’t locate your relay or fuse at that moment, the next wise thing to do is disconnect your battery or pull out your main fuse.
This measurement allows you to quietly drive your buddy to your mechanic and ask for help. One tip for locating your fuse box is that there are labels inside the fuse box lid or next to the fuse.
You can also pull out each fuse at a time and see which one is right.
Below are some reasons that can cause your buick car horn honking by itself.
Faulty Relay
This is the most common cause of this case. It would be wise for you to check on it first.
Stuck Horn Button
Just like how you press and hold the button, the button being stuck can create the same scenario. You should have it checked if there is damage in the horn pad or the spring.
Shorted Body Control Module
A short in those modules can also create this phenomenon.
Electrical Wiring Issues
This, or a short circuit, can both cause your horns to scream itself.
Aftermarket Accessories Like Remote Start
You may not notice, but these accessories might be the ones pressing and holding the button, making your vehicle honk all the time.
How To Fix It?
If you have followed our advice from the beginning and stopped your car from honking, all you have to do now is address the main cause of the problem.
Different models and brands own their ways of wiring their vehicles, so it’s best to find the diagnostic procedure of your model. But you can narrow down the range to your horn relay and switch.
The requirements for tools to carry out such diagnostics are not so complicated. You only need some basic tools to assist you, including a multimeter.
An ohmmeter and a test light would perfect your preparation for the following steps.
Diagnostic Procedure
Let’s see what you will have to do if you decide to challenge yourself and do the job alone. The procedure goes from assuming the culprit is easy to fix to the harder levels.
Tap The Button And See If It’s Sticking
Your car horn honking by itself upon startup can result from a sticking button. You should press around, shake, tap it a couple of times, and feel if it’s stuck down.
Shut It By Disconnecting The Negative Terminal On Your Battery, Or The Horn’s Electrical Connectors
Shutting the power supply is the fastest way to set your car silent to carry out the next steps. Keep in mind that there are often two horns in front, and they might have either one or two wires.
Though rare, there are cases of a shortage in electricity being the main cause.
Remove The Horn’s Fuse
Do as we’ve instructed above and reconnect your battery cables. It should be quiet by now, but a short in wiring can maintain the problem.
Reinstall Your Fuse And Remove Your Relay
You might be having your relay contact sticking to each other. Then, find and remove it. Reinstall your fuse and continue to observe the situation. Again, it should be settled by now.
If it’s not, you may want to see if the relay is acting.
Remove And Disconnect Your Airbag, Check The Button
You might be wondering why the airbag when you’re having a problem with the horns? It’s because some automakers will integrate the airbag with the switch.
If you’re diagnosing on your own and make just one slightly wrong move, you may accidentally set it off. This can not only be dangerous but costly at the same time.
While disconnecting your airbag, you should replace the terminal of your negative battery. Keep your key off.
Press and feel whether the switch is still sticking. In case there is any broken spring, it requires you to replace your spring or horn pad.
Changing The Relay
Back to the relay. When you’ve done the diagnostic to the very end and find out that maybe it is acting, focus on it. Find an identical one to that of the vehicle.
Replace the old one with the new one and see if the problem is fixed yet. If it is, buying a new unit can save you from all this.
Sometimes, finding an identical replacement in that situation is impossible, especially when you’re just testing. Then, try testing the switch and relay instead.
Remove your relay to identify the two wires that are connecting to your switch. Use your prepared multimeter and check the continuity of those wires.
Should your switch be working properly, the multimeter’s reading should change when you push the pad or button.
Provided that you have zero insight into automobiles, please take your buddy to a trusted repair service. Everything will be in the right order before the mechanic releases your car.
FAQs
How To Know If The Horn Relay Is Bad?
As explained, this one is the unit that sends power to your horns with a press of the button or switch. A malfunction in this unit can prevent your vehicle from acting normally.
An easy way to know if it’s in bad condition is to examine the sound. When you’re trying to let the car honk, you may hear some clicking sound from your relay. And that’s the sign.
What Happens If I Don’t Use A Relay?
If it can cause such trouble, can we get rid of it totally? You can, but it’s not a wise thing to do. An absence of the relay can potentially harm your switch.
In some cases, when you have your electric cooling fan in your vehicle, it requires you to install a relay. Without its help, the stress from your fan will ruin the switch earlier than expected.
How To Know Whether My Horn Fuse Has Been Blown?
You can do so by connecting your clamp with the horn’s terminal, then touching the other side to your battery in the positive terminal.
It’s a bad horn when your fuse blows. But in case there is any clicking sound, the reason may stem from a bad ground connection.
Conclusion
Car horn honking by itself might be a new term to many of you. The situation doesn’t happen all of a sudden but requires some motivation.
The secret to solving it is to fully understand how it works, how many components are involved in the process, and how to diagnose it.
The article mainly focuses on the relay and switch, the most familiar and potential causes.
If you think that diagnosing the situation is not something you can handle, bring your baby to the service center and let the professionals do it for you! They will guarantee you won’t suffer from this awful driving experience again.