Topic: Horn Stopped Working or Dead Hella Supertones

[Fredrico]

I'm splitting this away from the "Why today sucks..." thread to help keep things organized.


A few days ago my horns stopped working.
This is from the other thread:

Horns stopped working.
I checked the fuse and the relay. Fuse is good, so bought a new relay. Tried it, still no change.

Searched:
http://www.westernsubaruclub.com/smf/index.php?topic=9585.msg143318#msg143318

And Referenced:
http://www.westernsubaruclub.com/smf/index.php?topic=3472.0
http://www.westernsubaruclub.com/smf/index.php?topic=7128.msg110781#msg110781
http://www.westernsubaruclub.com/smf/index.php?topic=10919.msg161046#msg161046
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1133994&highlight=hella+supertone+install

Still no help.
Guess I'll be probing with a meter tomorrow. 

Is your cruise control working?

Cruise control works fine.
The horn fuse is shared with the 4-way flashers, and they also work fine.

I think she was thinking more of the clock spring than a relay.

Exactly. Although TIL, you can fix the clock spring, so it's not as big a deal as when I had my bugeye. Those things were always going, and relatively pricey, IIRC.

I think you are referring to this: http://www.iwsti.com/forums/gd-interior/199354-diy-steering-clockspring-fix.html
Am I right?


So this brings us to today.


Using a voltage probe tester, because I don't have a multimeter, I checked the leads of the horn relay for power.
With the horn on/pressed down there is power to 2 (Signal In and Power In?) of the 4 leads, and they in turn pass current to the other 2 (Power Out and Ground?) leads.
So I continue down to where the Supertone harness connects to the stock wiring at the original horn plugs. The probe indicates a power source at both connections.
Next I check the power and ground connections on the back of each Hella horn. I have power at both.
I check down the harness further, right before it grounds out. I have power there also.

So, I have power going all the way through the harness, through both horns, and to ground without toning.

I'm starting to think that my Supertones are dead and need replacing.

[farva]

I would say dead horns.

[Klautt]

Recently happened to me.. turned out the 'horn' wire to the relay was just dirty.

[Fredrico]

I would say dead horns.

I didn't think both would go at the same time.

Recently happened to me.. turned out the 'horn' wire to the relay was just dirty.

You had power going to the horns and they didn't work because your wire was dirty?

[honz]

Horns, generally, return via a chassis 'ground'. Meaning, you feed them a signal and the current return path goes through the bit that holds them to the frame, this may be corroded/dirty/loose/... Not like it's directly exposed to the elements or anything

[farva]

I didn't think both would go at the same time.

They are used at the same time so its not impossible. You will sometimes see both head lights go at the same time as well. Its rare but not impossible.

You could always jump 12v and ground to the horns to test them.

[Fredrico]

Horns, generally, return via a chassis 'ground'. Meaning, you feed them a signal and the current return path goes through the bit that holds them to the frame, this may be corroded/dirty/loose/... Not like it's directly exposed to the elements or anything

Pretty sure they are grounded.
I used this guide for the install. FFW to 4:30.

You could always jump 12v and ground to the horns to test them.

I was discussing this with a friend and will be testing them directly tomorrow.

[canehdianJ]

Do you have a DVM?  Its super easy to fix if you have one. 

Just check to see if the contact pin for the horns are gettting 12v.  follow that back to the relay.  if you unplug the horns and push the horn button in the car the relay should click pretty loudly.

[Fredrico]

Do you have a DVM?  Its super easy to fix if you have one. 

Just check to see if the contact pin for the horns are getting 12v.  follow that back to the relay.  if you unplug the horns and push the horn button in the car the relay should click pretty loudly.

I don't have a voltmeter, no.
I can head and feel the relay engaging when the horn is pressed. I have also swapped in a new relay. Same result, no horns.