I own a 96 ford escort, the horn doesn't work when you press on the center of the steeting wheel, you can hear electric contacts making noise but he horn doesn't work, i'm fairly sure it's not a fuse problem, how do you take off the center of the steering wheel to look at the contacts to fix this?
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Any thoughts on how to fix the horn?
Test the electrical circuit , horn relay , switches ! VEHICLE RELAYS Operation Diagnosis
Visual Inspection Chart
Mechanical
Electrical
Damaged horn
Damaged steering wheel pad horn switch (part of driver side air bag module)
Damaged HORN relay
Damaged speed control servo (if equipped)
Blown fuse:
15A HORN
Damaged wiring harness
Loose or corroded connections
The Horn Sounds Continuously
HORN relay.
Circuitry.
Steering wheel pad horn switch (part of driver side air bag module).
replace the horn button the contacts are in continous contact.this could also be a bad horn relay that the contacts won`t separate and will need to be replaced.
Your horn contact in the steering assembly probably uses what is called a 'slip-ring' type contact and the 'ring' which is part of the steering wheel itself may be contaminated or the stationary contact, which uses low-pressure spring material, is either worn or the spring has grown weak.
You will have to gain access to the inside of the steering wheel center section to check this.
Also, unless you have actually electrically tested the horn relay, I would check for a relay with the same part number (should be stamped into the case) and temporarily swap them.
Your security system may employ a separate relay to sound the horn when locking or unlocking.
I am assuming you have checked the Fuse Box under the hood for the Horn Fuse and / or the Horn Relay and made sure both are good?
You can always try the steps outlined in this video to replace the horn pad. to see if this is your issue if you have exhausted all of your other resources.
Or You can try these steps to further diagnose your issues:
The horn relay on ZX2's is located underneath the dashboard on the
drivers side. There are several relays located there - identify the horn
relay by the "clicking" sound it makes when the horn is pressed. The
likelyhood that you have a bad relay is minimal. Start by checking the
horn fuse (the fuse box is located under the dash on the driver side).
Next, check the relay. If the relay is making a clicking noise, it is
probably OK. The next thing to check is the horn itself. it is located
on the passenger side of the vehicle, up underneath the front bumber.
Most instructions say to remove the bumber cover to get to the horn, but
this is not neccesary. In my experience with Escort horn problems, the
problem has been with the horn "switch", a wafer thin piece of plastic
that lies between the steering wheel cover and the airbag assembly.
Below are instructions for replacement of this switch - don't be
intimidted by the procedure - it is not difficult.
You cannot buy a horn switch at a dealer - they tell you that the horn
switch is part of the airbag assembly, which cost $450 plus.
Understandably, Ford doesn't want people "messing around" with airbags.
Go to a junk yard - you can eazily find and remove the horn switch from
an Escort who's airbags have already deployed. I bought two of them for
$5. Identify and remove the junkyard horn switch by reading step 7
below. This is an eazy fix if you follow these instructions. Should take
about 10 minutes. I replaced my "stuck" 97 Escort horn switch as
follows...
1) Disconnect negative battery cable, wait for at least 1/2 hour for
residual power discharge before proceeding to net step (IMPORTANT!).
This will disable the airbag. Neglecting this step could cause serious
injury or death!
2) Remove two 10mm bolts directly behind the steering wheel - one on left, one on right. These secure the airbag unit.
3) carefully lift the airbag unit out of the steering wheel.
4) remove two small star-screws at bottom of airbag unit using star end
screw driver - the horn wires enter the airbag unit next to these screws
5) pry the airbag cover (this is the front part of the steering wheel
cover with the horn picture on it) off of the plastic tabs of the airbag
unit, on the left & right sides - should come off very eazily.
6) now you can lift the airbag cover up (there are three rivets that continue to hold the top portion of the cover in place)
7) the horn switch, which is covered by a thin layer of dark foam, is a
very thin plastic pad with two wires coming out (same wires as step 4).
You can see wafer thin copper strips inside the plastic. The switch is
held in place by three small plastic tabs. Remove the switch and
disconnect the wires at the red connector inside the steering wheel.
8) replace horn switch with junkyard switch
9) re-assembly is the reverse of the removal.
This procedure should apply to 97 through 2002 Escorts, including the ZX2. Hope this helps someone save some money.
First go to horn, its in the right side (passenger side) very front behind bumper. Turn wheel to the right, remove inner fender well, locate horn. Check to see if you have 12V there when the horn is activated to ensure its not just a horn. If there is 12V and ground and horn doesn't sound, you'll need a new horn. If voltage is good then back track to the horn relay, it should be under the hood electrical center (some earlier models were under the dash below steering wheel. If you press on the horn in the steering wheel, you should hear it click to locate. If not check the black wire going up the steering column, when jumpered to ground and horn sounds then the problem is inside the steering wheel, horn ring or contacts on the pad are faulty.
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