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Horn Location

Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:34 pm
by Owent2005
Evening all,

I’m new to the forum having just bought my 1983 1.6LS last month.

I have a few things to sort for an MOT one of which is that the horn doesn’t work. I think the problem is that there isn’t one fitted as I can’t locate it in the engine bay. My Haines manual is sketchy at best and my google searches have found nothing.

If I can find where it should be hopefully there’s some loose wires that I can connect a new one to or repair/replace if there is one hiding somewhere.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Owen

Re: Horn Location

Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2019 6:48 pm
by Andrew 2.8i
Hi Owen,
Welcome to the forum! :welcome:
The horn is located in front of the radiator. You'll have to remove the radiator grille (4 screws) to get to it.
:goodluck:

Andrew.

Re: Horn Location

Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2019 7:42 pm
by Owent2005
Thanks Andrew, I’ll have a look tomorrow.

Re: Horn Location

Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2019 6:44 pm
by Owent2005
Quick update, found the horn where Andrew said, just trying to figure out if it’s the horn or wiring that’s knackered.

Re: Horn Location

Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 10:46 am
by Not_Anumber
put a multimeter on the connections. get someone to operate the horn button.

If its not the horn then check the fuses and then check the switch itself.

Re: Horn Location

Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 12:17 pm
by tejb1
Doesn't this earth via a bolt into the valance? Might be worth checking that. I seem to remember having an issue which was cleared up by cleaning up the connection.

as it's not far from the battery could check it by putting 12v across it from the terminals with a bit of wire

Re: Horn Location

Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 2:42 pm
by Owent2005
I’ve tried all of the above, I don’t think I’m getting power to the horns positive wire and am not 100% sure which fuse is for the horn (this is also ongoing!), I’m tempted to order a cheap horn just so I can take that out of the equation.

Owen

Re: Horn Location

Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 2:51 pm
by D366Y
The horn is one Fuse 1 - not sure what else doesn't work on your car but fuse 1 also powers the washer bottle pump, interior courtesy lights, cigarette lighter, and starts the car.

If these other parts all work I'd say the earth is most likely not working unless the positive has been damaged/fiddled with

Cheers
Danny

Re: Horn Location

Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 2:53 pm
by Noel
If after the fuse is checked you still finding power is not getting down there to the horn itself, then check the switch too. They don't give that much trouble, but the horn push switch on the end of the indicator stalk is wired to the main base of the switch unit with a wire that comes out of the shaft near the base - and has a bit of slack in it so that the stalk can swing up and down to operate the indicators. This wire can after a few decades of use, fatigue and break. You may need to take off the grey plastic steering column shroud to see the state of the wire. It can (and I have managed this) be encouraged back together with a bit of solder and then taped up, even without removing the column stalk unit thing from the car.

Re: Horn Location

Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 2:57 pm
by D366Y
Good point Noel - I'd forgotten about that - if the plastic casing in the horn/indicator stalk next to where it connects to the steering column is damaged, the whole stalk becomes a nightmare.

When mine broke whenever I tried to use the flashers it indicated left instead, but when I indicated nothing happened!

Re: Horn Location

Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 6:51 pm
by Mc Tool
You could use a light bulb for testing the circuit thus saving the cost of a 2nd horn that you may not need . I fitted a relay and air horns to mine as they were cheaper than a new ordinary horn ( yeah ,probly made in Taiwan but they make plenty of noise ).....the compressor is something else that loves a drop of oil too

Re: Horn Location

Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 8:06 pm
by Owent2005
Hi, I’ve solved the issue, after looking at the tiny diagram in the Haines manual I found that the horn doesn’t go through a fuse, I traced the wire from the stork to the horn checking for continuity as I went, there was a break in the engine bay which I eventually found under copious amounts of loom and tape which I repaired and now have a working horn. The next step is to fit the Dixie horn the mrs wants......