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If it looks like this picture and is oriented the same....
The red wire is 12v all the time
The wire where I drew the black arrow goes back to the steering wheel to the horn button
The wire where I drew the green arrow goes to the horns
First, measure to make sure you have 12 volts on the red wire. If so, connect a jumper to ground and touch it momentarily to the one with the black arrow. The horn should blow. If it does, you have a problem with the horn button in the steering wheel or the wire going to it. If it does not blow, you have either a bad relay or bad horns, or bad ground at the horns. If you take that jumper and connect it to the red wire and momentarily touch it to the one with the green arrow and the horn blows, the horns and grounds and wires are good and the relay is bad.
All the relay is doing is taking the 12v source and connecting it to the wire going to the horns when the third contact (black arrow) is grounded. I just replaced my relay because the relay would click, but the horn wouldn't blow. When I measured the output to the horns (green arrow) when I pressed the horn, the output was only 6 volts. The contact in the relay was dropping the other 6 volts and it wasn't enough to blow the horns.
What symptoms do you have? Does nothing happen when you press the horn button, or does it click but no horns, or do the horns make a slight noise and not blow as they should?
To answer briefly your original question, you test the entire horn system by measuring for 12v on the output to the horns (where the green arrow is) when you press the button on the wheel. It's fairly likely you have a problem in the steering wheel contacts, but grounding the connection at the black arrow will eliminate all that part of it if the horn blows.
First post and no return. I guess he got it fixed or forgot how to get back to the forum. Maybe someone doing a search for the same question can use the info later.
I'm having an issue on my 1970 coupe. Battery kept dying so I bought an ammeter to find the issue. Horns work great but I am showing 0.35 amps at the relay wiring (red and fusible link wires) all the time - now I am stumped. Seems like something would be warm eating this current... Anyone have a troubleshooting idea from here? Relay is original and no A/C on the car. Thanks for your time.
First post and no return. I guess he got it fixed or forgot how to get back to the forum. Maybe someone doing a search for the same question can use the info later.
Hi 65GGVERT
I am a new Member with a 59 C1
Thanks for all this info I found back from 2017 , I am having the same problem with my horn, it clicks but no sound, ,I replaced the relay but I am stil getting only 6V across the Tan and Red wire when I honk the Horn.
I do get 12V at Red.
I just installed New horns , but that was not the issue as I connected 12V to the old Horns and they worked just fine.
I also sanded the contacts , no luck.
Any ideas, Could I have got a bad replacement relay?
thanks
Goldiocks LA
Hi 65GGVERT
I am a new Member with a 59 C1
Thanks for all this info I found back from 2017 , I am having the same problem with my horn, it clicks but no sound, ,I replaced the relay but I am stil getting only 6V across the Tan and Red wire when I honk the Horn.
I do get 12V at Red.
I just installed New horns , but that was not the issue as I connected 12V to the old Horns and they worked just fine.
I also sanded the contacts , no luck.
Any ideas, Could I have got a bad replacement relay?
thanks
Goldiocks LA
The horns have to have a solid ground on the end where they're mounted. These are the horn frame or if it has a negative terminal has to be connected to a real good ground. Post a picture of your relay with how the wires are connected.
If you want to narrow it down, pull the black wire off the horn relay and touch it to the red wire. If the horns blow, the problem is in the relay or back toward the steering column. If they don't the problem is with the wiring or ground on the horns. With all three wires connected to the relay, if you ground the tan wire, the horns should blow, if not it's not in the column. The wires should be connected like this. The tan goes to the steering column, the black to the horns, and the red to 12v
Success, thank you for all your help.
The issue was the Relay which I replaced was a dud. Thankfully the original relay was actually still good, but the contacts on the relay needed to be sanded down and I added some dialectric grease to the contacts avoid future corrosion.
That dud relay cost me a lot of time and aggravation, stick to the originals wherever you can, even though this replacement was apparently a "NOS" it definitely was not, inside was completely corroded.
I will be back to this site again very soon , I am sure.....
08-31-2017, 04:57 PM
