Horn no workie on a 2001 for no apparent reason...

[Denisk]

Cheers to all: here is the deal, the truck was sitting without any use for a good couple a months (it was cold and very rainy here in DC). Started driving it just now, realized horn is not working at all. Fuse was blown, replaced it (in the compartment under the hood), now every time someone presses the horn button on the steering I only hear a click from the R16 relay in the same compartment where some fuses and relays live inder the hood, but still no sound from the horn. I wouldnt be so concerned with this, but if the horn is out that means the alarm is basically toothless as well on my truck. Anyone dealt with this before? Thanks a mil to all, cheers!
PS: it may have to do with a leak i get from the sunroof area as i notice sometimes water splashes on the steering, and while it was all dry when i first got in after the couple of months, i noticed a bit of a white residue on my seat, which indicated to me that some rain water was getting inside the cabin while i was out. Ideas? Could it be that the relay went out because the water was shorting the horn buttons on the steering wheel? Should I try to replace the relay (R16)? I was trying to see if the horn itself is plugged in, etc, but i could not even find the darn thing, where is it hiding>??

 

[roverMc]

The click means that the relay is probably working, but get a test light and check the hot wire to the horn at the horn with someone pressing the horn button and you'll know really quick if it's the horn or the relay.

 

[brianhoberg]

Had the same problem, turned out to be a fuse for me, not the relay.

 

[Denisk]

thanks guys, i forgot to say, everything else seems to be working ok, BUT the horn is out even for the alarm purposes (like, when i lock with one door open, the horn is dead, but normally used to bark indicating one of the doors is open). I guess i need to fire up the RAVE to see where the darn horn lives as visually i could not find it...

 

[Lake_Bueller]

The horn lives behind the "grill". It's hard to see w/o removing the plastic facing.

 

[mbrummal]

...and the side markers and headlights to get the finishing trim off...

 

[Denisk]

so, is there any way to check the hot wire on the horn without dismantling half of the truck's face? Just tried to run Rave on my new mac to no avail so much for the Just Works! crap!

 

[mbrummal]

This works on my mac. It is normal pdf files, no program to run.
http://www.landroverresource.com/

 

[Denisk]

oh, super cool! thank you!

 

[roverMc]

so, is there any way to check the hot wire on the horn without dismantling half of the truck's face? Just tried to run Rave on my new mac to no avail so much for the Just Works! crap!

Should just be three screws on top of grill and lift the grill out. The horns will be right there one on the left and one on the right. 5 min job.

 

[mbrummal]

Should just be three screws on top of grill and lift the grill out. The horns will be right there one on the left and one on the right. 5 min job.

No, there are two more at the bottom, one on each side, covered by the trim under the headlights. You have to at least take out the side markers to get them out. The screws on those come out from the wheel well.

 

[roverMc]

Mine didn't have those 2, 03's different from 01's???

 

[mbrummal]

I think so, I guess the face lift for the 03/04 changed that. I'm pretty sure those other screws are there on all the 99-02s.

 

[Denisk]

thanks guys. I will try that, but my doubt is that it would be very unusual for both horns to go at the same time, don't you think? It could be some kind of a wire/connection issue, but then again, everything worked perfectly well when i left it parked back in Feb. Someone mentioned they tried changing relays around in the black fuse box, i did not realize there are similar relays there, thought they were all different. I have a non ace truck and there is no relay there, while someone else had one there, w/o ace. ANyway, stealer wants $40 for a new relay, i may pick it up just to see if it fixes things. What else could this be??? After all, its as simple as a lightbulb; just what could go wrong???? Oh, i forget: its a rover. Brits do not make computers cuz they cant figure how to make them leak.

 

[roverMc]

I think so, I guess the face lift for the 03/04 changed that. I'm pretty sure those other screws are there on all the 99-02s.

Sorry I forgot a deer took mine out 3 yrs ago. It broke those off leaving the lower dowels on it. I hadn't missed those two screws so I just forgot about them.

 

[mbrummal]

Sorry I forgot a deer took mine out 3 yrs ago. It broke those off leaving the lower dowels on it. I hadn't missed those two screws so I just forgot about them.

then I retract my last comment.

 

[mbrummal]

thanks guys. I will try that, but my doubt is that it would be very unusual for both horns to go at the same time, don't you think? It could be some kind of a wire/connection issue, but then again, everything worked perfectly well when i left it parked back in Feb. Someone mentioned they tried changing relays around in the black fuse box, i did not realize there are similar relays there, thought they were all different. I have a non ace truck and there is no relay there, while someone else had one there, w/o ace. ANyway, stealer wants $40 for a new relay, i may pick it up just to see if it fixes things. What else could this be??? After all, its as simple as a lightbulb; just what could go wrong???? Oh, i forget: its a rover. Brits do not make computers cuz they cant figure how to make them leak.

Doesn't it have a diagram showing the horn relay? I think it is a small yellow one. Could be wrong. Test for voltage at the pins 30 and 85 of the relay socket. They should always have power. Also check Fuse16. It should be a 10A.

Edit: The horn relay is #13, the first small one going towards the back of the car on the outside edge of the fuse box.

 

[Denisk]

Thank you, did some of that already: the fuse #16 was blown, replaced it. WIll check power at the socket, but I think i heard clicking from the relay when i had someone push the horn button on the steering wheel, so if anything, my wild guess is that its the relay not relaying power further down to the horns... I could be wrong and the relay works fine (since it clicks), but then what?

 

[mbrummal]

take off the grille and check for power at the plugs when someone pushes the horn button. One is a ground, the other from the relay.

 

[roverMc]

Denisk - mine has bee through a set of horns already (not from the deer) so it's not unthinkable that the horns themselves may be the culprit. However, both at one time seems strange.