The horn dose not sound when button is pushed on steering wheel. Passenger air bag is off, and how can I turn it on to operational mode

Do you have a air bag light lit on the instrument cluster ? I ask this because , if the air bag light is lit , could be a clock spring problem . I know ,what the heck is this guy talking about . You have a air bag on the steering wheel ,the horn button is on the steering wheel . The clock spring is located under the steering wheel , in the top of the steering coulmn . It has flat wire tape in side that allows the steering wheel to be turned full left to full right , keeping the horn , air bag , an any other button's on the steering wheel connected electricly to the vehicle. Plus there is a relay , when you push the horn button it energizes the relay turning on the horns. Watch these videos , will explain a little better .
VEHICLE RELAYS Operation Diagnosis
How cars clock spring works

The horn relay is located in the under hood fuse box .

Pull the air bag fuse or disconnect the negative battery cable an wait a few minutes , then you can remove the air bag safely . What country are you from ? Do you have an air bag light lit on the dash as well ? Possible clock spring problem , it's located inside the steering column under the steering wheel . This clock spring allows the steering wheel to turn from right to left keeping the air bag , horn , speed control ( if you have the buttons on the steering wheel ) . Connected electrically . There is also a relay located in a fuse / relay box . Do you know what a relay is ? VEHICLE RELAYS Operation Diagnosis

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).
• Air bag sliding contact

• GO to Pinpoint Test B .

plus the horn is bad .

Disarming the System

Print

CAUTION The Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) system must be disarmed before performing many in-vehicle service procedures. Failure to do so may cause accidental deployment of the air bag, resulting in unnecessary SIR system repairs and/or personal injury.

1. Turn the steering wheel so the vehicle's wheels are pointing straight-ahead.
2. Turn the ignition switch to the LOCK position.
3. Remove or disconnect the following:
   
   Ignition key AIR BAG fuse from the instrument panel fuse block Left-hand sound insulator Connector retainer and yellow 2-way connector at the base of the steering column. Right-hand sound insulator, if equipped with passenger side air bags Connector retainer and yellow 2-way connector from the passenger inflator module pigtail, if equipped with passenger side air bags
   
   

   Fig. Driver-s side Yellow 2-way air bag connector retainer location
   

hi cmccuin,

I think the horn contacts for your steering wheel are located at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. The contacts are behind the air bag and may have a poor connection. If the air bag has been either removed or replaced for any reason, that may explain your problem. I have also seen just a few issues with the wiring harness behind the airbag wearing and internally damaging the wiring for the horn signal.

1 Open the hood and loosen the clamp bolt on the negative battery cable with an adjustable wrench turned in a counterclockwise direction. Pull the cable straight up and off of the terminal and push it aside. Wait 15 minutes, before continuing this procedure, to allow the air bag circuitry to deactivate.
2 Pry the two plastic screw covers from the rear of the steering wheel spokes in the passenger compartment with a flat blade screwdriver. Remove the two screws revealed after removing the covers with an 8 mm socket attached to a ¼-inch drive ratchet wrench turned in a counterclockwise direction.
3 Lift the horn pad straight up from the top of the steering wheel. Carefully pull the air bag wiring harness connector from the bottom of the horn pad. Set the horn pad aside.
4 Remove the two screws holding each cruise control switch (there are two switches, one on each side of the steering wheel) with a Torx screwdriver turned in a counterclockwise direction. Lift up on the switch and pull the wiring connector apart with your thumb and forefinger. Repeat this action for both switches. Remove the switches from the steering wheel.
5 Install the new switches (make sure the "On/Off" switch is on the right-hand side) onto the steering wheel using the original mounting holes. Tighten the holding screws with a Torx screwdriver turned in a clockwise direction.
6 Push the air bag wiring connector back into the bottom of the horn pad until it is fully seated. Place the horn pad into position on the steering wheel. Tighten the holding screws from the back of the steering wheel with an 8 mm socket and ratchet. Push the two screw covers into the back of the steering wheel until they snap into place.
7 Place the negative battery cable back onto the terminal and tighten the clamp nut in a clockwise direction with an adjustable wrench. Close the hood.

My 2000 Cirrus had the same problem.

Before I describe how I fixed mine, a warning and disclaimer:
Working on the horn switch, clock spring and steering column requires working safely with the air bag module. An airbag that goes off unintentionally can cause serious or fatal injuries. If you don't know how to handle the air bag safely, do not attempt to fix this yourself!

Symptom: Horn sounds when steering wheel is turned or with slight movement of the air bag module in the center of the steering wheel.

Possible causes:
1. Deteriorated insulators under the air bag mounting bracket screws. (This is what caused the problem in my case.)
2. Warped or bent steering wheel or air bag module.
3. Short circuit in clock spring assembly.
4. Short circuit in steering column due to abraded or pinched wire.
5. Faulty horn relay. (Very unlikely if the horn only sounds when turning the wheel.)

How the "horn switch" works: The term "horn switch" is a bit of a misnomer because there is no identifiable "switch" as one might think. The "switch" is actually a combination of parts: The four air bag bracket mounting screws, four plastic bushings and washers that insulate the air bag mounting brackets from the screws which are fastened to the grounded steering column, four springs under the bushings and the metal back side of the airbag module. The horn wire, which comes from the horn relay up the steering column and through he clock spring, is connected to the left hand mounting bracket which is electrically connected to the back of the airbag module which is electrically connected to the right hand mounting bracket when everything is assembled. When the air bag module is pushed in, the metal back contacts one or more of the four air bag module mounting screws completing the circuit to ground and thus activating the horn relay.

Troubleshooting:
1. Disconnect the negative battery terminal on the strut tower under the hood and pull the two 10 A air bag fuses from the fuse panel on the left side of the dash.

WARNING!: WAIT TWO MINUTES TO ALLOW THE AIR BAG SYSTEM CAPACITOR TO DISCHARGE BEFORE PROCEEDING. NEVER DISCONNECT OR RECONNECT THE AIR BAG MODULE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR UNLESS THE NEGATIVE BATTERY TERMINAL HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED FOR AT LEAST TWO MINUTES. FAILURE TO HEED THIS WARNING COULD RESULT IN UNEXPECTED DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIR BAG RESULTING IN INJURY OR DEATH.

2. Loosen the two torx head screws on the back of the steering wheel that secure the air bag module to the wheel. The screws are captive in plastic retainers, so don't try to remove them.

3. Remove the air bag module, pull out the connector lock and disconnect the air bag module connector.

4. Place the air bag module on a flat surface connector side down away from where you are working.

5. Locate the four air bag mounting bracket screws. Look for black gritty debris around the screw heads and inside the steering wheel. This is an indication that the top insulating washers have deteriorated allowing the mounting brackets to short out to the screws.

6. Now reconnect the battery negative lead and do the following tests:

a. Move the left hand bracket slightly. If the horn sounds, then the top side insulating washers are either gone or deteriorated. If you want to test the right hand bracket, you will need to connect a jumper wire between the brackets. If one washer is cracked or missing, it is likely they all are.

b. Disconnect the horn wire from the left hand bracket. Start the car and turn the steering wheel to the stop in both directions. If the horn still sounds, then you have either a bad clock spring or a short circuit in the steering column.

The repair if the insulating washers are bad:

The official Chrysler repair manual says to replace the steering wheel (about $260); however, there is a cheaper solution.

1. Remove the four air bag bracket mounting screws, bushings, springs and the two brackets, paying careful attention to how they are assembled so you can re-assemble them later.

2. Clean any debris, dirt and grease from the brackets and undersides of the screw heads.

3. Purchase or fabricate some thin insulating (plastic) washers to replace the ones that deteriorated, which unfortunately you cannot buy from Chrysler. I insulated my brackets and screws with kapton insulating tape plus some very thin plastic washers I cut from some blister pack packaging scrap (probably clear polystyrene). This plastic is very thin, but still is pretty tough. Some hollow punches are handy for punching the holes and making nice round washers, but you could probably do it with small scissors or your wife's scrapbook punches if you are careful.

4. Reassemble the air bag mounting brackets to the steering wheel placing the new insulating washers and/or tape between the screw heads and brackets.

5. Reconnect the horn wire to the left hand bracket and move the bracket around a bit. If the horn doesn't sound, then you likely have fixed the problem. Once again, to test the right hand bracket, you need to jumper the left and right brackets together.

6. Disconnect the negative battery lead and wait at least two minutes before proceeding to ensure the air bag capacitor is discharged.

7. Reconnect the air bag connector to the air bag module and insert connector lock.

8. Reassemble the air bag module to the steering wheel.

9. Reconnect the negative battery lead and test the horn. It should blow only when the air bag module is pushed in. Start the car and turn the wheel to both extremes to test the repair.
If the horn sounds continuously, then the washers you put in are two thick causing the air bag module to rest on the screw heads.

10. Turn the car off and reinsert the two 10 A air bag fuses, then restart the car and make sure the air bag light comes on briefly then goes off.

Hope you find this helpful.

Sounds like you have faulty clock spring, it is located under steering wheel and allows for a rotating electrical contact for the airbag, horn (in many cases) and any other steering wheel mounted electrical push buttons. hope this might help you.

If the horn works with the alarm button but not with the steering wheel horn pad the problem is most likely in the contacts beneath the steering wheel. This requires pulling the steering wheel and repairing the contacts.
If this vehicle has an air bag in the steering wheel make sure to deactivate the airbag circuit before pulling the steering wheel.

Hello, although from your brief description of fault May I offer assistance? Not on a Chevrolet but a Volvo 740, the Button on the steering wheel for the horn are Copper semi circular type and sprung loaded. Me being ham fisted with annoyance pushed the button too hard, it worked ok at the time of use but a few minutes later World WAR 3! had to pull plug on horns themselves to silence them.
So FixYa resolution? Check Horn button itself Cuz it'll be stuck!
Cheer's
Paul 'W'
Onyer~EDson(:0)~[><