cant find why my horn barely works | FerrariChat

cant find why my horn barely works

Discussion in '308/328' started by bertspeed, Aug 11, 2012.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. bertspeed

    bertspeed Formula Junior

    Sep 19, 2009
    302
    The horn on my 81 euro 308 works about 1 in 40 attempts when pressing on the horn button.Ive put oil in the compressor and when bypassed it works fine .I`ve tried to make sure all the connections are secure,Ive also tried to swap over the relay, but it still works so infrequently .Could it be a common bad connection or something else.
     
  2. miketuason

    miketuason F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Feb 24, 2006
    15,541
    Cerritos, CA.
    Full Name:
    Mike
    How's the connection behind the horn button? I've seen them loose before and intermittently works when you turn the steering wheel.
     
  3. Steve Magnusson

    Steve Magnusson Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jan 11, 2001
    25,145
    30°30'40" N 97°35'41" W (Texas)
    Full Name:
    Steve Magnusson
    #3 Steve Magnusson, Aug 11, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Remove the wire from the horn button and manually touch the metal end terminal of the wire to the bare metal on the inside of the steering wheel hub:

    If that works well = you have a bad horn button or the connection between the metal contact on the horn button and the inside of the steering wheel hub is bad.

    If you still have the same trouble = more likely something wrong with the brush/slip-ring assembly (e.g., a loose or broken rivet connection) or in the grounding of the steering column itself. If you get this result, use a jumper wire to connect the horn wire to another known good ground and see if that works or not.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  4. bertspeed

    bertspeed Formula Junior

    Sep 19, 2009
    302
    Hi thank you for the replys,I have by passed the horn but that didn't work,will try to connect horn wire to a good ground .How/where is the steering Colomb grounded.
     
  5. Tostapchuk

    Tostapchuk Formula Junior

    Aug 19, 2004
    278
    Connecticut
    Full Name:
    TJO
    Anything metal.
     
  6. jonesdds

    jonesdds Formula 3

    Aug 31, 2006
    2,160
    SB,CA & Park City UT
    Full Name:
    Jeff
    Mine didn't work at first, weak, barely discernible, until I squirted some 3 in 1 oil into the motor then good to go. Not electronics, check this first.
     
  7. eulk328

    eulk328 F1 Rookie

    Feb 18, 2005
    2,800
    Full Name:
    F683
    #7 eulk328, Aug 12, 2012
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2012
    I had a similar problem on my 355. I found that the horn relay contacts had about 1~2 ohms of resistance. May not sound like much but very significant. Installed a new relay and back in business...


     
  8. Steve King

    Steve King F1 Rookie

    Feb 15, 2001
    4,367
    NY
    I had this problem where the metal tip that contacts the slip ring was worn. I had to pull the slip ring assembly and add some metal to the tip . It works great for the last 8 years. I think I found in the search section on how someone once fixed this same problem.
     
  9. bertspeed

    bertspeed Formula Junior

    Sep 19, 2009
    302
    I believe it is a problem with the contact with the metal slip ring as I cant make a connection with the black wire at the horn button and the same size black wire exiting the steering columb shroud,(Ive tried all the other wires as a precaution as well).
     
  10. 330gt

    330gt Formula 3

    Nov 12, 2004
    1,983
    Seattle, WA
    Full Name:
    Kerry Chesbro

Share This Page