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I know horn problems have been done many times.

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by gennaro, Feb 9, 2017.

  1. Feb 9, 2017 at 3:48 PM
    #1
    gennaro

    gennaro [OP] New Member

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    I have a multimeter. My horns are getting 12 volts when i activate them. Can the problem still be the spiral part in the steering? I watched a youtube video a fellow on here did and it seems simple. I'm not a mechanic, but seems like they should blow it they get the twelve volts. If this is a dumb question, remember i said i'm no mechanic.
     
  2. Feb 10, 2017 at 11:50 AM
    #2
    tgear.shead

    tgear.shead Well-Known Member

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    If power gets to the horn, then the horn is dead.
    If no power gets to the horn, then something in the wiring (could be spiral cable, or relay, or a regular wire, or even the switch contact points in the steering wheel) is dead.

    Make sure that the horn is both getting 12v, **AND** that the horn is properly tied to chassis/0V. It needs BOTH in order to work.

    And if you are reading the voltage with a multimeter and having the wire *disconnected*... keep in mind that the multimeter only reads voltage, it doesn't read CURRENT. You can get a condition with wires and switches where you can get the voltage across, but it doesn't supply enough current to power the accessory. You should test the voltage while the horn is actually attached to the circuit.
     
    ItalynStylion likes this.
  3. Feb 10, 2017 at 12:08 PM
    #3
    boogie3478

    boogie3478 Well-Known Member

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    You guys sound horny.
     
  4. Feb 10, 2017 at 12:14 PM
    #4
    tgear.shead

    tgear.shead Well-Known Member

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    You sound like you're 11.
     
  5. Feb 10, 2017 at 12:33 PM
    #5
    desertrunner24

    desertrunner24 Well-Known Member

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    FYI my spiral cable was bad and my horn still worked. not sure if that helps you at all. is your airbag light on?
     
  6. Feb 10, 2017 at 12:40 PM
    #6
    Collins

    Collins Well-Known Member

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    You need to have a Plus+ Voltage and a negative(-) return wire, usually to your battery negative terminal which
    is also connected to your chassis as stated previously. I assume you have a switch wired in there, so make
    sure you have the right type of switch...again assuming, it would be a Normally Open switch that when you close/activate
    it, the horn sounds....oops sorry, i thought you were adding another horn...
    so disregard the switch statement...wiring methodology still applies though.

    btw a multi-meter does have an ammeter to measure current, (why it's called a multi-meter)
     
  7. Feb 10, 2017 at 12:52 PM
    #7
    ItalynStylion

    ItalynStylion Sounds Gooooood

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    His guidance is good. Listen to him. If the horn is getting power then nothing is wrong at the steering wheel.

    Some DMMs have amperage on them but most do not.
     
  8. Feb 10, 2017 at 12:59 PM
    #8
    gennaro

    gennaro [OP] New Member

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    Thanks for the input guys.
     
  9. Feb 10, 2017 at 4:11 PM
    #9
    george3

    george3 Well-Known Member

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    Gave me a LOL
     
  10. Feb 12, 2017 at 7:57 AM
    #10
    tgear.shead

    tgear.shead Well-Known Member

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    The "spiral cable" has two ribbons, each with about 8 conductors (going on memory on the number of conductors). Any one or multiples can fail, impacting only the functions that run over that particular conductor. Just because one conductor fails doesn't mean that any other will also.
     
  11. Feb 12, 2017 at 8:11 AM
    #11
    desertrunner24

    desertrunner24 Well-Known Member

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    already knew this
     

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