OEM Horn, Gen1 or Gen 2

[Vitaminc914]

My horn on the my 89 Gen 1 stopped working. I am 90% sure it is the horn. I want to get another but none of the ones on ebay are for 89 or older. There are plenty of horns for 90 and newer. They look like mine, but I want to be 100% sure.
Does anyone know if the Gen 2 horns will fit the Gen 1 cars? Mine has what looks like a drain plug and a white 2 prong plastic plug for the wires.

 

[RAD4Runner]

.... I am 90% sure it is the horn.

stopped working as in completely no sound?
Did you check by connecting the horn directly to the battery?

1) Often times, the problem is with the contacts on the steering column. Pls search the forum. I need to do that too, because my horn is intermittent. Sometimes it sounds like Mickey Mouse with his balls caught in a mouse trap - LOL!

2) Next, like many Toyota circuits, it's better to rewire so power to horn goes through relay contacts, instead of through the contact on steering column.

3) After you fix (2), you can upgrade to 2-tone horns like that on the Crown Victoria from a junkyard. That's what I plan to do.

 

[Vitaminc914]

It has never worked, so I used a test light to check it out.

I had a lead of the test light hooked up to the Positive battery terminal and the other part touching the plug by the horn. As someone pressed the horn button, the light on the test light came on. I am assuming it was the horn itself. I am good with just one horn, I don't care if it is low or high tone, as long as I have something.

 

[RAD4Runner]

let me reiterate:
Did you check by connecting the horn directly to the battery?

Further, I do not trust test lights. It may not be a good tool to test if horn has continuity.

Get a multi-meter.
Next only to our senses, it is the most important tool for troubleshooting. They are fairly inexpensive; I have a 9-dollar one from Harbor Freight for the rough and tumble life on the truck, and a nice Fluke that stays at home.

 

[85RedRunner]

Whatever the case.. whether it "fits" or not isnt even an issue. You can mount any horn you want anywhere. Doesnt have to be in the same exact spot as the oem horn.

I bought a horn from pep girls and had to trim some of the plastic off to make it fit in the stock location.

 

[bentos1]

My horn on the my 89 Gen 1 stopped working. I am 90% sure it is the horn. I want to get another but none of the ones on ebay are for 89 or older. There are plenty of horns for 90 and newer. They look like mine, but I want to be 100% sure.
Does anyone know if the Gen 2 horns will fit the Gen 1 cars? Mine has what looks like a drain plug and a white 2 prong plastic plug for the wires.

I had this exact issue before..

Make sure to test your horn by wiring directly to the battery. If you don't get any sound then don't worry just yet, it probably still works.
There is a diaphragm adjustment screw on the back of the horn, I dont recall which way it needs to turn but try clockwise and counter-close wise. I bet you will be fine to go once you adjust the screw.

 

[bentos1]

[MENTION=149486]Vitaminc914[/MENTION], Did you try my troubleshooting for your horn?

 

[Vitaminc914]

[MENTION=145463]bentos1[/MENTION], I did not try your method. I had found a used horn for $30 and had it shipped to me. I mounted it and it worked perfect. I still have the old horn, so I will definitely test it by plugging it directly to the battery.

 

[bentos1]

[MENTION=145463]bentos1[/MENTION], I did not try your method. I had found a used horn for $30 and had it shipped to me. I mounted it and it worked perfect. I still have the old horn, so I will definitely test it by plugging it directly to the battery.

thanks for the follow up. Make sure to adjust the diaphragm screw on the back if you arent getting any sound. My bet is that your old horn still works fine and just needs to be adjusted.

 

[Wolf_Girl]

Mine was too worn down to adjust, it will honk if the steering wheel is turned JUST the right way, and even then.. its not worth crashing to honk.. both my 80s vehicles have nonfunctional horns.. haha. Some day I will fix. For now I use my finger ;-)

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Wolf_Girl]

Glad yours was an easy r&r

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[bentos1]

Mine was too worn down to adjust, it will honk if the steering wheel is turned JUST the right way, and even then.. its not worth crashing to honk.. both my 80s vehicles have nonfunctional horns.. haha. Some day I will fix. For now I use my finger ;-)

It sounds like the contacts in the steering wheel are making poor contact if that is the case. These horns rarely go bad from what I understand, but if the horn works with steering wheel orientation then I am guessing its the contacts.
There are many threads out there on fixes for this. Some people can get away with cleaning them, I'd give it a try

 

[Vitaminc914]

thanks for the follow up. Make sure to adjust the diaphragm screw on the back if you arent getting any sound. My bet is that your old horn still works fine and just needs to be adjusted.

Bentos1, I tried to follow your method today but I am either doing something wrong or my horn is just bad. Here is what I did. I took the old horn and I sprayed some PB Blaster on the Torx screw on the back because it was seized. That loosened it. I moved it in both directions and I put a negative lead to the bracket and a positive lead to BOTH tabs on the plug. I got nothing. Did I not connect it correctly?

 

[bentos1]

Bentos1, I tried to follow your method today but I am either doing something wrong or my horn is just bad. Here is what I did. I took the old horn and I sprayed some PB Blaster on the Torx screw on the back because it was seized. That loosened it. I moved it in both directions and I put a negative lead to the bracket and a positive lead to BOTH tabs on the plug. I got nothing. Did I not connect it correctly?

It sounds like you had it connected correctly. Did you use the battery from your truck or one that had been sitting around? I wonder if the connections maybe weren't quite good enough.
It's possible for the horn to fail but I have seen a few of these ones revived by adjusting the diaphragm screw on the back.