MOT FAILED!!!!!! Horn is posessed

[LloydyBoy]

Hello guys and gals......... Took the van in for it's MOT today and yep, she failed! (Track rod end, faulty horn, and a few other niggly things) Quite frankly I'm getting a bit fed up with chucking money at it!......... Still, I guess that by the time I'm finished it'll be like a brand new van! :whistle:

I just need some advice from my fellow forum users, believe it or not!........

It seems to me like my horn is posessed by an evil spirit! It works perfectly fine sometimes, and doesn't seem to work at all other times. I was just hoping that today was going to be one of those days where it worked, but you guessed it, it bloody didn't! illyme:

I've searched the forum for Horn issuses and it seems to be a common problem! However most of the posts seem to describe horns that only work with the ignition switched off. Mine howver works occasionally, regardless of whether the ignition is on or not!

All I'm after is a 'dummie's guide' for things to check, and also a 'dummie's guide' for a possible solution.....

I've got 10 days to fix the issue or else it's another £40 for a retest. Also I've got limited knowledge of all things electric, so please don't refrain from composing your replies as if you were typing a message to a 5 year old............... alut:

[LUCIALIA]

Mine is the same, so I to would appreciate some hints & tips on resolving this

Hello guys and gals......... Took the van in for it's MOT today and yep, she failed! (Track rod end, faulty horn, and a few other niggly things) Quite frankly I'm getting a bit fed up with chucking money at it!......... Still, I guess that by the time I'm finished it'll be like a brand new van! :whistle:

I just need some advice from my fellow forum users, believe it or not!........

It seems to me like my horn is posessed by an evil spirit! It works perfectly fine sometimes, and doesn't seem to work at all other times. I was just hoping that today was going to be one of those days where it worked, but you guessed it, it bloody didn't! illyme:

I've searched the forum for Horn issuses and it seems to be a common problem! However most of the posts seem to describe horns that only work with the ignition switched off. Mine howver works occasionally, regardless of whether the ignition is on or not!

All I'm after is a 'dummie's guide' for things to check, and also a 'dummie's guide' for a possible solution.....

I've got 10 days to fix the issue or else it's another £40 for a retest. Also I've got limited knowledge of all things electric, so please don't refrain from composing your replies as if you were typing a message to a 5 year old............... alut:

[Rustscrat]

Lloydy, when pressing the horn and it's not working, try turning the steering wheel lock to lock and see if this activates the horn. You might have a broken ribbon cable in the com 2000 module.
Other members have had a bad earth and run a separate one to the bottom of the steering column with good results.
If you are feeling brave then remove the airbag and check the horn connections - they might need a clean.
Have a read of this post.

http://www.berlingoforum.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=3577

alut:

[LloydyBoy]

Hi Rustscrat. Thanks for the promt reply, as always!.......... Just a bit of an update on the horn situation..... When no key is in the ignition it works fine. Put key in ignition (not turning key at all) it works fine..... However when I turn the key the hooter doesn't work, also it seems to not work now at all when engine is running!......

In your expert opinion, does this sound like an earthing problem and could be cured by running a seperate earth to the steering column as other forum members have done in the past? (Don't really want to be removing airbag if at all possible!)

Thanks mate, Lloydy

[Rustscrat]

Yep, sounds like the other faults, for a quick test to see if it is, earth between the door opening stay screws then touch on your key/ig.sw.
See what happens. Thinking about it, If it works then you have a broken earth wire in your com 2000. This is assuming that all your stalk controls are working ok as it uses the same earth for the electronics etc.
Did you try doing the lock to lock test ?
Let us know what you find. :thumbsup:

[LloydyBoy]

Thanks for that mate. Didn't try the lock to lock test, how would I go about trying that?

[Rustscrat]

With the engine on (if this is when the problem occurs) keep the horn pressed while turning the steering wheel fully one way then the other.
If theres a break in the ribbon cable it might connect temporally indicating the fault. alut:

[LloydyBoy]

Ah I see! Will try that as well mate. If it is then does this mean a new Comm 2000, or is it easily rectified?

[Rustscrat]

It depends if it's the earth side or the signal side.
If it's the earth then a separate earth wire to the steering column would sort it. If its the signal wire, it's not looking good but never say die!

[LloydyBoy]

OK mate thanks. Also, there isn't a chance that tinkering with earth wires, comm2000 etc could mess my BSI up in any way is there?......... Would it be wise to disconnect battery before 'tinkering' and then reconnect and do a BSI reset?