Horns & Components

Vehicles contain a number of safety measures to keep you protected in the event of an accident. Of course, you do not want to have an accident but if one happens, you know you stand a much better chance of walking away than you did 50 years ago. However, vehicles also use things to try to avoid the accident happening in the first place, like ABS brakes, better tires, and horns that need to be working properly as they can get you out of serious trouble.

The horn on your vehicle is important because you can use it to warn other drivers if it looks as though they are about to drive in the same space you are currently driving in. You may also find yourself using it to warn people on the side of the road if you think they are about to step out in front of your vehicle, or even to remind the driver in front of you that the light is green and it is time to go.

To work properly, a horn uses a number of different parts extending from your steering wheel to under the hood. When you press the button, the wheel sends a signal through a cable to the horn mechanism, which is an electromagnetic coil. This electromagnetic coil pulls a steel diaphragm backwards and then releases it to snap back into position. It does this a number of times per second, and this is how the noise you hear is created. The noise is different for almost every vehicle and is designed to give an indication as to the size of your vehicle.

To keep your horn working at its best, you need to be aware of the things that can go wrong. A common issue is with the steel diaphragm, which can crack or break after it has been used many times. The cable responsible for taking the signal from your steering wheel to the mechanism can also become damaged after a period of time which is a problem you will need to fix. The horn mechanism itself is under a lot of stress during its lifetime because it lives underneath your hood where all the heat exists, so it cannot live and work forever.

Identifying problems as they occur can be easy because some of them will cause the sound of your horn to change. The sound is sometimes subtle, which is usually a sign of early problems with the diaphragm but can completely change when the diaphragm breaks. If the horn stops working altogether, then you will likely find that the cable is not sending the signal or the electromagnetic coil has stopped working the diaphragm. The easiest way to avoid problems is to keep your eye on the horn and cable so you can take action before a minor issue becomes something serious!