Horn Woes HELP!

[KDMatt]

Hrm... so okay then, relay still looks like the prime suspect.

... but I'm confused as to how the relay even got power in the first place? I didn't bump the horn switch at all.

One hand was on the wheel, top left, other hand was on the stick. Horn started going off by itself.

[zbane]

If I have done this right, maybe the photo will show and it will be of some help.

[EScanlon]

It might ALSO be that you inadvertently hit and bent the little copper/brass tab on the BACK side of the steering wheel so that it made contact. Either by pushing down on the steering wheel, or because you had been poking aorund the steering column shroud.

These are all POSSIBLE items. That's why you have to check them all out.

Remember ZSaint not too long ago had problems with his horn...couldn't get it to work. He's done a LOT of work on his car, it seemed really weird for his horn to NOT work. He finally traced it down to the little brass arm that touches the back of the steering wheel (in order to complete the circuit made by the horn button) was simply NOT touching the back of the wheel.

It wasn't anything he DID, and nothing that he did wrong, it was simply not aligned properly.

As far as to how your car decided to honk......S.F.M. (Sheer F****ing Magic) or Gremlins.

E

[KDMatt]

TY Zbane, that picture helps spell it out for me a bit more clearly (and thank you Enrique!).

I've also found this pic that helps illustrate what the horn relay looks like... it just doensn't give me a solid pic of where it is!

http://carfiche.com/fiche009/s30/4/e16.gif

I'm gonna check CSK, MSA, and BD parts to see who carries a new relay the cheapest!

[EScanlon]

Actually, even though the outline of the car is not noticeable in the left side of the fiche, you can see where it goes in relation to the fuse box...that tells you it should be on the DRIVER'S kick panel. If it's where I think it is, it's in the upper section, just above where the Hood Release Cable goes.

Enrique

[zbane]

after the battery is out, according to the manual, on the fender side, there should be an unscrewable panel. remove the panel, and it should be in the upper left corner of the opening.

[KDMatt]

Actually I finally managed, after some digging, to locate my Haynes manual.

According to them the horn relay is on the passenger's side near the instrument wiring harness above the fuse box.

[zbane]

sorry, the real camera decided to give up for the night (I'm at work, no charger) so it's camera phone and bluetooth. again, I have a 1979 zx, but it should at least be similar.

[KDMatt]

Hrm... the part itself seems to match what's in my Haynes book, the location just seems to differ.

Like I said, Haynes is convinced that that horn relay is inside the car, just above the fuse box behind the Instrument panel under cover.

... It's possible that this is simply one of those little discrepancies between Z's and ZX's.

[zbane]

but just in case, you have another area to check.

Good Luck!

[sblake01]

The horn relay is in the passenger side footwell above the fuse box on all 280Zs. It's the same relay used in the ZX other than the location. Part number 26320-N4500 which supercedes to 26320-P6500.

[KDMatt]

Thanks for clearing that up Dr. Blakeney.

I just ordered a replacement horn relay from CSK in addition to a voltage regulator (might as well... ya know? I was planning to buy one, and orders $50 and over get shipped free).