Horn doesnt work at all

[fedekz986]

1999 boxster 2.5 with 98k miles.

Purchased the car used, and about a month or two passed and finally I needed to hit my horn, but it didn't work. It hasnt worked since I've had it.

I think it has something to do with the steering wheel part, maybe a bad contact or something because the airbag part of the wheel has a bit of play in it.

I checked the fuses, I pulled the front bumper and looked at the horn itself and the wiring while cleaning my radiators. Everything looked okay.

Any recommendations? Is there anyway to open up the steering wheel and look at the horn contact/section or whatever it is.

Not really sure what to do .... Thanks!!!

[vath2001]

I know the problem. Try this, turn the car on, but not running. Push the air bag/horn and listen for a "click". Try pulling the air bag out and listen for a "click".
If you hear this, then you have bad horns. Pelican parts has the best price for factory horns and they were cheaper than after-market too.


If you don't hear the click, you may have a bad relay.

Give it a try.

[wvboxst3r]

I have read that some have an issue with horn blowing at random and put a piece of paper between contacts. This may be your issue. Contacts are under airbag. Screws in back of steering wheel ------------unhook battery before working on airbag.

[fedekz986]

Edit #2:

So I was missing the horn relay (relay #10 under the drivers side dash) all together. I went to autozone, and they pulled up a generic duralast relay for me at the cost of $17.00. I put the relay in, and now I hear clicking at the relay when i touch the horn. The center airbag part of my steering wheel moves around a lot, and when I move it around I hear it constantly clicking at the relay. The fuse isn't blown (checked it before and after the clicking).

Whats the next step? We know the relay is 100% good (brand new, and its clicking), and the fuse isn't blowing.

Is there anyway to access the horns to trouble shoot them WITHOUT removing the front bumper? removing my front bumper is a very difficult and long task.

[fatmike]

Check your battery/ignition switch.


The horn won't blow if the battery is getting low.


I had some recent battery issues, and my horn didn't work. I know this from experience. Fixed itself once I got my battery taken care of. My issue was a parasidic drain due to a faulty ignition switch.





/

[boxster6354]

As wvboxst3r stated about the horn issue, I would look at replacing the airbag retaining frame in the steering wheel (under airbag) and as stated disconnect battery and wait 15 minutes before attempting.

If your horn never worked and was missing the relay, it could point to someone experiancing the Horn issue where when you apply your brakes the horn would honk, some people as a work around to not replacing the frame would place paper over the contacts, creating some rubber groments to apply or remove the relay to prevent the horn from working.

I myself had to replace mine and not a big job to do, there are quite a few post on the subject here and the part to replace I am talking about is here: Airbag Retaining Frame:Porsche Parts & Porsche Accessories - Wholesale Porsche Parts & Tequipment - Cayman Panamera Cayenn


good luck

[97 Boxster]

I had the same issue and for me it WAS the Airbag Retaining Frame. Pretty simple to do. Good luck.

[vath2001]

Originally Posted by fedekz986

Edit #2:

Is there anyway to access the horns to trouble shoot them WITHOUT removing the front bumper? removing my front bumper is a very difficult and long task.

I haven't found a way. I bought new horns before I pulled off the bumper. These horns are known for going bad. They sit so low and get all the road dirt up into them. Pelican Parts had the best price.

My air bag bracket would sit closed, with the relay closed and give me a slow drain on the battery. I pulled the fuse until I could get to replacing the horns.

[Brockmeister]

Horn broke...watch for finger

[MNICEBOX]

Originally Posted by fedekz986

1999 boxster 2.5 with 98k miles.

Purchased the car used, and about a month or two passed and finally I needed to hit my horn, but it didn't work. It hasnt worked since I've had it.

I think it has something to do with the steering wheel part, maybe a bad contact or something because the airbag part of the wheel has a bit of play in it.

I checked the fuses, I pulled the front bumper and looked at the horn itself and the wiring while cleaning my radiators. Everything looked okay.

Any recommendations? Is there anyway to open up the steering wheel and look at the horn contact/section or whatever it is.

Not really sure what to do .... Thanks!!!

Don't know about the 99s but mine ('04 S) has 2 horns located close to one another behind the bumper (hi and lo tones). One of mine was bad ( I switched the good horn with the dead one to verify it was the horn and not any wiring). Since its a PITA to remove the bumper and they're pretty cheap ($25) , I replaced both at the same time.

These just go from age and the being exposed to the elements. If you have 2 horns, did you swap the bad horn with the good one? If you only have one, my guess is that the horn's just dead (especsally after 10+ years) and a replacement should do it.

[lilredpo]

Originally Posted by fedekz986

Edit #2:
Is there anyway to access the horns to trouble shoot them WITHOUT removing the front bumper? removing my front bumper is a very difficult and long task.

Removing the front bumper is realtively easy and takes about 15 minutes. No need to even lift the car. On was the same. Good Youtube video 'Porsche 996 986 bumper removal'.

Great time to also clean between radiators/condensers.

[rick3000]

I can't comment on troubleshooting this, however if the horn is bad, I highly recommend installing an air horn. If you're going to go the trouble of taking the front bumper off, why not. I have a compact one from Griots, and no longer have an issue when trucks try to cut me off. Very easy installation. Good luck fixing it, have you considered that a non-OEM relay may be an issue?