[LATECH]

That is one messed up relay

It can be straightened, carefully

Prolly best to get another. Maybe open it up before ya run it.

wow.

[LATECH]

That is one messed up relay

It can be straightened, carefully

Prolly best to get another. Maybe open it up before ya run it.

wow.

Thanks Jta1

[Old Goat 67]

Wow, Dad was right.

You learn something every day.

[Mickey_London]

That is how my new one was.
I bent the top arm up so that the top contacts were not touching. Perhaps the lower ones were just touching as well.
My horn is working properly now but I will open it again and bend it back, to make the top ones touch again but also make sure the bottom ones are not
Then test again
Mick

[Mickey_London]

Right here goes
I took my new relay apart again and this is what I have found



When the horn was sounding constantly I bent the taller arm back so that it wasn't making contact. As I only bent it back to leave, I would say, about a finger nail gap, it has now seated back correctly, giving a constant contact on the taller one and a gap on the shorter one

I didn't notice if the shorter arm was making a constant contact when I had the problem. I suspect it was now as by what LATECH and Johntal have said

So I would say get your relay to look like my one and test it again
Fingers crossed this helps
I think we will all be waiting in anticipation on this haha
Mick

[unruhjonny]

wow - that looks to have been totally bent up!!

based on the other information shared here, I'd think that you may be able to bend it all so that it functions properly.

[dpoltzer]

I followed Mickeys advice bending and tweaking the contact posts the best I could. The posts are just too tall to get the relay to work consistently. It did work the horn a few times but then it quit. Also, now the "key in ignition" buzzer is not working. I also noticed an arcing/sparking near the horn contact when I depress the horn button ( I have the cover off of the Formula steering wheel) which I don't like. I will wait for the replacement to get here and hope it works properly. BTW, this relay is from The Parts Place. Don't know if they manufacture these or import them but this one is a P.O.S!! To be continued...

[unruhjonny]

I'm sorry to read of another TPP item being junk;
I first heard of them somewhere around 2006 and popped into their showroom (if you would call it that) when I was in the Chicago area prior to attending the TA Nats...
They had alot of neat stuff their...
But it seems that since then, I only hear bad things about their stuff.

[Mickey_London]

I got my new relay from there also. Their eBay shop
Could it be, unknowing to them, that they have got a bad batch.
Mick

[Geoff]

The pic of the relay in post 65 & the schematic in post 54 both look correct to me.
If the relay contacts look like post 65, they are correct. They should NOT be bent.

With the door open, the door the door sw provides a ground to operate the relay coil, through the NC contact of the relay. As soon as the relay energises, the NC contact goes open, which drops out the relay. The relay then operates again, & the cycle repeats itself causing the buzzing sound.

If the horn &/or buzzer is not working, it points to a wiring problem or wrong connection[s].

[Mickey_London]

The picture of the relay in Post #65 is my relay
I had to bend it to look like that and get it working
When I bought it new it was like the relay in Post #57
Mick

[dpoltzer]

Received the replacement horn relay today and now the horn and key buzzer work properly. There is however one remaining issue. My car has a Formula/Trans Am steering wheel and I have not yet installed the decorative horn button that clips in to the hub/collar. To activate the horn I have been moving the horn/switch component by hand which allows me to see that there is an arc of electricity, each time I activate the horn. The arch can be seen coming out from under the horn/switch and it arcs to the hub that the steering wheel mounts to. I wouldn't think that this arc should be occurring but I could be wrong? Any one else notice this or could this be normal?

["QUICK-SILVER"]

Arc/spark is normal. The intensity is created by the coil in the relay.

Old metal steering wheel cars, with a broke or missing ground on the rag joint, that arc/spark would jump out and bite you when you honked the horn.

Clay

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by "QUICK-SILVER"

Arc/spark is normal. The intensity is created by the coil in the relay.

Old metal steering wheel cars, with a broke or missing ground on the rag joint, that arc/spark would jump out and bite you when you honked the horn.

Clay

Ha-ha!!

I would have never known that!
Maybe that's why GM (and others?) when to "plastic" wheels?

[Old Goat 67]

Originally Posted by "QUICK-SILVER"

Old metal steering wheel cars, with a broke or missing ground on the rag joint, that arc/spark would jump out and bite you when you honked the horn.

Clay

The Sport Wood wheel in the GTO's are famous for that.

[dpoltzer]

Good news! I thought the arc was a problem but now I know it is not. Thanks again everyone. On to the next matter.