Horn Keeps Blowing Fuses

Hey all, my horn keeps blowing fuses. It's on it's 3rd in less than a year, and the lower tone horn has never worked since the first fuse went. Any ideas on problem places to check? The fuse box is and always has been clean and dry. Time for an air horn?

Try disconnecting the low note horn and see if it stops blowing fuses. If that horn is blown/rusted/shorted it could be why the fuse is blowing.

I checked the fuses and relay earlier today. Both were fine. I just assumed it was the fuse because that's what happened last time (my bad). When I push the horn button I can hear something clicking, not sure if it's the relay or what. Probably going to test the horns themselves sometime tomorrow.

matt270avian wrote:

Hey all, my horn keeps blowing fuses. It's on it's 3rd in less than a year, and the lower tone horn has never worked since the first fuse went. Any ideas on problem places to check? The fuse box is and always has been clean and dry. Time for an air horn?

The horns die from internal corrosion and can be replaced with a set of Fiamm units for about $25? If you check horns with a ohmmeter you will find that one or both is about a dead short. For my money I would just replace them. If you want to cheap out go to junkyard and pull a set from a similar vintage Cadillac, they are better protected from weather and should plugright in. A pair of new factory horns, maybe $60 with all the wiring and mounting bits needed (they are more or less universals)

And yeah you could mount an air horn but the space is tight for that.

You wouldn't happen to have a diagram/explanation on an easy way to get to the horns would you? Obviously they're in the front bumper somewhere, but if you can access them without taking the bumper off that would be great.

You probably don't need a diagram, it's "obvious upon inspection." If you remove the plastic pushpins from the front half of the inner fender and pull it down, you will find the horns. Unless they were relocated they are bolted to the underside of the front box member that holds the bumper supports. One on each (driver/passenger) side.

It is way easier to work on the horns if you raise the front end (jack stands or floor lift) and remove the front wheels and inner fenders.

If the car was driven in rain/snow with the inner fenders loose the horns probably got wet, and if they condensation repeatedly that will also do them in. Sometimes they just wear out, but usually it's moisture related. That said, when you are in there see if you can ascertain if they were getting wet and if you can do anything about it.

Alright, I wasn't able to get the car up on stands today, but I was able to get the high note going again. Apparently Autozone just sold me a blown fuse (was NIB ). Anyways, I just swapped it with the Flash To Pass fuse and all was well. Will try to get it up on the stands next weekend to check the low note. The low note is on the drivers side, correct?

matt270avian wrote:

Alright, I wasn't able to get the car up on stands today, but I was able to get the high note going again. Apparently Autozone just sold me a blown fuse (was NIB ). Anyways, I just swapped it with the Flash To Pass fuse and all was well. Will try to get it up on the stands next weekend to check the low note. The low note is on the drivers side, correct?

I don't remember if the lo is on pass or drivers side... you really need to inspect both.

Albertj

These steering wheels look identical to the steering wheel on my 95 Roadmaster, except the Riviera has the radio controls on the side. The Roadmaster horns are notorious for this problem where the contact in the wheel goes bad and there really is no fix unless you disassemble the airbag and take the switch out. Most Roadmaster owners end up cutting the wires to the horn switch in the steering wheel and putting an ugly button on the dash. Apparently the 96+ airbag modules in the Roadmasters don't cause this problem with pinching the horn switch. I hope the 95 Riviera wheels don't have the same problem as that would be too bad.

I dimly recall someplace on the internet a good repair was posted for that switch. The gist of it was to pull the skin off the airbag assembly and make some sort of small modification. I think the only tricky part was depowering the airbag and making sure to mitigate static. I don't know where that post is.