QuestionCan you help me the horn relay on a 66 Ford Fairlane? The horm works on this car when 12 volts are applied to it, but it is barely audible when the horn button is pushed. I'm pretty sure the relay is bad, but I simply can't find it. Can you give me a hand?
AnswerI agree, either the relay has failed, or there is a very poor connection at the relay. In either case, you have to find the relay to trouble-shoot!
The relay will be a black, metal can, rectangular in cross section, about 2 inches by 1 inch, and about 1 1/2 inches high. It will have 3 wires going to it. It will be mounted somewhere near the radiator, but to the side of the radiator, either on the metal panel that goes across the car and holds the radiator, or on the front of the inner fender. I'm not certain which side of the car, but typically, they are on the driver's side, so start looking in the engine compartment, but just behind the driver's side headlight.
The other way to find it is to follow the wires from the horns - they come directly from the relay "H" terminal - usually the wire from the further away horn goes to the other horn, then continues on back to the relay.
When you find the relay, before you discard it, make very sure that it is well grounded, by making sure that there is no accumulation of rust or dirt on its mounting surface or the screws that hold it in place. All of that has to be clean, bright, shiny, bare metal to properly ground the relay, or it will not work right. In a 40 year old car, it is typical for all the grounds to begin failing - so check that before you spend any money on the problem.
I hope this is helful,
Dick
