QuestionI own a 1957 Chevrolet 210. I installed a new horn relay, had my original steering wheel painted and installed of course the steering wheel inside has no paint on it so connection is fine, wire connections look fine to the horn, but when I toot my horn all I here is a faint honk. I connected the horn to the battery direct and it honked loud any thoughts on repair. Does the horn relay need to be grounded some how? I can here it trying to honk the relay is clicking on as well.
AnswerMost likely there is a wiring problem. The horn relay has 3 terminals, as you know. The H terminal goes out to the horns, the S terminal goes to the wire from the horn button, and the B terminal goes to 12 volts. The horn relay itself must be securely grounded by the mounting screws to the chassis or body ground. If you have done all that correctly and the horn still won't work from the horn button, troubleshoot as follows:
1. Momentarily short between the H and B terminals - that should sound the horn (apparently this is OK, as you've already run 12 volts directly to the horns, and they work, but double check the way I suggest to verify that your "B" connection is good.
2. Disconnect the "H" wire from the relay and have a helper tap the horn button while you listen to the relay, you should hear a definite click from the relay. If you don't, go to step 3.
3. Momentarily ground the S terminal at the relay - now you should hear the relay click. If you still don't, you may have a bad relay. If you do hear it click, the wire from the steering column or horn button isn't making good enough contact.
If the relay clicks, the horn should blow when it is hooked up (of course the horns must be well grounded too). If the horn still doesn't blow when the relay clicks, the relay is bad.
I hope this is of some help.
Dick
