Horn

[russellm72]

Hi,

I am trying to fix the horn on my 1997 1.8SE Passat estate. It has never worked since i bought it off my step brother.

I have the Haynes manual and located the correct fuse but it seems to be Ok. I then read one has to remove the bumper to gain access to the horn(s). Is this really the case? it seems a bit dramatic. The manual says locate four screws that attach the bumper to the wheel arches after lifting the bonnet. I had a look but they certainly aren't easy to locate well in my case not at all.

Can anyone offer me advice on solving the problem with the horns. I wanted just to check across the horn terminals with a multimeter when the switch was pushed. Then I'd know if the problem lay with the horn itself or the switch.

Thanks in advance

Russell.

[njek]

I have the same kinda problem here... Horn not working, fuse OK, now wanting to get at the horns themselves.

I can't believe VW have made is so hard to get at certain things on the Passat...still can't get my head around removing the bumper to get at the headlight bulbs, but that's another story!!!

Read another thread saying bolt in some new horns and re-route the existing wiring to those new horns, but it's still a case of getting to the existing wiring!

Any advice out there?

[snapdragon]

Taking the bumper cover off is easy once you have done it once, the screws in the wheelarch liner are torx. The haynes manual is quite accurate for this job.

[angus]

Might be a bit off-topic but many years ago had a (brand new) Sierra with a horn that wouldn`t stop going off.
After getting the horn and wiring changed it still went off when it wanted, turned out the horn was live all the time and pressing the button earths the thing, completing the circuit.
Don`t know if this is still the case, but might explain why the fuse is O.K

Needed a new steering wheel to fix it.

[russellm72]

I found the horn was working OK just that I wasn't pushing the wheel enough to operate it lol.

Easy job ...................

[njek]

Thanks for the replies

What I find strange is that the horn hasn't worked since I bought the car (from a dealer), and they had the car MOT'd the day before I picked it up...you'd have thought a dodgy horn would've been picked up by the MOT place, hence why I thought it'd be the fuse at fault...

Oh well...I suppose I'm gonna have to whip off the bumper then...

EDIT - A wise old man once told me 'If in doubt, give it a clout!'. Took his advice this afternoon, and gave the steering wheel a good whack. Surprise surprise, the horn sounded Kept on whacking, and horn kept on sounding...eventually have got to the position where pressing pretty much always makes it sound...

Therefore, I'm guessing that either the switch needs a bit of working in, or perhaps it needs changing completely? What would be the damage to my wallet? It's the Multi Function Steering Wheel, so I'm guessing it'd be quite pricey?

[VWFANNN]

Hi
Did you eventualy repair the horn?
I have a passat 2002 and the horns not working.
Managed to pull the grill in front of each horn which clicked out quite easy.
Checked each horn but they were ok, depressed the steering wheel and check the horn connection voltage which was zero.
Checked the fuse and that was fine.
I think it could be the steering wheel switch or the relay, if so how do I access them?

Cheers
Jim

[njek]

I never bothered repairing/replacing the horn, as it seemed to right itself after a few good clouts on the bottom of the steering wheel! It still takes some effort to sound the horn, but its ok once you get used to it. Having owned the car for 2 years now, I am used to thinking and giving a hard push when I want the horn to sound, rather than just giving it a soft push.