The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

So my girlfriend's car needs repair so I loan her my 1998 daily driver Maxima.

She is on her way to work and gets on the freeway and the horn starts to honk and won't shut off. She freaks out, turns around and goes back home to disconnect the battery.

After waiting 5 minutes, she re-connected the battery and the horn is still honking. She disconnected the battery again.

Where do I start? I have some ideas but wanted to hear what you guys think too. Thank you.

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

Mine did this a number of years ago sitting in a parking lot ... attempted to unlock the car with the fob and horn went off and continued until I disconnected the horn e-connectors.

It turned out to be another one of those odd and unexpected interactions between the alarm system and a failure in the charging system.

A failed/failing battery turned out to the culprit in my case, the replacement of which addressed the issue.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

Thanks Turbo.
I've seen weird things happen when you have a weak battery and the car is off, but never when the car is running! Not that it's relevant, but a new battery was installed a few weeks ago.

My OEM alarm has been disabled as I have a Viper alarm system.

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

The only other thing I can think of might be the clock-spring.

Or a malfunction associated with the aftermarket alarm

Are any dash lights illuminated?

Rit

iTrader: (3)

Or...by any chance is she well endowed, and may have the seat too far forward ? Ask her to try reclining the seat back a little.

LOL

CS_AR

Every once in a while, the 99 SE will have a false alarm episode. We don't use the key fob because the keyring part of the fob is broken. I should get a new one.

To get it to shut off, we unlock and relock using the driver door key.

If this is a continual horn honk, without looking, there is a horn relay and fuse under the hood. I would look to disconnect relay and try another relay from another Nissan to see what happens. Then disconnect the fuse until you figure out the issue. I once had to replace a horn relay on the Q. It was a common Nissan relay to replace it.

No SRS lights or cruise control problems that would point to a bad clock spring?

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

Wiz,

Do all of the features controlled by your multi-function (aka stalk) switches work?

If not, this would also indicate a failed clock spring.

ChrisMan287

iTrader: (34)

Clock spring failure?


Pull the horn fuse till it's sorted out.

komik

I haven't fixed mine yet, but my problem is definitely in the steering wheel. It started honking almost non-stop on the way home from work one day. I found that if I applied slight pressure on the center of the steering wheel, the honking would stop. If I let go it would honk. If I pressed hard it would honk. But somewhere in between was just right. This was quite tricky to do in a stickshift in Dallas rush hour traffic, so I still honked quite a bit before I made it home. Of course as soon as I pulled into the parking garage it stopped on its own.

I pulled the fuse and both relays to postpone the repair, but I have yet to take the time to remove the airbag to investigate.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

No dash lights are on.

Wiseguy.

No SRS lights or cruise issues. Car runs great otherwise.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

So the horn is on the same circuit as the turn signals and fog lights? Is this what you're suggesting? Thanks.

Could be. For the time being, we found that by pulling the relay labeled "Horn 1" stopped the continous honking.

My hunch was either a bad relay or some animal slept in the engine bay the night before and chewed on some wires.

I'll start by swapping relays from another Maxima of mine.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

Good to know. Thanks for sharing your story. When I searched the org, this type of problem is non-existent.

lux97Max

iTrader: (24)

id check the 2 torx bolts on each side of the steering wheel make sure there tight.

maxprivate

iTrader: (12)

Stuck relay or could be the clock spring. This happened to me years ago, the horn would go off sporadically or not at all. Replacing the clock spring solved the problem.

JoshG

This is an odd issue.. lol, maybe tell your girlfriend to stop using the horn so much and stop doing road rage often? :P in all seriousness probably either relay or spring.

CS_AR

I know that varmints do love the taste of Nissan VH45DE knock sensor wiring harness.

Would you call this hanging by a thread?

Turbobink

iTrader: (2)

This I am not certain of ... in the Maxima.

But my experience with clock spring failures in other vehicles have also included malfunctions in systems related to the horn, air bag, cruise control and other functions controlled via the multifunction switches.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

No.

The horn shares fuse # 64 (under the hood) with the cruise control and the Nissan security system.

Turn signals are fuse # 14 (in the dash) and is not shared with anything else.

The fog lights are powered by fuse # 63 (under the hood) and is not shared with anything else.

jdreid13

Did you ever manage to fix the issue, because mine does quite the same thing.

jdreid13

How were you able to resolve your issue, was it simply a battery issue?

RealityCheck

Also a possibility: the metal frame on the center piece of the steering wheel is constantly touching? Assuming you press the middle and don't have separate buttons.

jdreid13

Have you run into this problem before? And are you referring to the center spindle that has a nut onto it or is it the back of the steering wheel airbag?

KP11520

Just maybe, the positive side is always engaged and the button/switch in the steering wheel connects the negative when you push. That means the wire can short out anywhere along the path between the steering wheel and horn.

Just a hunch.

Disconnect the negative lead at the horn and connect your continuity tester in the plug/connector and the other side to a major ground. That will confirm or negate the possibility of a short if the negative side completes the circuit..

Or disconnect the connector from the negative and run a jumper wire from the negative lug on the horn to the engine ground and see if that is how the circuit power completes.

Otherwise, first place to dissect is in your steering wheel applying the probability logic ladder.

Hope this helps!

komik

Not yet. Haven't tried. Weekends have been cold / rainy / other lazy excuse. Tomorrow is looking like a good day though.

komik

Today I pulled the airbag and these plastic nubs tumbled out of the steering wheel.




They are part of larger pieces that attach to the ends of the vertical bars to isolate them from the studs. Circled in green you can see where there is still some plastic behind the head of the studs. Circled in red there is not.




Normally, pressing on the center of the steering wheel moves these vertical bars inward until two round (copper?) contact points meet, completing the circuit, and activating the horn. There are springs on the back side of the bars that push them out, resting against the plastic spacer. However, with the plastic gone the bars move too far outward, contact the heads of the studs, and complete the circuit that way.





As a temporary fix I stuck o-rings over the two top studs to replace the plastic spacer. A short road test has my horn operating normally again. There is still a possibility for unwanted honking if the bars were to move far enough laterally to contact the studs on the inside of the holes they pass through, but I will hope for now that doesn't happen.

KP11520

This is a VERY useful post!!! Something tells me this is going to be happening more on our 4th Gens more often. Plastic is most likely at the end of its life span.

Thank you!

komik

I couldn't find any loctite around the house yesterday, so I picked up some today to resecure the airbag bolts. I also used RTV (black because that's what I had open already) to reattach the plastic pieces. It should help them stay put but allow easy removal later if need be.

Here you can more clearly see the o-ring I installed:

CS_AR

Hey Komik. Thanks for the great information! This is a keeper thread for sure.

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

just curious if it wouldn't have been easier to just get replacement grommets? i mean, i'm sure they probably still make them, if not then i guess this would be your other choice.

komik

I can't find that part individually and only vaguely see it drawn as part of the steering wheel.

Courtesy shows every steering wheel part discontinued except for the retaining nut.
http://www.courtesyparts.com/auto-pa...-and-trim-scat

Nissan Parts Deal also has the nut plus a bolt, the air bag, or a whole steering wheel for $760. All other parts are discontinued.
https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/part...ing-wheel.html

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

what a shock, one of the most key parts of the steering wheel and they no longer make it. one of the easiest parts to replace/make and cheapest, i guess nissan couldn't make a profit on these so they stopped making them.

komik

At the junkyard today I came across a '96 that looked like a new arrival. The interior had bunch of clothes and junk scattered about but appeared to be pretty complete and untouched. Odometer showed a mere 166k. I pulled the airbag and was excited to see four white plastic pieces still together. I got the left side out no problem. As soon as I began to turn the bolt on the right side, the plastic broke. I then picked up the left side to walk away, but the plastic crumbled in my hand. I do have two spare airbag bolts now though.

Helios

dude you’re actually the best ive been having this issue with my 5th gen for a while now and you solved my problem! Thank you!