95GreenGLE

ok.. my horn doesnt work n my 95gle. the fuses are all fine, the relays are all in, there is power to the fuse in the fuse box, but i think there is a short in the wire from the fusebox under the hood to the horn. anyone know an easy way to replace the wire or to run a new one or anything else i can check? thanks
-Nick

Daniel B. Martin

A short circuit would have blown a fuse. If your fuses are still good, you don't have a short.

1) Locate the horn relay in relay box #2, just in front of the battery. It is black and smaller than the other relays. Remove the horn relay.

2) Use a meter to verify that relay socket #2 has +12 volts at all times. If it does not, check fuse 64, a 10 amp fuse located in the narrow fuse-and-link box adjacent to the battery.

3) Use a meter to verify that relay socket #1 has continuity to ground when the steering wheel horn switch is pressed, and no connection when not pressed.

If steps 2 and 3 (above) check out, use a jumper wire to momentarily connect relay sockets 2 and 3. The horns should sound. If no sound, there is an open circuit in the green wire which leads from relay socket 3 to the horns, or the horns themselves are bad.

95GreenGLE

ok, did that. all 3 of the relay sockets were working as they were supposed to, and i tested the horn and that is good. I patched into the bottom of the relay bok and ran a new wire to the horn (from the socket that only has power when the horn is pressed) and now every time i press the horn the fuse blows, instantly, did i do something wrong again?

Daniel B. Martin

If the horn sounded when you used the jumper wire, the existing wire from the relay socket to the horns was good. There was no reason to install a new one.

Before you installed the new wire to the horn you had no blown fuses. Now you do. Something you did has caused a short circuit. Maybe the new wire has a short circuit. Maybe you disturbed something when you patched in to the bottom of the relay box. I guess the next step is to remove that new wire and see what symptoms remain. If you have a buddy who drives a Nissan, test your horn relay by plugging it into his car. I think all recent Nissans use the same relay, so it wouldn't have to be a Maxima.

Maxima97GLE

I'm not trying to be a d*** but... did u check to see if the wire to the horn is still plugged in? i found mine popped out once.

95GreenGLE

sorry, i meant to say that everything checked out meaning the one that has the +12v constant checked out, the constant ground checked out, and when i press the wheel, the 3rd socked checked out but when i jump it, there was no noise. so i ran the new wire, and now all i do is blow fuses.

Daniel B. Martin

The "no noise" you observed with the jumper meant
- bad horns
- open circuit between relay socket and horns

Evidently this new wire has caused more harm than good. Please remove it. Let's hope the fuse-blowing problem goes away. Then you can resume troubleshooting.

95GreenGLE

horn is good, i checked that out before i ran the wire by hooking it up to the battery (when i touch a wire from the lead on the horn to the battery, it works) , so it wasnt the horn, it was an open circuit between the relay and the horn. but a new wire did not fix it, what do i do now? besides try another relay

Daniel B. Martin

Let's accept the premise that you have correctly diagnosed the problem as an open circuit in the wire from the relay to the horn. In that case running a new wire from the horn relay to the horn is the right "fix". Somehow, your first attempt to run the new wire was unsuccessful. Try again, double-checking your work at every stage.

You might connect just one horn, and then the other horn. This isolation might point you to a defective horn, one which has an intermittent internal short circuit.

This is a strange problem and your frustration is understandable. Keep plugging away; you will solve it.