I have a 1997 Toyota 4-Runner. Recently I hydroplaned into a ditch and it deployed my airbags. (For the time being I do not wish to replace the airbags) After the crash the horn continually honked so I pulled the fuse. My question is what do I need to do to get the horn working properly again? I have the Chilton’s Repair manual for the car and have searched all through the book and cant find the answer.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The problem is likely in the steering wheel and you are going to do a lot of the work getting to it that you will do or pay to have done when you get that air bag fixed. I would plan on getting that air bag fixed even if you don’t so the others.
To fix it means opening things up and finding the short or it may be the horn switch which likely requires a lot of the same work as well. Unless you want to pay twice for some of that work, I would have the air bag fixed now as well.
Well I don’t want to replace the airbags. I just want to get the horn fixed so the car can pass inspection.
Any seatbelts that were used during the crash likely also have to be replaced. (They stretch once during the crash, and then won’t stretch correctly the next time you are in a wreck.)
You’ll need to remove the now-deployed air bag. The air bag bolts to the steering wheel from the back side. There should be two or four plugs that cover the bolts. Remove the bolts and the air bag can be removed and unplugged. Then, you should see the horn mechanism. On some cars, the airbag bolts to a spring loaded carrier that has the horn contacts on the backside. This is so when you press on the airbag, the contacts connect to honk the horn.
Maybe when the airbag went off, the carrier got jammed to the back, and the contacts are stuck together. Air bags can deploy with more force than a shotgun.