My horn does not work and we checked all of the obvious, fuses, etc. All good. A mechanic said that because we have air bags the repair would be costly and it needed to be done with at an electrical repairshop. Can I buy some kind of replacement horn and by-pass the old horn and wiring so that I can have a working horn so that we can pass inspection? Thanks for your help.
But have you checked the horn itself? My horn stopped working a while back, and I checked all the obvious too, then decided to buy a new horn (about $52), and all is fine
"Good mechanics" are sometimes full of shit.
Well, yeah, you can, if that's the problem.
Here's an easy way to check: remove the horn from the car, connect some wires to the termonals on the horn, and touch the wires to the battery. If either horn blows (there should be two) then the horns are not the problem. Note...wear hearing protection, or at least turn the horns away from you, or you'll be saying "WHAT?!?!" for a week.
And, make sure there are as many cats as close by as possible! ;)
I would find a competent automotive technician who knows something about cars. Diagnosing an inoperative horn is very simple, especially for a competent technician.
The first thing to check when a horn does not work is to see if there is voltage at the horn(s). Some cars have one horn, some have two. The best way to check for voltage at the horn(s) is with a volt meter (can be had for under $35 at Radio Shack), the next best way is with a 12 volt test light (can be had for under $15 at an auto parts store). If there is voltage at the horn(s), then there is no need to check fuses, horn relays, or the horn switch itself because power is getting to the horn. If there is voltage at the horn, then the horn is bad, which is the most likely scenario. If there is no voltage at the horn, then work backwards through the circuit to the power supply.
I recall some early '70s British cars with the horn activated by a stalk on the steering column.
I would be very surprised if the horn is gone only in some positions when turning the steering wheel. I believe that Toyotas with air bags just have a switch, which is connected to a spiral wire along with the airbag and cruise control wiring.
Reminds me of an episode of *M*A*S*H* where they are trying to disarm a bomb, and the instructions say "cut the red wire" so they snip the red wire, and the next step is "but first, cut the blue wire"
BTW, air bags remain energized for a while after the battery is disconnected so include a one minute wait after disconnecting the battery before messing with any air bag. It is not necessary to turn the key to the on position to check the horn, so I would not recommend giving that advice and setting a trouble code when it is not necessary.
On all Toyotas, the horn circuit is live all the time.
The horm ckt is on all the time. Better than European cars! I was sitting in my Volvo one time just getting out, and someone almost backed into it. With the keys in my hand, I had NO HORN!! They stopped about 1/4 inch from the damn car!!!!
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