Horn relay, and is there a spare relay in the cluster

[helen&tony]

Hi
Probably a coincidence, but after having done some wiring , where I dutifully disconnected the battery (I'm not usually that careful)....the horn doesn't work...oh (******) I exclaimed. Yesterday I listened for the relay, and it clicked, and as I have fitted after-market horns, I presumed that the relay that came with the kit was duff (I just took the wire to the horn to the new relay , so it actually went through 2 relays). This morning , I checked the feed to the old horn where it is now attached to the new relay, and not remembering whether the wire to the horn was switched live, I later tried earthing it...nothing...then put the wire to the battery, new relay clicked and horns worked.
Now...my question is, if I pull the horn relay out, is there a spare relay I could replace it with?, as Mazda have a lot of wiring in for unused options....failing that, I'll run a new wire from the horn push....does anyone know the colour of the wire which supplies live feed from the horn, as it comes from the steering column, and where best to locate it?
Thanks in advance
Cheers
Helen

[g8dhe]

See this thread, but be warned it looks like the colours and connecting plugs vary more than is indicated in the diagrams!

[helen&tony]

Hi Geoff
thanks for that....not what I wanted to hear!...it looks like the horn push is just from the earth side of the relay...I was hoping for a live feed there, somewhere. Mind you, if I rewired the aftermarket relay??
I don't suppose you know whether there is a spare relay under the bonnet which I could swap with the original horn relay?
Cheers
Helen

[Bored Lizard]

Helen,
I doubt it is the relay at fault, have just spent 3 hours getting my horn to work again!
Fuse tested OK
button tested OK
relay tested OK
horn tested OK
button pressed relay clicked
12v at the horn when button pressed, no horn !!!!!
finaly traced to 12v feed to the relay switched line gone resistive so not enough current flowing to the horn.
new feed direct from battery and horn now working OK
hope this helps, I am a sparky by trade and this had me scratching my head for quite a long time

Cheers
Mark

[helen&tony]

Hi
Thanks, I'll try that out tomorrow...but the relay does click making the same sound as a horn that clicks but doesn't quite work....so I'll be out tomorrow with bits of wire and a meter
Cheers
Helen

[Bored Lizard]

Yep,
mine clicked, gave 12v at the horn but not enough current!
I ran a new wire direct from the battery to the switched 12v supply direct to the relay as a temporary measure.
This is the front right contact on the relay if you are standing in front of the van looking at the relay.
hope this helps, let me know if not as I whent through a number of options, bad earth etc before I found the solution.
As I said earlier am a sparky by trade, but also work in the caravan, motorhome industry and had me realy scratching my head
But now all fixed, I will run a new wire from the fuse at some point, all other things on this fuse worked OK, all due to amount of current needed to run the horn.
Still all fixed now
Good luck tommorow

Cheers
Mark

[helen&tony]

Hi Mark
I thank you for your assistance, and offer of further help. I will have to try this in a couple of days, as I am seriously ill today..I've been coughing badly for days & spent last night coughing, and spitting blood ...there's a hugely serious infection over here, and the lady nearby has got pneumonia from it, and is on multi injections daily, and tablets...we hope our friend doesn't get bad, as he's had replacement heart valves, and told that he mustn't cough, or it's the hospital
So....I'll tackle the job in a couple of days, and let you know the result...but I am confident of your diagnosis
Many thanks
Helen

[helen&tony]

Hi Mark
I looked at that horn problem this morning...and you were pretty much there!...horn now works...essential over here to wake the beggars up
I've PMd you
Cheers
Helen

[tricky2020]

All very helpful, but where is the horn relay?
Mine isnt even clicking so I need to locate it.

Many thanks Rich

[helen&tony]

Hi
The horn relay is located as follows: Looking at the front of the Bongo , the battery is on the left. At the front of the battery, look straight downwards, and you will see two oblong boxes side-by -side. They appear about 4" x 1 1/4 ". The rear one holds the horn relay. The lid of the box has a BLACK release tab either end...don't release the larger release tab on the left, as it is for the base that the relays sit in. Perhaps swapping the relays round will help you locate which one is duff, but it is more likely wiring.
Good Luck
Cheers
Helen

[tricky2020]

Thanks,
found it and it tested ok. The fault was no power from the fuse to the relay. So I ran in a new feed from the battery ( with an in line fuse) to the base of the relay unit, took out the original fuse( just in case) and hey presto Horn now works!!
Looks like a lot of jigerry pokerry going on behind my dash with the electrics so I think a previous owner has had some fun there!!

Anyway all ok now so I can parrp parrp again, Thanks.