Denali soundbomb failed

stevekdavis · Jun 17, 2018

I wired in a Denali soundbomb a few weeks back to a 2016 GSA. All was working fine until a few days into the trip when it packed up.

I’m using the Denali pigtail to oem horn connector to the Denali official wiring loom.

When I press the horn button I can hear the relay click but no sound.

Using a meter I can see the relay still has a permanent 12v positive and earth and when the horn is pressed I can see 12v go to the switched circuit. At the horn end though I can only see 8v. I think this is the issue. The cable run is possibly an issue, maybe heat or friction had damaged it.

Before I rip out the wiring loom can someone with this arrangement check what voltage comes across the horn end connectors? I assume it will be 12v but if it’s 8 then it could be my horn unit itself that’s packed up.

Thanks

Steve

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Mr Bean · Jun 17, 2018

I thought the idea of the relay was to provide 12v at a higher current than may be good for the switch? If you are only seeing an 8v output I can't think of a reason other than a duff relay.

Happy to check tomorrow.

stevekdavis · Jun 17, 2018

Mr Bean said:
I thought the idea of the relay was to provide 12v at a higher current than may be good for the switch? If you are only seeing an 8v output I can't think of a reason other than a duff relay.

Happy to check tomorrow.

Pretty sure I’m measuring it right but I think I’m getting 12v out from the relay, that only goes live when the horn button is pressed, so it seems there’s 12v at one end of the cable to the horn but only 8v at the other end.

Would appreciate if you can check.

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harry the cat · Jun 17, 2018

Probably the detonator

fred_jb · Jun 17, 2018

If you are dropping 4V in the cable run from the relay to the horn, then you must have developed some resistance in the cable or connectors along the way. If you can get someone to hold the horn button down you could check for hot spots which might reveal where the high resistance is located, though be careful not to set the thing on fire!

This is why I always recommend that you fit an aftermarket horn as an addition to the stock one rather than as a replacement - two horns are even louder and you have redundancy in the event that one of them fails. Just means you have to be a bit creative on finding a location for the extra horn.

Fred

Andi_archer · Jun 17, 2018

Run a temporary lead from the 12v output of the relay to the horn and see if it sounds this will show if the issue is the cable.

Chicken · Jun 17, 2018

Are you taking the reading with the Soundbomb connected or disconnected ?

stevekdavis · Jun 17, 2018

Chicken said:
Are you taking the reading with the Soundbomb connected or disconnected ?

Disconnected. Pulled the connectors off the base and ran the meter across them with the horn button pressed.

I’m tempted to briefly touch 12v directly to the horn and earth to confirm the unit works.

Also the idea of testing with a new feed from the relay to horn temporarily is a good one.

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snaponphil · Jun 18, 2018

All testing should be done whilst connected, good idea to test the horn itself with a couple of wires direct from battery, if it doesn’t work that’s a faulty unit..
I’m guessing a bad earth tho, or a poor live connection assuming you’ve wired it correctly

hatzyian · Jun 18, 2018

I'd just fitted a stebel horn. All worked great to start then nothing. I then spent an hour checking the supply from the battery etc. Still nothing.

Then I checked the earth point on the chassis.......... :rob

Mr Bean · Jun 18, 2018

Did you run it through a relay?

stevekdavis · Jun 20, 2018

Mr Bean said:
Did you run it through a relay?

Yes.

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stevekdavis · Jun 20, 2018

hatzyian said:
I'd just fitted a stebel horn. All worked great to start then nothing. I then spent an hour checking the supply from the battery etc. Still nothing.

Then I checked the earth point on the chassis..........

Where have you taken the earth from to get it working again?

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hatzyian · Jun 21, 2018

stevekdavis said:
Where have you taken the earth from to get it working again?

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I took the earth from where the horn mounting bracket is fixed to the frame, ie where the long bolt goes through for the instrument cluster bracket. The lead was tight, but I loosened it off slightly, wiggled it about and retightened it.

Been fine since.

Denali soundbomb failed

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