My 1990 Cherokee's horn was flaky for a bit - it would work, and then it would all of a sudden short out the whole system, making the voltmeter go towards 0 and killing the radio etc; this went on for a while, then I got it to a mechanic who said he replaced the horn switch...; It worked again for about three honks, and has since been shorting out every time.

Could this be a relay issue? Or a loose wire on the horn itself? Or something completely different?

I have a Chilton manual (#40602) but I can't find any mention of the horn in there - where is it and how do I get to it?

 

the horns are in the front fenders. it sounds to me, like the power feed from the horn button(switch as you called it) to the horn itself is grounding out some where. I would probably start chasing wires, after i disconnected the horn to see if the problem still exists when you press the horn button

 

Do as stated above and if that doesn't work replace the relay. It's a 3 prong white one tucked above the fuse box it's about 1 1/2" to 2" long.

My horn worked intermittently for a year then would only work (without me pressing it) when making sharp right turns. Then it stopped working but I could hear the relay click, just recently decide to replace it bam horn works like a champ.

 

Gotta check in steering wheel buton powers there constant

 

Okay, guys, I appreciate your inputs - found and disconnected the horn, still shorting. Since the wire goes through that whole big whatchamacallit I decided to just run a new one from the relay to the horn.

However, I did the WRONG wire the first time (I know, this is why I like it when I can afford a mechanic! ), and when I turned the ignition, the voltmeter was stuck at a low spot, but it started... then there was smoke coming up from somewhere - MAYBE from around the engine compartment relay block, or the distributor coil...? I disconnected battery immediately, rewired the horn right, and now everything seems to be working fine, BUT...

what might have been smoking? What might have gone bad without me noticing it yet? Any layout of the relays in the engine compartment available? Just wondering if something *almost* got fried and will cause me a surprise stop at the side of some road somewhere...

 

Check these wire there fusable links see if any melted...