Hi all. We have a 2001 F150 Supercrew (5.4L, automatic, 2 wheel drive) and the horn has been out for a few months. The only thing I can think of is that a few months ago we had a lot rain and thanks to the leaky 3rd brake lite, we got moisture into the cabin. The inside of the windshield would have condensation on it and we got a musty smell inside so we did our best to seal around the light. Not sure if it is related but a short time after that we noticed that the horn didn't work. The doesn't work with the key in the ignition or not, and doesn't work whether we push on the steering wheel horn, or whether we push the lock/unlock button on the key FOB. Finally got some time off during the day to do some troubleshooting. First thing I checked is the fuse, which was bad. Replaced the fuse and now we get a muffled sound, not the beep of a horn. Just to be sure we swapped the horn relay and got the same results. My guess is the horn must be the problem but since I believe this model has both a low and high tone horn, I'm trying to figure out why both horns would go bad? Any suggestions?

 

Easy test of the Horns themselves is just to take a long test lead and remove the Horn wire/connectors and test the horn terminal on over to the battery positive.
If the sound/s are spec, replace the connector,, and if you have DVOM (?) back probe the Horn connectors and ground the other test lead. Have a helper honk the horn as you read the voltage. If the voltage falls off significantly, then proceed backwards.
Could be a voltage drop out from the horn relay (in the Battery junction box), ground, hardware etc.
Being the security isn’t triggering the horn either, doubt its in the sliding contact in the column or the horn button.. If the relay is suspect, you can try swapping it with another..
Depending on what you find during the test noted or relay check, we can give you some check points..

 

Thanks, I already swapped out the relay with another one of the same specs from the fuse-box and no difference. Gonna try and find a long enough lead to put the 12 volts right to the horn terminal as you suggested. Little hard for me at my age and with lousy vision to get down under the front of the truck and look for the horn but 'you gotta do what you gotta do'. Glad to hear it probably isn't the clock spring in the steering wheel. I will keep you posted

 

The way and where Ford managed to hide those horns is unbelievable. I don't quite remember how much stuff I had to remove to get to them and all it was , was the ground where the horns were mounted. If you have difficulty finding them , let us know.