Horn replacement

[8t8olds]

Hopefully someone can help me out here. This is for a Gbody 88 Olds Cutlass. I hope my horn set-up is similar to that of the Regals/GN's.

My stock horns gave out. I purchased new replacements from RockAuto. Supposedly, they are stock replacements. Long story short, the new horns have different connecting points. Each new horn has two wires.

The stock horns were connected to a green wire. This green wire stems from the steering wheel area.

How do I know which wires from the new horns are supposed to be connected to the green harness wire?

Below is a picture of the new horns. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[No disintegrations]

They're not polarity sensitive . The power or ground can be either wire. As a test strip the ends and touch it to the red and black battery terminals.

 

[8t8olds]

Thanks. The test was successful. Horns work only when connected to the battery. I tested the green wire, and with some tips from 87geeinn, I determined that there is no voltage coming out of the green wire. I'm not sure what the issue is.....

 

[TurboTGuy]

Are you pressing the horn button when testing the green wire? Just a thought.

 

[8t8olds]

Good question. I am. I have some garden sheers that allow me to rest the handles on the headrest, while the tip of the sheers press on the horn button. Not the best way to do things, but it works.

Is there another way to test this green wire without the use of a multimeter? Also, how can one test the horn relay?

As a note, every time I press on the steering wheel horn button, I can hear this "clicking" sound. Is that good? Bad?

 

[RmvBfrFlght]

As a note, every time I press on the steering wheel horn button, I can hear this "clicking" sound. Is that good? Bad?

That is the horn relay clicking. That will help track down it's location for testing.

RemoveBeforeFlight

 

[8t8olds]

I think I've located it. It's white in color, and it's located in a hard to reach area to the left of the steering wheel. I've tried to slide my hand in, but there are too many wires and other objects in the way. Bummer. I want to say that the relay is good since it continues to click when I press on the horn button. However, I've heard that a relay can click and still be bad. Bummer #2.

 

[RmvBfrFlght]

However, I've heard that a relay can click and still be bad.

That is correct as the contacts can be bad. Note that the horn wire from the relay goes to the bulkhead connector then right to the horns. So unless the wire has been cut somewhere along the way, it is either the horn relay is bad or the terminals in the bulkhead connector are bad. My guess would be the relay.

RemoveBeforeFlight

 

[8t8olds]

I'm back with an update. I was able to remove the horn relay. I replaced it and tested the voltage being supplied to the horns. The green wire now has 12.5ish volts when the horn button on the steering wheel is pressed.

A quick connection of the power and ground wires yielded a strong deep sounding horn.

As a note, each horn has two wires. One wire from each horn was connected to the green power wire, while the remaining wires were connected to the same frame bolt. I hope this doesn't create an electrical problem.

The task now is to bolt these alleged OEM replacement horns to their existing location. The hardware supplied differs from the OEM hardware, but I think I can make it work.

Thanks all for the help.

If anyone cares, the horns and relay were purchased from RockAuto.