Every car comes with a horn that drivers use to alert pedestrians and other drivers on the road. Unfortunately, the horn may not always work, which can make it dangerous for you to drive your car.
If your Ford Focus’s horn stops working, you may be wondering how you can fix it. I did the research, and here is what I learned!
Ford Focus Horn Not Working (Try These 9 Fixes)
1. Bad Relay
A common reason why the horn in your Ford Focus is not working is that you have a bad relay.
Generally, relays are electronically operated switches that turn electrical loads off and on in your car.
As for your car horn relay, it controls the power that goes to your car’s horn, so a bad relay would not give power to the horn and keep it from making sounds.
Firstly, locate your car horn relay for your Ford Focus model, which you can find on your car manual, but it is normally on the left side of the steering wheel or in the engine compartment.
Next, disconnect the car battery then see if there is any damage on the relay. If so, it is best to replace the relay entirely.
2. Faulty Fuse
Another common cause of why your Ford Focus horn stopped working is that your fuse is faulty.
Typically, fuses serve to protect the wire and device that they are attached to since fuses are meant to “blow” when there is a short-circuit or overcurrent.
When the fuse goes bad, the device attached to the wires of the fuse will often stop working as well, such as your car horn.
To fix this problem, look at your Ford Focus’s manual to find out exactly where the fuse for the car horn is.
Once you find the fuse, pull out the damaged fuse and replace it with a new fuse that has the specified amp rating on the Ford Focus’s manual.
3. Bad Connector Or Wire
Since small particles and grime can build up in your car horn’s system, it can lead to corrosion on your connectors that cause poor conductivity.
Before you check your connectors, disconnect your car’s battery and assess the damage of the car horn wires.
Occasionally, rubbing some WD-40 with a clean and dry cloth on the connectors can fix your car horn, but if there is visible damage on your connectors you will need to replace them.
4. Clogged Or Damaged Horn
Occasionally, the horn of your car can get clogged, which will block the airflow within the horn to keep it from making any noise.
If your horn is clogged, you can push down on your horn multiple times to try removing the blockage.
Alternately, you can move your steering wheel around to dislodge the blockage. However, you may need to replace the horn if these methods do not work.
5. Low Air Pressure
If you happen to have an air pressure horn, low air pressure may be why your Ford focus horn does not work or sounds weak.
Air pressure horns work whenever air pressure is applied because the air compresses within the horn to make a noise.
However, the air pressure can get weak, which will have various causes including a leak, debris and dirt build up, etc.
Typically, it would be best to have a mechanic check the air pressure in your car horn since it is not an easy fix to replace tubes that have a leak.
As for dirt and debris buildup, you can clean out the tubes within the car’s air horn or have a mechanic do it for you.
6. Damaged Horn Button Switch
If you recently got into an accident, such as a collision, there is a good chance that your horn button switch got damaged.
Ideally, you need to have the horn button switch replaced by a mechanic since you usually do not have horn button switches repaired.
7. Stuck Horn Switch
Occasionally, the horn switch in your car may not be broken, but it can get jammed, which will either keep honking or you cannot press the horn to use it.
Firstly, if your horn will not stop honking, you should disconnect your car’s battery to stop the noise, and in some cases disconnecting the battery can reset your car horn.
However, if that does not work, you need to push your car horn button roughly multiple times to try releasing the horn switch.
Additionally, you can try moving your steering wheel from side to side. If none of these fixes work, you will need to call a mechanic to dislodge your horn switch.
8. Faulty Clockspring
Generally, there is a clockspring in your car’s steering wheel that lets you turn your car while creating a connection between the buttons on your steering wheel like your car horn.
Usually, you will know you have a faulty clockspring if there are other issues, such as your airbag warning light appearing on your dashboard.
Typically, it is not recommended to fix a clockspring, so you need to replace your the clockspring.
9. Ignition Is Off
In some cars, the car horn will not work whenever the ignition is off because there is no power. As such, a simple solution is to turn on your car and use your horn.
To know more, you can also read our posts on Ford Sync master reset not working, Ford Focus AC not working, and Ford Fiesta horn not working.
Conclusion
Horns are an important safety feature needed in every car to warn people on the road, but the horn may not always work.
If your Ford Focus’s horn does not work, it could mean that you have a damaged fuse, clockspring, horn switch, or more.