1982 c10 horn stays on

[chevyman85]

Hi, I got a 1982 lwb c10 that has horn issues. You have to push hard to turn on, and when it does it goes off for only a split second, or it will stay on for good unail battery gets disconnected. I assumed the belville spring, cap, and retainer were dirty so I cleaned the parts up, inspected the spring and rod (which look in great shape) and reinstalled everything. No dice, truck does the same thing all over again. After 5 short bursts of the horn, it decides to stay on all the time. I took back off the cap, retainer, belville spring to see if it's a grounding issue. Got a screwdriver to contact the clock spring rod and the ground plate on steering wheel and the horn stayed on, even after I pulled the screwdriver off! My horn doesn't produce a loud enough sound to begin with, bought the truck as a little project back in October. Just trying to pass the safety inspection!

[bd]

Welcome to the Forum!  The horn relay points maybe burned and sticking.  Clip a test light to B+ and probe the black wire that connects to the 3-prong horn relay under the dash.  The test light should illuminate every time the horn button is pressed and then go out when the horn button is released.  If the test light indicates as described, but the horn continues to sound, tap the relay or unplug it.  If the horn stops blaring by tapping/unplugging the relay, replace the relay.

[chevyman85]

I don't yet have a test light, to test the relay/horn but I am going to get one soon! Might be the relay after all, thanks for your help!

[bd]

Let us know how it turns out and whether you need assistance.

[chevyman85]

Yeah it was the relay sticking. A shot of pb blaster did the trick!