Yet another AU oddity......

Bushbasher · 22-10-2013, 11:24 PM

Today my missus pulled into the carpark of the local supermarket and happened to nudge the horn as she got out of the car. The horn began blaring and wouldn't stop no matter what she tried. She rang me and I could hear it going in the background but there was nothing I could do to help except tell her to pull the fuse. Before I could tell her where to look some bloke showed up and pulled the battery terminal off. 30 seconds later he put it back on and the horn stayed off so I told her to get the car home and I'd check it out.

When it was home she told me her cruise control wasn't working, it wasn't even coming on on the dash let alone engaging. Hmmmmm. Sure enough the horn wasn't working and when I checked the fuse under the bonnet it was fried. I changed it and tried the horn but it still wouldn't work yet I could hear the relay clicking when I pressed the horn on the wheel so I'm assuming the actual horn behind the grill has had a meltdown.

Now here's the oddity, once I'd changed the horn fuse under the bonnet the CC came back to life; so not only is the CC activation tied to the brake light circuit but the CC as a whole seems to be tied to the horn circuit,..... go figure.

Bushbasher

mik · 23-10-2013, 01:21 AM

Gawd blimey bushy, you have some interesting things happen on your cars old mate lol, I suppose your next avenue might be to borrow the horn off your other car and see how that goes?
don't take this the wrong way, but your making me love my AU ;), good luck with it mate. let us know how you get on.

Bushbasher · 23-10-2013, 08:18 AM

That wagon works hard for a living and is still going strong. These things aren't so much problems,,,, just interesting character traits; just like that lovable, quirky old aunt or uncle we all seem to have, the older they get the stranger they become.

Bushbasher

Ride · 23-10-2013, 08:39 AM

Clockspring. Connects the horn and cruise control functions behind the steering wheel. Replace clockspring, problem solved.

Bushbasher · 23-10-2013, 09:08 AM

Yup, clock spring, that was my first thought too but as soon as I replaced the fuse the CC worked again and all the buttons on the wheel are functioning properly. Once I change the horn under the bonnet I'll know for sure but the horn has been sick for over 2 years so it's no surprise if it has died. Plus the clock spring was changed not 6 months ago.

Bushbasher

**auIILTD** · 23-10-2013, 03:39 PM

Nothing surprises me what you find Bushy! You truly are a pioneer (in a good way).

Actually this does not surprise me. I have heard in the past of a horn not working and it was narrowed down to the CC Unit. If you have a look at page 24-4-25 (under Horn) in the wiring diagrams on this site, you will see that the earth circuit for the horn activation goes through the CC Unit.

Strange but true. Certainly makes sense why and how the two are related.

Cheers
Stu

MAD · 23-10-2013, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by auIILTD

Actually this does not surprise me. I have heard in the past of a horn not working and it was narrowed down to the CC Unit. If you have a look at page 24-4-25 (under Horn) in the wiring diagrams on this site, you will see that the earth circuit for the horn activation goes through the CC Unit.

Strange but true. Certainly makes sense why and how the two are related.

Cheers
Stu

Horn and CC are connected on EF/EL also. I'm sure it was just to reduce the number of wires in the clock-spring.

Mr Hardware · 23-10-2013, 05:22 PM

I can't believe that after 15 years we are still learning new things about the relatively simple AU.

I've had the horn lock-on twice - both times it was fairly humid. Haven't had it for about 5 years though...

**auIILTD** · 23-10-2013, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAD

Horn and CC are connected on EF/EL also. I'm sure it was just to reduce the number of wires in the clock-spring.

EF/EL/AU all share the same CC unit as well.

Stu

MAD · 23-10-2013, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by auIILTD

EF/EL/AU all share the same CC unit as well.

Stu

Are you sure on that?

I Always assumed they were a different unit because EF/EL doesn't have a "set" light on the dash.
I did briefly look in to adding a 'set' light to my car but came to the conclusion that it couldn't be done due to differences between the units.

If they are the same, I will look again at adding a 'set' light.

**auIILTD** · 24-10-2013, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAD

Are you sure on that?

I Always assumed they were a different unit because EF/EL doesn't have a "set" light on the dash.
I did briefly look in to adding a 'set' light to my car but came to the conclusion that it couldn't be done due to differences between the units.

If they are the same, I will look again at adding a 'set' light.

Apologies Bushy for the off topic.

Pretty sure. When I had my NL Lane, I had issues with my CC not working and in my ringing around wreckers etc I was informed that it was the same unit as the AUs. So whilst the information is 3rd hand and I cannot be 100% sure, when you look at the units between at least EL and AU they do look the same. In the end I never had to replace it - the problem was with the master cylinder switch.

Cheers
Stu

Bushbasher · 24-10-2013, 06:47 PM

Ok, well, as it has turned out, the clock spring did in fact fail and in doing so it killed the horn which in turn fried the horn fuse, at least that's what I reckon is the chain of events. When I replaced the horn it went off again and wouldn't stop so I removed horn pad and it still didn't stop so I changed the clock spring, (again

), and everything came good. It's just odd that all the functions were still working on the wheel and it was the dead horn itself that stopped it from blaring and blowing the fuse again.

So the wagon is all fixed again, but........ I had an issue with the Fairlane not switching to petrol that turned out to be one of the wires had come adrift on the back of the petrol/LPG switch. In the process of tracing and fixing that problem, and re-sealing the gas line from the converter to the mixer, MY cruise control has gone AWOL and it's got me stumped. It'll activate but not engage. In the last 10 days I've changed:
The rear globes
The brake pedal switch
The master cylinder pressure switch
The clock spring AND the steering wheel buttons

- and still the bastich cruise control won't engage and it's got not only me but my mechanic AND the local Ford dealer resident tech head stumped. If anyone has any ideas I'm all ears cos this is frustrating to the extreme.
BTW, everything else is working as it should; ABS is functioning with no warning lights, the speedo is working properly and yes, the horn circuit is ok too.

Some days I really dislike my car...... but only some days.

Bushbasher

**auIILTD** · 24-10-2013, 07:01 PM

The only thing I can think of that you have not replaced Bushy is the CC Unit itself. Maybe a swap out with one of your many spare AUs might be in order?

Good luck with it.
Stu

Ride · 24-10-2013, 07:05 PM

Check that the cruise control cable hasn't come off the throttle body. It happened to me a couple months back when heading down south, pulled over, had a quick look and I was right!