Horn sounds when vehicle is started
 

The oddest thing- my wife goes to leave this morning in our W124 E300 and the horn is blaring when the ignition is turned on. It would stop for a brief second or so when hitting the horn pad or shifting between gears. I ended up disconnecting the horns so she could leave for work.

Anyone have a notion what the heck is going on?

anyone??

Short answer, You have a short, probably in the steering column. The best outcome is it is the horn switch, which is located under the padding of the steering wheel.

I have never removed that part in a Mercedes. On american cars there are some screws on the back side of the steering wheel that when removed the cover comes off, exposing the horn switch.

Thanks for the reply- I had it off a few months ago to replace the combination switch, not a huge deal. I'll check it out.

I had to replace the turn signal assembly during a similiar incident ,the piece had been cracked and the wire mount was going live when turning the wheel .A pick&pull had one for $15 ,pretty easy fix once you figure out the steering wheel hub on the down assembly piece,you dont have to remove the steering wheel ,just that cover .Not completely sure on your model ,mine was a 84 300cd .

So I finally got around to looking at this today after some idiot pulled out in front of me and I was unable to give him an audible warning :D

I took the airbag off and discovered that the metal piece that the horn wires connect to is not returning back properly on one side. I am able to move it around to get it to stop sounding the horn and even sprayed some WD40 behind there on the springs on each side but it was still not reliably turning off.

I got frustrated because my battery also needs replacement and it got to the point where it had so little power that something started clicking behind the dash and the warning lights were all blinking like crazy. So I put it back together and have a charger on the battery so I can drive down and pick a new one up in a little while.

Anyone have any advice or experience for fixing this issue? On either side there are 2 black metal pieces that it appears will prevent me from taking the whole metal piece out. I really don't want to pull the steering wheel.

I can send you a steering column. or the horn/switch assembly...

THank you for the offer- I was hoping to just be able to clean up/fix whatever the issue is. I know sometimes its just a matter of taking these things apart and putting them back together. Not sure how to get it apart though :confused:

here's a photo, those 2 metal pieces appear to be attached with rivets http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/155717-diy-steering-wheel-removal-access-stalks-correct-loose-stalks.html

I figured out the problem. Underneath the airbag there are 5 gold screws that hold the horn plate in place. Each one has a non-conductive washer underneath it to isolate the bolt and a few were deteriorated. I got new nylon washers 1/4 at Lowes home center and all is good :)