I just finished cleaning most of the connections inside the Display Panel this evening.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/m...ctices-148521/

Used a soft wire brush and electrical cleaning spray. Must have done a decent job.

When I finished, I put the key into the ignition, turned on, and the horn came on! It would not stop! It was so loud neighbors came out of their houses to look what was going on.

I turned of the ignition and went under the car and pulled one lead off the horns.

How can I make this stop? Pull the horn fuse? I don't want to disassemble the steering column if at all possible to get to the horn connectors....

 

retrace your steps... Did the horn work before you cleaned the connections??

assuming you did not mess with any other electrical wiring other than cleaning wire connectors at the fuse panel, start to disconnect and reconnect one wire at a time from the fuse panel until the horn stops, then you know which is the wire for the horn. Label it "HORN" or "CLAXON". Make sure the Horn Push at the steering wheel is not stuck by pushing it several times.

look at the bright side: Now you know the Horn/s are good !!

Overall it doesn't make sense that cleaning wiring contacts would make the horns get stuck. You must have done something wrong with the reconnection.

 

Good sequence of steps I will go back and retrace everything I cleaned in the last go around. But I'm baffled! I only did one wire/connector at a time and put each back from where it originally was removed. With the exception of two -- maybe three -- wires, everything cleaned was the display dials.

And I did toggle the horn rim on the steering wheel. I thought the same thing. Still blaring ... and LOUD!

One thing I'm noticing : as I work on the car, systems are returning to functionality. Certain interior lights are coming back on, hinges are moving easier, etc. I'm wondering if the horn is symptomatic of the car coming back to life again and may just turn itself off again.

 

Good sequence of steps I will go back and retrace everything I cleaned in the last go around. But I'm baffled! I only did one wire/connector at a time and put each back from where it originally was removed. With the exception of two -- maybe three -- wires, everything cleaned was the display dials.

And I did toggle the horn rim on the steering wheel. I thought the same thing. Still blaring ... and LOUD!

One thing I'm noticing : as I work on the car, systems are returning to functionality. Certain interior lights are coming back on, hinges are moving easier, etc. Example: the running lights are back, but the low beams aren't. THe interior lights are back, but the fan isn't.

I'm wondering if the horn is symptomatic of the car coming back to life again and may just turn itself off again.

 

It's probably just a coincidence.
There is a wire (pink I believe) that runs down from the horn contact button inside the steering column and connects at the bottom brass slider (yes, Jagaur put the slider at the bottom of the steering column)
That wire has to move up and down when the steering wheel is extended to suit the driver and the wire can have it's insulation worn off from this action.
It then simply shorts out, or rather grounds out completing the horn circuit _ the rest is history. Loosen the locking ring collar on the steering column and pull the wheel all the way up to its maximum length _ if this stops the horns from "sounding" then that is where the short is.
I will post more later, I'm off to work.

 

yes, JeffR1 probably hit the nail in the head, there is also a "switch" to where the pink wire connects.

good idea to loosen the scalloped "nut" behind the steering wheel and move the steering wheel forward and backward to see it it stops.

 

The weirdest thing... the horn stopped and now works as it should!

I reconnected the leads to one of the horns. It didn't start blaring again continually. I went inside and toggled the horn rim on the steering wheel. It worked! The horn sounded and stopped after I stopped pressure on the rim!

That didn't work at all before, and now it does! I suspect some of the systems have been off-line so long that it has taken a bit of time to re-awaken all that need be done to function as intended ....

 

Did you dry the parts after you sprayed them? My nephew cleaned his van with Clorox wipes and the chlorine killed the headlight switch and all related relays. Lesson learned.

 

Yes, the connections dried before being put back into their original locations. Electrical spray cleaner was used.

But I never cleaned the connections to the horn. Just removed one wire from the horn itself.

What's the issue with the wipe? Was it the chlorine on the wipes?
( It makes me think about deodorant/antiperspirant is submarines. Sailors underseas cannot use such as the chemicals in those affect the electronics inside the submarine.)

 

one check for a stuck horn is to release the scalloped "nut" behind the steering wheel and then pulling and pushing back the steering wheel, it usually unsticks the stuck horn.