2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup - Horn Blows on its Own

Don't know if this could help. Not the same symptom, exactly. I had a '71 Mustang once, here in AZ. One winter, when the car was about 5 years old, in the middle of a particularly cold night the horn turned on, and stayed on.

The flexible vinyl horn covering had shrank to the point that the contacts made. It was fine during the day, but on very cold nights I'd have to unplug it.

This sounds like maybe the alarm is acting up.

I had an '88 Mustang and the horn would go off on its own every now and then. The foam rubber pad between the contacts on the steering wheel cover had deteriorated and was letting them touch.

Must be a Mustang problem. I went to beep to a neighbor that was in front of me in my '68 Mustang and when I tapped on the horn, it just stayed on...all the way back to the house.

She was ready to kill me when I pulled in the driveway, not realizing that the contacts were touching and I couldn't do anything about it until I took the steering wheel apart.

It would be funnier if it did it in traffic.

The first time it happened to me was during a vehicle inspection. =)

Sound like he should be carefull...

Here is what he needs to do. Tell him to wait (out of sight) right near the truck. When the horn blows pop open the door/hood really quickly, but beware it might bite (Gremlins are known to be nasty little buggers). He needs to take his burlap sack and toss it over the Gremlin, and tie the top. Use a Sedative to "Calm" the little guy/girl down. I have heard that on some rare occurrences they can be reasoned with, so it's worth a shot. If no reasoning can be done, you will need to get a hold of Sb, as he seems to be a fairly well behaved, and fluently English speaking gremlin. He will know what to do.

If the truck has the factory equipped anti-theft and your friend has not changed the default settings the horn should 'chirp' (the short burst you describe) when you lock or un-lock the truck from the keyfob.

As a test he could just remove the battery from the fob and any spare fobs that are laying around his house. That will eliminate the keyfob sending out a random signal to the truck.

The above should work for an aftermarket alarm as well.

Since it only sounds the horn when the truck is off I suspect the anti-theft module in the truck is causing the problem. I believe the anti-theft is disabled when the ignition is turned on (so long as it's in the disarmed state initially) which is why the horn doesn't sound when the truck is running. I'll have to look in the manual to verify.

There is also a relay for the horn, maybe get lucky and the relay is all that's messing up.

I have a Dodge factory service manual if you need something looked up. The Chilton manual you can get from an auto parts store should have a good wiring diagram if he wants to check out the problem himself.

No matter what manual you have troubleshooting an intermittent electrical problem is a PITA.

good luck!

he evidently has the remote lock in his pocket and is sitting on it. or the remote key lock is malfunctioning

Sometimes it blows the horn in the middle of the night, and the key fob is not in his pocket.

Does he own a cat. Mine love to play with my keys. Luckily I carry so many they have trouble picking them up all at once or I'd never be able to find them.

I have the 2001 version of this truck, and the alarm will sound if battery voltage is momentarily disconnected, then reconnected, and one tries to unlock the doors.

I discovered this when the truck's battery suddenly died the other night. By accident, mind you, after I connected a booster to the cables and attempted to start the truck.

If malfunction of the key fobs can be ruled out - hey, good idea about removing the batteries for a few days - then it sounds like there could be a loose connection for the antitheft alarm relay/module, or perhaps it has an intermittent fault.

What would I do? Start with the key fobs. Past that; obtain a wiring diagramme and check the connections. Past even that; replace the alarm relay/module. I realize the replacement (without knowing the true fault) can seem to be an undue expense, but it will be very expensive for the dealership to troubleshoot this intermittent problem and they may well do the same thing.

This reminds me of an intermittent failure of the ignition control module on my old HD dresser. No pattern to the failure - never predictable. I checked all connections, made voltage drop readings, tested the input from the crank trigger etc. and found everything to be good. I read and re-read the repair manual. It stated "If a malfunction of the ignition control module is suspected, replace it with a unit known to be good. If the problem disappears then the ignition control module is at fault". Thanks a lot, HD, for some serious technical troubleshooting tips.

Best Regards,

Ing. Robert Forbus

It's thosed curse-ed Detroit engineers, patting themselves on the back repeatedly for every blessed little "Look-What-I-Can-Do!" thing that they imagine-up.

They (not ME) tweak my apartment-dwelling neighbors almost every night. When I pull-into my spot in the middle of the night (wurk-habitually), detroit INVARIABLY blasts my neighbors with "Flashy-Flashy thing" lights (yea...from M.I.B.) shining in their windows when I set the alarm {never-mind the fact that it's IMPOSSIBLE to turn them off in the first place, so as to permit me to be "polite"... unless I COAST in}. And, of course, concurrent with the "Flashy-Flashy thing" lights my horn has to blow in order to INSURE arousing someone.

"Thanks" detroit... never-mind the fact that "perhaps" I, myself, am DEAF, so the horn-toot doesn't do me a lick-of-good --- {stop snearing already. SOME drivers are, in fact, deaf... it's BLIND people who don't (normally) drive}.

And let's not even BEGIN to count the number of times that I've quite unintentionally hit that blasted "PANIC!" button...! NEVER ONCE have I actually NEEDED to use it...! Not once. But, sho 'nuf, detroit has woken more than one of my neighbors from a peaceful sound sleep, and on more than one occasion. "Hey", sometimes the arms are full, and fumbling in the dark makes fingers hit things you didn't ask them to!

[and Heaven forbid a DEAF person hit their panic button unknowingly at 3am...!]

How about some 21st century stuff, detroit...? Gamers enjoy tactile feedback: hows-about my CAR, when it "hears" and finishes responding to a command from the fob, give my fingers a little 'buzz' ... or simply flash an LED on the fob saying "Done!".

How about actually spending some time STUDYING what John Q Public wants and MAKE THAT ... instead of makin' up four thousand "Variations-on-a-theme" figuring that if you THROW ENUF STUF OUT THERE, someone will buy it...?!

Try actually ENGINEERING SOMETHING (that includes TRY OUT the prototype!) and have a brainstorming session looking at how it might be made better, FIRST ... instead of selling ten thousand "crap" versions, then beginning the never-ending cycle of "upgrades"... (make you taste like software 'dabblers' ... referring to that "bad taste in the mouth" after purchasing a lemon).

All done ranting and raving, now ... til next thread

I have heard vehicles horns do this when their anti theft system is set too sensitive. Things like a car door shutting, cricket farting, ect. will make them chirp or horn beep slightly depending on how the system is set up. Some people are paranoid so they have them set sensitive.

You could also tell him to plug it into an interface and see if there is error codes for the computer. Advanced auto does this for free in Indiana. Then go and google the codes.

Ya know, people have antitheft on their car, which probably doesn't have anything worth stealing, and nothing on their house which has all of their stuff. Thats why I say some people are just paranoid.

Steve

Your reply reminds me of a favourite and wicked prank of mine......

A long time ago I discovered (by accident, mind you) that a motorbike with a slightly louder aftermarket exhaust system will trip the antitheft alarm of virtually every vehicle thus equipped - especially when they are parked inside a multilevel parking garage.

I do not make a habit of parking in those places, but there have been a few occasions where that action was necessary. Most of these garages are privately owned, and when we park two (2) bikes to a space we are seldom successful negotiating a discount for each bike. And, since we must usually park on the top deck - what's a guy to do? Get even.

Old carbureted motorbikes such as mine stumble a bit during warmup and this is accompanied with some hissing and an occasional backfire. I always have a good laugh as I roll down through all levels of the parking garage - hearing the rough rumble of a cold Big Twin against a cacophony of antitheft alarms - especially those that make the threatening annunciation "Step Away From The Car!"

My wife has two (2) newer Volkswagen automobiles, and neither one has this problem with antitheft alarm sensitivity. I think most systems that do suffer this sensitivity are aftermarket systems whose sensitivity is adjustable by the owner/installer.

So perhaps another cause is a middle-aged bikerider who rides through the neighbourhood at night?

Best Regards,

Ing. Robert Forbus

Thanks members and guests for some things to check. I think for now he just pulled the fuse for the horn relay.

Thanks again

I have A 04 Ram with 5.7 hemi and the horn did the same thing. I pulled the fuse too but there is still a module that stays hot. My battery started to die and eventually my instrument cluster shorted out. I had top pay $500.00 to the dodge dealer to get a new programed instrument cluster. The traced the short back to the horn pad witch was stuck and was holding open a horn module. I just had them diconnect it. The train horn will go in this week.