X-Type Horn Failure

[ChristophSov2.2]

Hi,

I am a now a proud owner of a 2007 X-Type Sovereign 2.2 Estate which I love to bits. I Have only had a couple of minor issues with the car so far (tailgate glass switch & new battery - all replaced under warranty)

However, I have one unsolved issue which is related to the twin horns located in front of the headlamps in the engine bay.

When I sound the horn a rather embarrassing weak and feeble sounding "beep" is emitted from the horns which can barely be heard from inside the car let alone from the outside!

I have checked the relays and all are ok, I assume the horns are connected as they do sound.

Has anyone ever come across this before? I assume this isn't right as I doubt Jaguar would let cars be produced with such a weak and pathetic horn?

Any help would be appreciated.

Regards
Chris

[steveisleofwight]

Hi all

Noticed yesterday that the horns on my '05 2.0l diesel were 'missing' a tone. Quick investigation under the bonnet showed the horns to be located on the nearside, one above the other, just under the battery tray. The upper horn connector was accessible and when I removed it there was no sound at all, so my obvious thought was that it must be the lower one that was faulty. I could see from the markings that the lower one was the 'high' note. I telephoned Jaguar main dealer for the price of a new 'high' note horn and after giving VIN no. was informed that the horns come as a complete 'assembly' including new bracket etc at some £63 + VAT - ouch!

Had some time this morning and it wasn't raining so removed lower shield from the car and gained easy access to the horns from underneath. I removed the horn assembly (one bolt) and discovered that the connector I had removed actually feeds both horns so my deduction on which one was not working was not necessarily correct.

By removing the horn wiring harness from both horns and making a measurement of electrical resistance between each pair of horn terminals, both horns were showing the about the same resistance which was a good start. However, closer inspection showed that one of the connectors on the lower horn was slightly corroded. This was cleaned up along with everything else and after reassembly all working well.

Picture of horn assembly removed from car attached.

Hope this is of use, Steve

Picture of the horn assembly, horn to the right is the upper one when mounted on the car.

[oldtimer]

Hi Steve,
Had a similar problem a while ago with my old V12XJ. Had the near side carburettors and things off which exposed the dreadful state of the Horns.

What I discovered was that Horns sold in our local Motorist Discount Centre were identical to that removed from car and the Main Dealer replacement. Can't remember the cost but certainty not an eye watering amount. Incidentally, all made in Italy

Oldtimer

[steveisleofwight]

Hi Oldtimer

Thanks for the input - I certainly would of had a look around for 'off the shelf' replacements as they are a fairly common part - the ones on my partner's MGF looked like a good bet!

Cheers, Steve