Horn won't shut off

[Liaztraht]

Wife went to unlock the truck, and the horn blared for a minute straight. Thought it was weird, but it stopped.

An hour later, it just went off and wouldn't stop. Disconected the battery for an hour, and as soon as it's plugged back in, horn goes off again.

Just a long, continuous honk. No other symptoms, no warning lights, no flashing lights.

I removed the fuses for now so she can drive to work tomorrow.

There's no relay to check. Looked for any wetness inside and under the hood and found nothing.

Battery tests good

It was too dark out to look for any shorts. Other than that, what should I look for. Clock spring? Horn contact? (From what I understand, it's integrated into the air bag? But i think I read that on KJs not KKs)

Edit: its a 2011

 

[LibertyTC]

Good that you found & removed fuses for now. 2011 KK mentions this fix ya: https://www.fixya.com/cars/t27268194-2011_jeep_liberty_horn_blows_its_own
Member IfHoward may chime in with a solution hopefully.

 

[Liaztraht]

Good that you found & removed fuses for now. 2011 KK mentions this fix ya: https://www.fixya.com/cars/t27268194-2011_jeep_liberty_horn_blows_its_own
Member IfHoward may chime in with a solution hopefully.

I found that same page last night. Hopefully not a TIPM problem... I would expect other symptoms, but the only other issues we have are a multifunction switch that started to act up a couple months back.

The horn button does feel a bit mushy, so hopefully it's just a busted or stuck spring.

I'll be pulling apart the steering wheel after work. Provided I'm not stuck working another 12 like yesterday.

The '11 service manual in the sticky doesn't show horn diagnostics, but the '08 does. The '08 manual also shows a different fuse number, but diag should be similar enough.

Once the airbag is out, I'll disconnect the horn switch, then plug the battery back in and see what happens. From there, test the pins for the other connectors as listed in the manual. See if anything is shorted to ground.

 

[LibertyTC]

Sound like a good plan. Good that you are referring to 08 FSM. Observe KK air bag warnings.
I would ensure the positive & negative battery cables have been isolated/ disconnected for 30+ min before work begins.

 

[Liaztraht]

Sound like a good plan. Good that you are referring to 08 FSM. Observe KK air bag warnings.
I would ensure the positive & negative battery cables have been isolated/ disconnected for 30+ min before work begins.

Battery will be disconected for sure for a while. I don't trust airbags, even unplugged!

 

[lfhoward]

Sounds like you are on the right path. I too think ruling out the horn button / circuit first is a good idea. I hope you don’t have to get a TIPM. They are expensive, but contrary to some info on the web, they do not have to be programmed for your VIN. I’d look for a used or refurbished one from the same model year and trim (eg, Sport, Limited) as yours so everything works as expected.

 

[Liaztraht]

Sounds like you are on the right path. I too think ruling out the horn button / circuit first is a good idea. I hope you don’t have to get a TIPM. They are expensive, but contrary to some info on the web, they do not have to be programmed for your VIN. I’d look for a used or refurbished one from the same model year and trim (eg, Sport, Limited) as yours so everything works as expected.

Thanks for the tip(M)!

Right now I'm trying to replicate the issue. Got off work a bit too late to dig in very far.

Everything is bone dry inside the cab, and inside the TIPM as far as i can see, if rather dusty around the outside and in the cab. Going to let it sit for a few. I have the hood slightly popped and tools at the ready just in case.

Fuses are in, and the horn button feels a little firmer than last night. It's responding as it should. Still might just pull them back out before bed.

The jeep was sitting for about 24 hours in typical southern Oregon rain when it started honking, but the interior is also full of dirt and mud, so maybe something got just wet enough, or there are dried mud chunks getting in places they shouldn't?

There's enough dust that I should be able to tell if water ran anywhere.

I did work the horn button while the fuses where out last night, so at this point, maybe something was causing it to physically stick.

I'm still going to pull things out for a look to verify, but that may have to wait until Saturday...

Maybe even clean some of the rainy season mud out while I'm in there.

Also, we do get free oil changes at the dealership, and noticed they've been getting messy. There was a little oil on top of the air box and TIPM box when I popped the hood, and we were there last week. Should probably go back to doing our own again lol.


Edit to add: also checked the battery in the key fob, as it was when the key was initially used to unlock it that this started. Internal battery was was at 3.01v and I changed it.

I already know how if the battery in the truck is weak, weird things happen, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same with the key!

 

[Liaztraht]

Was chatting with my wife, and she was saying when disconnecting the battery after the second honking, wiggling the positive cable would stop it and start it back up.

She was disconnecting it by the wing nut that attaches the cable to the positive side clamp and just pushing on it triggered the honk on and off.

While the battery posts and clamps are clean, looking at the post under the wing nut, the post is a bit rusted, but the rust is hidden by the cable's ring terminal, plus the after market towing kit wiring's terminal stacked on top.

Also, knowing her strength compared to mine, she should not have been able to easily unscrew it by hand. And then knowing how weird these get with low batteries, a loose and rusted wingnut could be simulating a weak battery with its poor connection.

Regardless, I may as well just buy new clamps as the positive is starting to flex more when tightening.

As for the feeling of the horn button, I could just not have been pushing it hard enough, as I only worked it initially with the fuses out. And I'm used to the horn in the little Scion I daily for my work commute xP

 

[Liaztraht]

Just an update.

Horn has been normal since cleaning up the little wingnut and post on the positive side of the battery. Darn touchy Chrysler electronics lol.

Always check the easy stuff first.