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REPORT NUMBER - HOLVY03424 MAKE HOLDEN | MODEL COMMODORE VY YEAR 2003 | ENGINE 3.8 litre V6
Customer Complaint
Vehicle alarm going off intermittently while driving or when parked.
Problem Summary
After testing found that vehicle horn was going off intermittently. The alarm system was not affecting the horn operation.
Diagnostic Sequence
1) It took some time to isolate the problem to the horn and not the alarm. After questioning the owner at length, we worked out that the indicators were not flashing when the horn was sounding. This enabled us to eliminate the alarm at this point.
2) No codes were present relating to horn or alarm system.
3) After removal of the air bag it was found that a metallic sticker on the steering wheel was peeling up and shorting to the horn contact on the air bag unit. This was causing the horn to sound when contact was made.
Fault Description
1) The horn system on this model was wired through a micro relay mounted in the main fuse box under the bonnet. Because there is a relay is in the system, only a very small current draw is required to activate the horn relay and sound the horn.
2) Removal of the offending sticker was all that was needed to rectify the problem.
3) We suspect that the small current draw through the sticker caused the sticker to change shape, like a thermal circuit breaker, and stop shorting out the contact. This made the process of diagnosing the problem very difficult due to the problem only occurring infrequently and for only a very short time.
Recommended Time
Labour time was 1.5 hours, taking into account research time, location of parts and actual time spent fixing the problem
Useful Tips This was a classic situation of where as much information was required from the customer as possible. Once we were able to determine that the indicators were not flashing at the same time, it made the job of isolating the problem easier. Metallic stickers can cause problems to electrical circuit, so keep your eyes and minds open to possible causes of intermittent faults.
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