Honk if your horn works

I consider myself a proficient communicator with my car’s horn, and can convey several different messages to other drivers, most of them based on how much I need them to know what a stupid maneuver they’ve just made.

But a car’s horn isn’t just a road rage meter, it’s legally safety equipment.

According to Tennessee Code Title 55, Chapter 9, Part 201, “Every motor vehicle, when operated upon any road, street or highway of the state, shall be equipped with a horn in good working order capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than two hundred feet … ”

Violating the horn law is a Class C misdemeanor, one of the lesser crimes in the state along with other minor traffic violations.

Still, I’m no scofflaw, and it’s safer for other drivers to know when my rage is peaking, so I decided to sort out the horn.

Vehicle horns are pretty simple machines.

When you press the button on the steering wheel, an electrical circuit is completed, which usually activates a relay that sends power to the horn.

Once that electricity is applied, another circuit within the horn is completed, which pulls a rod connected to a flexible metal diaphragm backward and disconnects the circuit, sending the rod and diaphragm back to their original position and reconnecting the circuit.

This movement happens repeatedly, multiple times in a second, causing the metal diaphragm to vibrate, which makes the sound of the horn.

When I bought my little truck, it was missing both the horn button on the steering wheel and the horn itself under the hood. The original relay was still in place and connected.

I found an original button on a social media group, other new old stock components on ebay and bought a new universal horn from an online parts store.

When I installed the button and pressed it, I wasn’t getting the audible click many relays, especially those of this vintage, make. After some diagnosing, I found a weak signal at the relay and a corroded contact in the truck’s ancient, open-to-the-elements fuse box.

After fixing that and getting an acceptable voltage at the relay, I hooked up the horn and blew.

The horn I chose for my truck was a single low tone, and I think it’s fitting. Many modern vehicles have a dual, low-high tone horn, but I’m not trying to put on airs. It’s also, though small, still a truck, so a high-pitched honker wouldn’t have given it the practical, utilitarian sound it deserves.

Now I’m legal, safe and sound and the sounds I make are safe and legal. Listen for me next time you’re in my neighborhood.