Electrical Question - HORN

So the horn on my KZ1000ST was not working. I pulled the tank, cleaned the connections and reinstalled the wires.

The deal is that there is a rectangular relay under the tank. There was 2 wires, a brown beige and a black. The beige wire was composed of 2 wires that came together in a V shape at a single conector. THe black wire was a single wire.

I connected the beige wire to the relay and the horn and the black to the horn and grounded it on the engine. Volia the horn worked. Great! Then afer tooting the horn gleefully a few times the bike died. Guess what? The main 20 amp fuse blew. I replaced the fuse and the bike came to life and the horn sill worked. So I left it alone until I could consult with you gents.

My question is, why did I blow the main fuse? Did I hook up the wires incorrectly? I ended up grounding the horn wire under the front reflector bolt. It works but I am sure that there is a propper place to put the ground.

Also I have only connected one end of the beige wire (to the relay and to the horn, so there is an unused part of the wire coiled up under the tank. What was that for, shoud it be connected somewhere?


Thanks for any input you could offer.

KR

Check the schematics for the unknown wires. I didnt know the horn had a relay, I thought a hot wire and a ground wire was all that was needed.

It might be an aftermarket horn the previous owner installed. Here's an electrical guide for troubleshooting shorts and intermittent operation. I think Patton made this up/found it:

The Dreaded Shorting/Intermittent Electrical Problem!

Here is the most basic method I know:

1. Charge your battery if you can.

2. Disconnect the Black lead from the (-) Battery terminal... or Red from the (+) Battery terminal, it does not matter which one.

3. Connect one of the following test setups in series with the Battery terminal and lead:
3.1 A 12 V light bulb,
3.2 A 12 V test light,
3.3 A 12 V test buzzer or,
3.4 A 12 V horn... you get the idea.

4. With the Ignition Switch OFF, go through your harness and wiggle the wires while looking/listening for the test setup to go on/start buzzing.

5.With the Ignition Switch ON, repeat the test except this time the looking/listening for the test setup to go on/stop buzzing.

6. Be prepared to open the Ignition switch and check/test for solder joint failure and or circuit board micro breaks (don't ask how I know this ).

7. Be prepared to pull the wires out of the Head Light to test for failures at or near the grommet.

8. Be prepared to open the harness at or near the Steering Neck for failures. This is where wires tend to exhibit fatigue due to repetitive movement.

9. Be prepared to open the left and right switch gear to search for rust and or broken parts. CAUTION: watch out for flying springs, ball bearings and stuff. Do indoors on White sheet (again don't ask ).

10. Be prepared to follow the heavy gauge wire from the Starter Solenoid (Relay) to the starter for bare ware wire exposure. Especially near bends and grommets.

11. If you can reproduce the fault symptom your are pretty much home free. Be prepare to find and repair/replace any internal wire breaks, insulation break downs, exposed wires, rubber grommet failures, etc. Often, shrink tubing will solve the problem temporarily until something better can be done.

12. I use a very good electrical contact cleaner/preservative called De-oxit made by Caig Labs in San Diego Ca. Their website is www.deoxit.com It can be purchased at Radio Shack and any other electronic supply store. I use it on all of my motorcycle’s electrical connectors , in my home entertainment center’s stereo patch cords and cordless phones charging cradles.

KOOL RYDER wrote:

So the horn on my KZ1000ST was not working. I pulled the tank, cleaned the connections and reinstalled the wires.

The deal is that there is a rectangular relay under the tank. There was 2 wires, a brown beige and a black. The beige wire was composed of 2 wires that came together in a V shape at a single conector. THe black wire was a single wire.

I connected the beige wire to the relay and the horn and the black to the horn and grounded it on the engine. Volia the horn worked. Great! Then afer tooting the horn gleefully a few times the bike died. Guess what? The main 20 amp fuse blew. I replaced the fuse and the bike came to life and the horn sill worked. So I left it alone until I could consult with you gents.

My question is, why did I blow the main fuse? Did I hook up the wires incorrectly? I ended up grounding the horn wire under the front reflector bolt. It works but I am sure that there is a propper place to put the ground.

Also I have only connected one end of the beige wire (to the relay and to the horn, so there is an unused part of the wire coiled up under the tank. What was that for, shoud it be connected somewhere?


Thanks for any input you could offer.

KR

This might not apply to the ST, but am thinking one of the horn terminals receives battery+ voltage from the ignition switch (or other source for switched bat+) often through a brown color wire, and that the other horn terminal connects through a black/yellow wire to the horn button which reaches ground through the horn button switch when the button is pushed.

This simply completes the circuit through the horn when the horn button is pushed, the same as happens if connecting one horn terminal to the positive battery terminal and the other horn terminal to the negative battery terminal.

Am uncertain about the two grey wires and the rectangular box.

Could experiment by connecting a test wire from battery positive terminal to one horn terminal (which furnishes bat+ to horn) and then push the horn button to see whether the horn blows when the other horn terminal supposedly grounds through the horn button.

The grounding function of the horn button could also be tested with a voltmeter connected between (1) the positive battery terminal and (2) end of the wire that goes from the horn to the horn button. Voltage reading should appear when the horn button is pushed.

Good Luck!