TOPIC:

Hey guys, I have a 1982 305 CSR. I bought a NOS horn a couple years ago and it worked mostly okay (not at first, took a few days of regular riding and it started working out of nowhere) until I parked the bike for winter and now the horn doesn't work anymore. I get a little, weak peep out of it for a split second.

I tried the adjusting screw and got nothing. So I bought a new horn and it gives a little weak peep as well. So there's something wrong with the juice that powers the horn. It doesn't matter if the bike just has the ignition on just sitting or if it's running at 7k rpm, I get nothing.

The leads to the horn seem tight enough. Where should I look to fix this thing? Any common issues with this? Also, I don't know if it has anything to do with it but my starter runs weak as well...even after a rebuild.

The battery in it is older but even when it was new the starter and horn ran weak.

Thanks for reading!

I would check your grounds. If there is too much resistance in the circuit it will take juice from the other parts in the circuit, resulting in less power to those parts.

Could test the horn by hot wiring it to the terminal posts of a known good automotive battery. Tap-tap-tap.

Would charge the bike battery and have it load-tested (free at Auto-Zone, Walmart, any battery dealer).

Good Fortune!

The horn on a vehicle uses more power than most things. That is why it can be used to determine if the battery is relatively charged up or not. So to get the horn working well, all of the wiring, switches, and horn button must be in good working order.

You could have dirty fuse holders, which is very common on old Kz's. It could also be the ignition switch contacts are getting weak or dirty, and then there is the horn button itself. The horn button uses the frame as ground so make sure the frame of the bike has a dedicated wire to the harness ground somewhere and that it is clean. And of course, all of the intervening wiring needs to be good as well.

If the battery is strong enough to start the bike, then the batery should be strong enough to sound the horn.

If you run jumpers from the battery directly to the horn and it sounds loudly, then you know you have to find the bad sport in the wiring. It's good to find that bad spot since it can effect other parts of the bike.

Again, start with the fuse holders, they are the most common culprit.

Okay...I went through the bike yesterday and I couldn't find any fuses. Do you happen to know the whereabouts of the fuse(s) on this bike?

I believe it would be very helpful, not just for the horn problem, if you were to take a look at the Kawasaki Service Manual for your bike. It contains tons of info that should help you a great deal in learning the various systems, etc. on your bike. If you do not own a manual you can take a look at the one on the link below. Ed

www.kzrider.com/modules/ServiceManuals/K...0KZ250%20-%20305.pdf

650ed wrote: I believe it would be very helpful, not just for the horn problem, if you were to take a look at the Kawasaki Service Manual for your bike. It contains tons of info that should help you a great deal in learning the various systems, etc. on your bike. If you do not own a manual you can take a look at the one on the link below. Ed

www.kzrider.com/modules/ServiceManuals/K...0KZ250%20-%20305.pdf

Thanks for looking that up! I have been using the online manual for a long time with this bike...I still couldn't find the location of the fuse in the manual though. It says there is one, but not where.

The U.S. Kz305 shows two fuse boxes.

One has two fuses for accessories. They have power, but don't connect to anything else. Usually the accesory fuse box is a small, black streamlined box. It may be under the seat or under the tank.

The main fuse box has 3 fuses. The main is 20A and the general lighting is probably 10A, and the headlight fuse is probably 10A. The main fuse box is a very rectangular black box that hinges open. It will usually have "fuses" or something similar embossed on it. That main box is usually under one of the side covers or maybe under the seat. I'm not familiar with the 305 at all so I can't say with any certainty.

The owner's manual (rather than the service manual) should show it, if you can find one.

Only the 20A main fuse should affect the horn (along with the ignition switch and horn button).

loudhvx wrote: The U.S. Kz305 shows two fuse boxes.

One has two fuses for accessories. They have power, but don't connect to anything else. Usually the accesory fuse box is a small, black streamlined box. It may be under the seat or under the tank.

The main fuse box has 3 fuses. The main is 20A and the general lighting is probably 10A, and the headlight fuse is probably 10A. The main fuse box is a very rectangular black box that hinges open. It will usually have "fuses" or something similar embossed on it. That main box is usually under one of the side covers or maybe under the seat. I'm not familiar with the 305 at all so I can't say with any certainty.

The owner's manual (rather than the service manual) should show it, if you can find one.

Only the 20A main fuse should affect the horn (along with the ignition switch and horn button).

Ahh, thank you. I found it. The fuses themselves show good...and there is just a little touch of corrosion under them. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to clean the fuse holders up, but I don't believe that's what is causing my problem. Maybe I'll check the grounds and the ignition switch next.

If not already done, I would first assure that the horn itself is able to blow as loudly as it's supposed to by hot wiring it to a known good well-charged battery (can use the known good battery in a car or truck).

If the horn itself is defective or improperly adjusted (on adjustable versions), it won't blow regardless of how perfect the bike's wiring and battery happen to be.

Good Fortune!

loudhvx wrote: The horn on a vehicle uses more power than most things. That is why it can be used to determine if the battery is relatively charged up or not. So to get the horn working well, all of the wiring, switches, and horn button must be in good working order.

You could have dirty fuse holders, which is very common on old Kz's. It could also be the ignition switch contacts are getting weak or dirty, and then there is the horn button itself. The horn button uses the frame as ground so make sure the frame of the bike has a dedicated wire to the harness ground somewhere and that it is clean. And of course, all of the intervening wiring needs to be good as well.

If the battery is strong enough to start the bike, then the batery should be strong enough to sound the horn.

If you run jumpers from the battery directly to the horn and it sounds loudly, then you know you have to find the bad sport in the wiring. It's good to find that bad spot since it can effect other parts of the bike.

Again, start with the fuse holders, they are the most common culprit.

I've just gone through the horn switch itself and cleaned everything, even polished the handlebar itself where the switch housing makes contact for ground. I cleaned all of the grounds I could see with sandpaper and electrical contact cleaner. I checked the fuses and fuse holders and they are clean as a whistle. I even replaced the main fuse with a new one just in case of internal failure. Still the same problem with the horn. If I have done everything else well enough, I believe the ignition switch itself would be the only thing left.

It makes sense that it would be the switch because I have an electrical problem with the starter as well. I can press the engine start button and hear a click, but the starter doesn't turn until after a second or two of holding the button down. The battery I have isn't new but I recall when it was I still had both of these problems. Maybe the starter problem is unrelated...

So how does one clean the ignition switch contact points?

Patton suggested several times hot wiring the horn to a known good battery. (solid advice!)

Take it off or just hook up power and ground with some alligator clip type jumper wires to a known good battery, and MAKE SURE that the horn actually works. Otherwise all of the "going over" this and that is a total waste.

If it was mentioned in any of the other numerous replies on "horn still won't beep" replies, I do apologize.