Both horns died - a mystery to both the dealership and factory Audi - help!

[cmore]

Ok, here is the scenario that I am having with my 03' RS6, which continues to be a mystery from many angles.

* A month ago my horns and engine fans started to sound weird. Horns sounded like a dead cow on and off and the fan sounded like a jet engine trying to take off over and over.
* Warranty covered the horns replacement and fan.
* Dealer ordered the parts and they replaced both of them
* The fan works fine now

Now this is where it gets weird.

* They hooked up one horn and it sounded fine
* They hooked up the second horn and it was higher pitch than stock
* They disconnected the left horn and again it sounded fine
* They connected the electrical connections to the horn, held it in their hand and it sounded fine.
* They lightly bolted the horn to the chassis and it sounded fine UNTIL they tightened down the bolts

So they've been on the phone with main Audi tech for the past few days and they are going to start to investigate the wiring to make sure the electrical signal is fine to the one horn. It is just very strange that the tone of the horn is fine when held in your hand or lightly bolted, but as soon as you tighten it down, the problem exists. They tried another horn to rule out that and the same problem exists.

Has anyone heard anything like this or have any idea why this may be the case? This is only with the left horn.

Thanks,
Chris

[snoopra]

First for me, but it sounds like the "new" horn is defective. Did they try the right side horn in the left position?

[Aronis]

That does sound very strange.

Did the old horns work at all? Off the car at test bench??

I agree with possible defective "new" horn.

[mmaturo]

Ahhhh parts that i forgot about failing every few months...last set have been good for two years, sounds like you have a bad new one...happened a few times with mine. Tech was really annoyed with these as bumper has to come off.I have had the dying goose or geese as i would describe it many times. 4 times actually.

[ben916]

My horn is super lame and that is one of my "things" I like to use to let the idjuts know they are just that!

Also my alarm horn worse...

[hahnmgh63]

I agree, probably a bad "New" horn. Bench test it and if it is fine then my next guess is a bad ground.

[ben916]

... my next guess is a bad ground.
I was thinking that also...

[snoopra]

...........Also my alarm horn worse...
I was told it's some noise reduction type alarm horn and that's how they all sound:vhmmm:

[LIRS6]

I changed an intercooler 2 months ago, and since then my horns have mad cow disease as well .. i think it has to do with the placement of the horns in their brackets. I haven't bothered to address them yet (I will soon), but I recall there being a nub or such that each horn should sit against - I assume that I screwed up when I re-installed the horns (which I should never have taken off to begin with, but I was having trouble disconnecting the wires). Fyi every once-in-a-while, the horns sound fine.

[cmore]

At this point I don't know what the status of my RS6 is. The tech has been working on it since Monday and they haven't figured it out. The last I heard that they ruled out any electrical problem as the horns have their own positive and negative connection and work fine bench mounted, but as soon as you tighten down the bolt on the horn, it sounds like a lame duck.

I don't see how installing two horns takes 5 days, but they gave me a loaner and the warranty is paying for it, so I'm not too worried. I hope to have it back next week. I will update everyone what is going on.

I assume it is not a new horn, because they took another horn, this time an aftermarket one, and it did the same thing. Sounded fine hooked up to the car, but as soon as they bolted it down, it sounded bad.

They asked me if I would be satisfied if they zip tied it to the chassis, but I'm not to keen on that idea.... at this point, it is just a horn.

The tech seems very knowledgeable and it has stumped everyone that has looked at it.

Thanks everyone!
Chris

[V8weight]

Being that the problem persists only when the horn is grounded to the impact bar, it would be safe to assume that there is a short to ground somewhere between the positive terminal of the horn and the clockspring. In an extreme circumstance, it could even be a faulty clockspring. This should be fairly easy to diagnose. Are technicians no longer schooled in Ohms law?

[Aronis]

This should be fairly easy to diagnose. Are technicians no longer schooled in Ohms law?

LOL....too funny!

[LIRS6]

Further to my last post above, I managed to cure my car's case of mad cow disease. I realized that I had the horns reversed (left for right, right for left), repositioned them correctly on the brackets and got them to sing a normal tune. Bumper back on, all okay after almost 2 weeks.

[ben916]

Further to my last post above, I managed to cure my car's case of mad cow disease. I realized that I had the horns reversed (left for right, right for left), repositioned them correctly on the brackets and got them to sing a normal tune. Bumper back on, all okay after almost 2 weeks.

Good to hear that the horns are sorted... but what the hell? Side sensitive horns??!?!? I just about heard everything...

[ttboost]

Everytome I have had horn issues, it's usually been bad (corroded) electrical connectors. Doesn't really sound like that is the problem here?

[LIRS6]

Good to hear that the horns are sorted... but what the hell? Side sensitive horns??!?!? I just about heard everything...

Nah - think it has to do with how they are connected to the brackets .. maybe a grounding issue? I found that the hornds worked fine when disconnected from brackets. Put them on the brackets, and the moo-ing started on one or the other. Played with the positioning/fitting on the brackets to the point where they both sounded as they should. Fingers crossed.