HJ?s car by car for the Mk1 SEAT Leon identifies a problematic horn.
Can anyone tell me if it?s an easy job to fit a new horn and whether a standard replacement horn from Halfords (currently £8.99) would suffice ? I guess it?s just a simple job of matching up the wiring? I have tried the local SEAT dealer - £75 inc fitting and a local VAG specialist was similar in price. My local trustworthy indie ?turned me away? stating it was a job for a main dealer ? although there aren?t many SEAT?s around his area due to a lack of main dealers.
Any ideas
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Is this 'horn' or 'alarm sounder'?
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It's the horn - i.e the thing that makes the noise when you hit the centre of the steering wheel. The car doesn't have an alarm.
I have got the old one off without too much hassle - just wondered whether installing a general horn would do the trick?
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should do - give a bash you have nothing to loose. Or install a relay powered by your old horn feed, and power a 8.99 special from halfords
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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That's if it's the horn-not the contacts in the steering wheel!!
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Apparently Leon Mk1 horns get water in them.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Hi - thanks for suggestions.
Went and had a look but wasn't sure on connections although on further examination I think I was looking a them wrong.
My only concern is that if fitted, the £8.99 cheapo horn wont have the connection covered - the SEAT version has a nice 'plug' style connector but the Halfords version would be wired in with the connection 'exposed' so to speak. Photo's of the cheapo horn available here for further clarification:
tinyurl.com/yw96k2
The horn is very stupidly located if it?s not meant to get wet ? in the section between the front bumper and the wheel! Now obviously it?s only £8.99 but if it were to get wet would it matter and create any further damage to the car?s electrics? I?m assuming I could cover it in some insulating tape to prevent water ingress?
I?m reasonably sure the connectors in the steering wheel are sound as I can hear the contact being made with the switch. The ?technician? (i.e. spotty 16 year old at the main dealers) said that it?s a common problem with Leon?s and most of the time a new horn fixes it.
Huge URL shrunk to fit the page without making the whole thread bloat beyond all reason ! - PU
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you could always extend the wiring and mount it elsewhere. If you have access to a crimping tool and crimps then this will make the job easier/better. Or you could just twist the wires together and onto the horn connections, tape them up and expect to have to do it again (and again) sooner or later.
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Break into your existing wiring (with a "scotchlock") with lengths of cable with a spade terminal crimped onto it. Connect to your horn, test, smear the spade terminal s with a large dob of silicon sealant, and mount your new horn where you like.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Break into your existing wiring (with a "scotchlock") .....
Or use a proper connector that won't cause you further problems.
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A proper, real scotchlock made by 3M wont cause you further problems.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Thanks for all your advice.
I fixed the horn last night and thought I would follow it up just in case people search here for similar issues in the future.
As mentioned the connections for a bog standard horn are not the same as for a VW based horn ? although using a crimper set etc would have made it easily possible, I didn?t see the hassle for the sake of a horn. SEAT wanted £75 inc fitting for the new horn which was a rip off. The problem with Leon horns is common as they?re only protected via the front bumper and are barely a foot off the ground. I guess the recent heavy rain got into it and it blew.
In the end I requested the part from an online breakers yard aggregator (via www.1stchoice.co.uk). Within 24hrs they had a breakers yard contact me and I ordered the part for £15 inc delivery. The bits arrived via courier the next day.
It was then a simple case of plugging the new horn in and mounting it so that the trumpet faced downwards to help prevent water getting in to it again.
PS: Leon?s before the 2002 facelift only have one horn (a low tone). Models after the facelift have two (a low and high tone). The part I received had two but they were easy to separate and I now have a spare consigned to the garage in case of yet more heavy rain like we?ve just had. Also, the part I received, although identical, was from a SEAT Toledo.
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How much would it have been to buy the part from the parts department at the main dealer. Surely they don't insist they fit it for you?
Was that what the 75 quote was for or have I misunderstood your post and the 75 was the part price and you had to pay another labour charge for the fitting?
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How much would it have been to buy the part from the parts department at the main dealer. Surely they don't insist they fit it for you?
The part itself would have been £43 which, for an item worth no more than £10 new in any other guise (the connectors were the only different thing between the official part and the Halfords equivalent), is a rip off - especially as in the words of the dealer, 'they go all the time - might've known we'd someone in with a faulty Leon horn after the recent wet weather'.
They didn't insist on fitting it for me at all - but advised that their 'minimum labour charge' was 'only' £35.
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If you're looking for a later replacement, Nippy Norman's (a BMW bike orientated site ) sells some cracking horns, Nautilus and Magnum, both will work on cars and are VERY LOUD quality items that will work on conventional electrical systems and CANbus systems. They are also sold in Halfords for around £15.00.
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>>A proper, real scotchlock made by 3M wont cause you further problems.
I agree, if they are decent quality and used right they are good components. The main advantage of doing the job in the way in which TVM described is that there is no need to dispose/cut off any of the original wiring. If the car owner should ever want to replace the horn with a proper Seat spec horn, then he could just reverse the wiring modifications and it would be back to original with no problems.
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