constant horn sounding

edmed26

Cadet
Joined
Apr 14, 2010
Messages
19
I had to swap out my remote control box today. I reused my old ignition switch because the box I got did'nt have a key with it. I also used the new connector (red plug) so I would have to rewire that whole thing as well. Well, my shifting problems seems to be gone and evrything is OK, except that the horn in the remote is sounding constantly. Plenty of oil, not overheating. I double checked my wiring of the switch against what I think is a correct diagram, and tried to reconnect the "new" switch wires the way they were originally. The swtches themselves were slightly different, with wthe switch I used having a pole in the center oif the others, but the stampled letters by each pole was the same otherwise, just the one was moved to the middle. Any suggestions out there? I hate the thought of rewiring the old plug in. What does a constant horn sound mean aside from low oil? Thanks for your help.
 

boobie

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Messages
20,826
Re: constant horn sounding

What normally causes the horn to sound constantly is the tan wire coming from it being grounded in the boat/mtr someplace. Re-check all your wiring.
 

edmed26

Cadet
Joined
Apr 14, 2010
Messages
19
Re: constant horn sounding

Thanks,I'll try it in the morning. Everything was OK until this control box swap, so it must be either in the "red plug wire" or the horn itself. I'll look for a short as you suggest.
 

edmed26

Cadet
Joined
Apr 14, 2010
Messages
19
Re: constant horn sounding

Couldn't find a short, so I finally switched the horn for the one out of my old control box and the problem appears to be solved. I now have just a tiny peep when I turn the key to on and no constant sounding. In retrospect, I should have shorted out that tan wire to make sure that the thing was working, and I may go back and do that someday but for now I'm happy to get back out again.

Thanks for your help
 

boobie

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Messages
20,826
Re: constant horn sounding

You also could have just had a bad horn. OMC was noted for that. What you should do now is turn on the ign sw and ground out a temp sensor to make sure the horn blows. A working horn is better than a fried p/h.
 

edmed26

Cadet
Joined
Apr 14, 2010
Messages
19
Re: constant horn sounding

Yeah, I thought about testing it by grounding the tan lead in the control box right after I got the whole thing back together and mounted. I just didn't have the energy left to rip it apart again. I'm not sure how to go about shorting the temp sensor, but I'm sure that if I look at it, I can't be that tough. I'll give it a shot next wekend.
 

boobie

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Messages
20,826
Re: constant horn sounding

Go back on the p/h, find the temp sensors with the tan wires, take one of the connectors apart, turn on the key and ground it out. If the horn sounds you're okay.
 

edmed26

Cadet
Joined
Apr 14, 2010
Messages
19
Re: constant horn sounding

I just checked to verify what I remembered about the two horns. It seems that OMC changed the part #'s in 1989. The old part # cross references to control boxes prior to 1988, but not to those from 1989 on. Maybe that was the problem.
 
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