hi everyone, I am new to this forum and I want to know if anyone could help me solve my problem which is this. I have a 91 accord ex 204,500 miles and I just recently replaced the alternator with a used one because I can't afford a new one, and for some unknown reason the left horn caught on fire right after I replaced the atlernator. I don't know why this happend but obviously it shorted out the wires and blew the fuse which is also the same fuse as the stop lamps, and the horn also shares a circuit with the cruise controll and the stoplamp switch so now my horn, brake lights, cruise controll and shift interlock (the device that wont let you shift from park unless your foot is on the brake) does not work even though I took out the horn and cut the wires back and taped them off so they are not shorting out but now even though I replaced the fuse, the componets will work for a bit then the fuse will blow again. If anyone has any Ideas they would be greatly apreciated.

 

It would sound that you've still got a damaged bare wire somewhere from the previous conflagration.
I've seen some pretty strange sh(Stuff) in my days around cars, but I've never done the Exploding Horn bit.
The new(used) Alternator work properly?

The only thing I'd additionally ask, can you make any connect between the fuse continuing to blow, and using any one sub-system?

P

 

damn,,,,,,,,,i have never seen a horn catch fire ,,did u unplug the other horn as well??? if not ,do it see if it still blows the fuse........has car been in frt end damage??? was everything ok before u replace the alternator??? when u say u cut the wires off and taped them , u taped them seperatelly, so there is no bare wiring and they dont touch one another , right ??...when u say it works a bit and then it blows..how long is a bit??...does it blow the fuse without u doing anything?? ( pressing on the brakes, )? I know lots of questions but it might help narrow down the problem

 

I taped the wires so that they are not touching at all, I know that that would definetly blow the fuse but this is what I found out yesterday. I replaced the fuse and it will only blow if I use the horn. If I don't try the horn the brake lights, shift interlock and cruise controll all work just fine, so my short is definetly in the horn circuit. No I have not unpluged the other horn but I will try that, so that I won't blow the fuse by accedental pressing the horn, all it takes is one push on the horn and the fuse is gone. As far as front end damage goes, yes it has been in a wreck, I bought the car that way and it has a salvage title, but the dammage was not that severe; whoever had the car before me rear ended a pickup truck and you could tell where the trailer ball went into the front of the car. Fourtunatly it only dammaged the hood, hood latch, the piece of metal that the hood latch attaches too and the head lights. Everything else was fine, in fact it bent the A/C condenser a bit but it never broke because I still have cold air, and this was three years ago when I bought the car, never had a problem untill now and when I put the alternator in I saw smoke coming from the front of the car in the alternator area, but I thought the belt must be rubbing on the cover or something so I thought nothing of it. Thanks for the advice so far guys.

 

once u unplug the other horn igf it stops blowing the fuse u got a bad horn,if it still blows u got a power wire pinched to ground somewhere .....