The horn stopped working. It's not a critical part of the package and something I can have resolved at the next service. However, I'm wondering if there are some simple checks I could do and possibly make the fix myself.

 

Check fuse, check power to fuse. If that's good then run power directly to horn to test the actual horn out. If that's good it would lead me to believe the problem is most likely in the steering wheel.

 

Frantz;


When I get a minute I'll be headed for the fuse box. My big hope is that the problem is not in the steering wheel because would probably entail dealing with the air bag. If it's not the fuse I'll probably save the problem for the service department. I used to do almost all my mechanical work but I am ignorant when it comes to many of the new vehicle features.


Thank you for giving me some direction with this problem.

 

I feel pretty stupid; I got to the fuse box but the lid does not remove with gentle persuasions and I am afraid to get too physical with it--is there a secret? Whatever it is, it must be obvious since the manual gives no specific examples of how the lid gets removed. I think I'm going to go write "stupid" across my forehead.

 

After writing stupid on my forehead and sitting in a corner while thinking things out, I went to the computer and tried to find a good picture of the fuse lid; I didn't.


So, yesterday, starting fresh, I opened the hood and with my mechanic's mirror and flashlight checked all around the fuse box and found the magic lever at the back, up against the firewall. I found the release and pulled it up and it broke off in my hand. My hand flew up and hit a the bottom of a bolt in the sheet metal. I cleaned up the blood, closed the hood and went to other things.


This morning, after several cups of coffee and a lot of self-encouragement, I re-opened the hood, got out the mirror and flashlight, and figured out the tool I would need to release the top of the fuse box. I bent a short hook on a short length of a hacksaw blade, slipped it down and pulled it up and under the lip of the catch and pried it open.


The horn problem is not the fuse. The next time I go in for service I'll have someone who knows what they are doing fix the horn. But hey, at least I have mastered the lid of the fuse box. I'm thinking that one of these days I might just practice changing a tire.


Let me know I can help any of you with service problems. There may be harder ways of getting things done but I haven't figured them out.

 

Here I thought a blood sacrifice would be enough.....

 

And so. I had mentioned that I found some chewed wires on the coil packs. I suspected that there had been rats in Spain, on ship, or at Baltimore. But no, they turned out to be my rats.


I am not surprised. I live at the edge of the desert. In our drought, all wild animals are cruising into the oasis: Coyotes, wild burros, bob cats, mountain lions, mice and pack rats--they are all moving in and making themselves at home.


I took the TC in for a lack of hornage. A rat was found, dead, in the engine compartment and the horn wires were compromised. The only good news is that I caught it early enough so that I am not going to the poor house.

When the service guy gave me the bad news, I thought about it for a minute and then I told him that this was what is called being "Rat f.....d."
He told me that he had one of these once in the last two months. I suggested a new category on his repair forms.


The bill is not going to be small. But that's OK, it's sort of interesting. I've got some killer traps and now the rats are going to get a good run for their money.


Just checking it, reporting, hope all is well with all of you.

 

You need a pet puma or something.

 

Or maybe a snake. I have had several rattlesnakes around the homestead in the past few years, but I'd rather deal with the rats. It's almost like politics.

 

A real homestead or a word to describe your dwelling place? I'm becoming an amateur farmer myself.

If not for my 4 year old daughter I'd rather have the rattle snakes. They are pretty easy to deal with. Copperheads on the other hand are pretty darn aggressive. I remember my dad went fishing once and when he was driving home a black snake dropped out of the dash board onto his feet. Certainly better than rats!

 

Frantz;


I use "homestead" as a word describing my abode.


Good luck on your farming. It's hard to compete with agribusiness and farming is relentless work. When I was young I worked hay fields and orchards, but now I am content to work my homestead for enough fruits and vegetables to augment my family's food supply.


The rat episode has led me to a possible vehicle accessory. I've seen a sonic device that can be plugged into a wall socket and emits a sound beyond human range but painful for rodents. A 12 volt version for vehicles might be a good factory (or after-market) product. My service representative told me that I was the second rat-chewed-wire customer he had in the last two weeks. Given the abundance of rats in both urban and rural areas it would be nice to have a deterrence.


I've heard that Copperheads are cranky. With rattlesnakes, it depend on the type of snake. Sidewinders, if irked, will give you a run but diamondbacks tend to be a live-and-let live beast.