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Drdclewis.
I have been trying to figure this out and I think I am losing my mind. Last week while fishing on Lake Norfork, I took the opportunity to visit the parts department at BassCat to do maintenance on my 2001 Pantera III. I started with replacing pump cores, seat bushings, and other odds and ends which just needed attention. During the process I found a couple of wiring errors coming from my A10 panel to my bilge pumps and float switch. Richard in Parts was very helpful in helping me properly wire my bilge pumps to work manually and automatically. By the end of the week, everything was working corretly on the panel and the master power switch EXCEPT the horn.Assuming it was the horn itself, I disconnected the positive connection from the horn and ran a separate power line directly from the battery to the horn to test the issue. The horn sounded perfectly. I reconnected the blue wire from the A10 panel and the horn failed again. As I had a couple of indicators burned out on my old A10 panel, I decided to replace the panel, thinking also my horn switch may be bad. I reconnected the harness to the new panel, all indicators functioned, but the horn still failed. When I pushed the horn button, you could see a drop in power in the boat, but no sound. SOOO, I decided to disconnect the horn and just use the test wire I installed to operate the horn not through the panel. BUT, when I took the blue wire loose from the horn, the A10 became none functioning. I then plugged the blue wire back on the horn, and the panel began to work properly on ALL items except the horn.When you turn on the master power, the item lights on the panel illuminate and all functions work as designed, except the horn.My question is what is wrong with the wiring which is requiring the horn to be connected for the panel to work, and how can I get the horn to work off the switch? BTW, I checked my horn ground and it was good. Help!
Horns are simple, power to horn aoogah! No power to horn = no noise. If the horn is not working and there is enough power in place then its the horn.
That is what I thought too. But that is not the case here I believe. You connect a 12 volt circuit directly to the horn, and as you say, aoogah!!! You connect the blue wire from the A10 to the horn…silence. And, why do you have to have the blue wire from the a10 panel connected to the horn for the rest of the panel to work? Why would the horn circuit have to be in place IF the circuit was wired correctly? When you hit the horn button on the a10, you hear the click of the button and the lights on the boat all dim way down. I would think that if you just disconnected the horn from the A10, the panel should still function. Then just run an independent horn circuit. I did that. Horn worked….panel went dead. Reconnected the blue horn wire from the A10…Panel works, horn does not. I believe whoever installed the harness did something wrong in the circuitry. OR this should be a common complaint. Thoughts?
Check the load from the A10 with a voltmeter, we suspect it is a power supply issue.
I was wondering if the load being pulled through the switch may be too much for the panel and thus, the direct battery connection would work but the panel not. I still dont understand why not having the horn connected would cause the panel to not function. Do yoiu have an answer for that? It seems that disconnecting the horn would just case the horn not to work. Not the panel to go out.
I have no idea what the problem is. But you should be aware that the horn can be activated when the master power switch is off and the A10 panel lights are off. Same with the bilge pumps, you can set auto bilge, switch off the master power, and the pumps will operate if the float switches them on.So there is apparently a second power source for the horn. Or at least one different than the other A10 functions.
Correct. There are two feeds. One from the master switch and one directly from the battery (always hot). I will have to check with a meter when I can to the horn again, but it is just weird. The horn works directly from the battery, but not when connected through my old or new A10 panel. BUT, when on the panel, you see a dramatic pull down of power when the button is pushed with no sound. I can understand the horn pulling too many amps and that the resistance through the switch may be a problem, but when would ALL functions on the panel go out when the horn is disconnected. THAT has me baffled!!
Okay, I got back home and took the horn leads loose. The A10 panel went dead. I taped the blue and black horn leads together and the panel and all the switches functioned as the were supposed to do, without of course, the horn. I connected a new electronic horn I ordered from Basscat to the two horn leads and it began to beep and chirp WITHOUT the horn button pressed. I then disconnected it and put a voltmeter on the leads. There is a constant 9.1 volts running through the horn. I am assuming that somehow the grounding circuit has been compromised and the horn is serving as the ground rather than the designated grounding lead. Is that likely correct? If so, is there a wiring diagram to help me track down which lead is crossed and he colors for all the a10 panel connections?
Just order a new ATen and if thats not it we would gladly credit it back. The wiring does not fail often, parts and connections do and you need to cut your time on this and go to the shortest route.
It really isnt the panel. I purchased from parts while at Norfork a new A10 and installed. I do not need a credit as I had a couple of lights out on the panel and the new one fixed that. It has to be in the harness somewhere I would think. Just looking for suggestions or guidance as to how to make pinpoint the short. But thanks for the offer. On that I am just fine.
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