How do you keep the horn from blaring in the middle of a cold night on a 92 Mazda Protege you can't simply disconnect because of an igntion Interlock Device?

Answer 1

The red flag that answers this question is "in the middle of a cold night." Inside the pad in the center of the steering wheel are the contacts which close the horn circuit when the pad is depressed. Until someone depresses the pad, the contacts are held apart by a piece of foam. The foam deteriorates with age, and "in the middle of a cold night," which is when the horn blares, the foam further shrinks, allowing the contacts to close the switch and sound the horn.

Possible solutions:

1) Replace old foam with new foam, and you may get another 15 or so years normal service, depending on how often you further deteriorate the foam by pressing on it.

2) For a temporary fix, remove the fuse. The problem with this is that you will now have no brake lights, not only a ticketable violation in any jurisdiction, but dangerous as well. The fusebox layout was obviously designed by a committee, as it is inconceivable that any one person could have been so stupid as the run a horn and brakelights on the same fuse circuit.

3) Cut the wire, or if you can find it, disconnect the horn wire at a junction point. The horn itself (in a '93 Protege, and, I'm guessing, in a '92 as well), is located in the right front fender area. Open the hood, look down there, and you'll see it. Unless you plan on having your vehicle inspected by the law, you don't need your horn anyway. It is a required piece of equipment where I live, but I never use it anyway.