No horn, airbag light and blown horn fuse

2003 Jetta TDI ~130k miles.

I replaced the fuse and it immediately blew again on the next start.

What should I look at?

Thanks.

sounds like a short. Follow the wire back from the horn and see where its broken.

Finally got some time to work on this issue. Horns removed and fuse does not blow on startup.

Question: Are the horns and airbags electrically connected, such as a common fuse?

Or am I dealing with two separate issues here?

Reason being I still have the airbag light and can't get it to go out.


ADDING: I used test leads to jump both horns to the battery. Both seemed to work fine. Should I go after the horn relay next?

This sounds like a faulty clock spring behind the air bag on the steering wheel. I too had an air bag light with no horns, but a new clock spring cured it. You will need VCDS to confirm this. I don't recall the DTC's.

JB05 said:

This sounds like a faulty clock spring behind the air bag on the steering wheel. I too had an air bag light with no horns, but a new clock spring cured it. You will need VCDS to confirm this. I don't recall the DTC's.

Click to expand...

Yes sounds like the clock spring is broken.

There's 2 ways to confirm this. Vagcom will show you the drivers airbag module is open or shorted OR you can remove the clock spring and test the leads with a ohm meter.

My bad clock spring did show continuity with an ohm meter, so IMO, that is not a conclusive test.

JB05 said:

My bad clock spring did show continuity with an ohm meter, so IMO, that is not a conclusive test.

Click to expand...

Did you just check for opens or did you check for crosses and shorts? If you check for all these then the test is conclusive.

Take a broken one apart sometime. It's nothing more than a strip of ribbon wires.

I thought I had checked for both opens and crosses. I pulled it apart and the ribbon wire looked fine.

JB05 said:

I thought I had checked for both opens and crosses. I pulled it apart and the ribbon wire looked fine.

Click to expand...

Strange.

Were you aware a lot of clock springs have a built in "shunt" at the car side of the clock spring? When you disconnect the harness to the body, a shunt puts a short on the 2 or 4 pins going to the airbag itself to prevent accidental deployments? Maybe that's why you weren't able to fully pinpoint the fault?

I've diagnosed and repaired many clock springs on all makes and models. I have yet to see one I couldn't successfully test good or bad with a simple continuity test.

I have the same problem--airbag light on, and no horn.
But it showed up after I replaced the clutch. Could I have screwed something up in the engine compartment? I don't have access to VAG-COM without an investment of several hours.

Or maybe it's just coincidence. I did, however, disconnect the suspension during the clutch job and dropped the steering unit to its limit (about 6") without disconnecting it altogether. Might that have screwed up the clock spring?

A replacement clock spring did the trick, in time for the annual safety check. Had a spare in a pile of parts sitting in the garage for years. Call it a win--thanks for the collective wisdom!