Sticking Horn Button

[NAKID]

2015 Monster 821, 26k miles, all weather riding. Horn button has started to stick on occasionally. Some frantic button pressing has got it to unstick the three times it's done it so far. I did a search and couldn't find anything relevant. Is this something where I can dismantle the left side hand controls and lube the button?

[cintronr]

I had that happen on a 696 monster. There is a special grease that might fix that. Just a few screws to disassemble. I saw your profile pic has AZ. I live in the valley and can look at it with you. Just send me a PM if ya want.

[NAKID]

Thanks, I was hoping it was something simple like that.

As for AZ, I don't live there anymore. Born and raised though. I live in Southern California now.

[cintronr]

I have to warn you though, the grease is only temporary or at least it was for me anyway(rain to blame). I broke down and bought a new control module through eBay. New one is like $70. I bought one used though. I'm never going to Cali again, so your on your own haha.

[NAKID]

Mine is still under an extended warranty. I just don't want to be without the bike for several days while it's being addressed.

Mine was likely caused by rain as well I ride pretty much every day regardless of the weather.

[NAKID]

OK, so, it happened again today, only worse.

Full disclosure, I am running an aftermarket horn (Denali SoundBomb) with a relay and full wiring kit. It's wired directly to the battery and the original horn wires are connected to the relay.

The issue this morning happened when it once again stuck, but I couldn't get the horn to shut off. Turning off the bike did not shut the horn off. The location of the horn allows me to easily disconnect it. But when reconnecting it, it continued to sound.

Is it possible the relay failed and is stuck in the closed position?

[EEL]

If the button is unstuck and the horn is still going its gotta be the relay. I'm just concerned why it is on after the bike is off. Has the default wiring been bypassed?

My stupid question.. Why the heck are you using your horn so much?. I think I've used it a total of 4 times.

[NAKID]

If the button is unstuck and the horn is still going its gotta be the relay. I'm just concerned why it is on after the bike is off. Has the default wiring been bypassed?

Default wiring hasn't been bypassed, but the stock wiring doesn't get power directly from the battery like the relay does. The compact air horn needs more power than the 5 volts or so that the stock horn gets.

My stupid question.. Why the heck are you using your horn so much?. I think I've used it a total of 4 times.

I live and ride in southern California. People are too busy on their phones to notice that they're drifting out of their lane. This is the reason I bought the horn in the first place. I use it daily.

[Speeddog]

~~~SNIP~~~

Is it possible the relay failed and is stuck in the closed position?

Yes, that's what has happened.

If the dedicated wiring from the battery is bundled together with the original horn wires, *perhaps* it's shorted there, powering up the relay.
But unlikely.

[NAKID]

Yes, that's what has happened.

If the dedicated wiring from the battery is bundled together with the original horn wires, *perhaps* it's shorted there, powering up the relay.
But unlikely.

Given the quality of the kit, I don't think it shorted.

So, at least it's a cheap fix, but damn that is gonna be a pain to change. It's in the battery compartment, and on the 821, it's quite cramped...

[NAKID]

Just replaced the relay last night. While I was in there, I took about 2-2.5 feet of excess wiring out of the kit that came with it. There's not a lot of room in the battery box to begin with so this made it much easier. And opening that all up reinforced my opinion that it's a quality kit. Nice large gauge wiring throughout.

[Langanobob]

I had a starter relay start to stick and the  cause turned out to be a battery that was on its last leg.  Seems that the voltage dropped so low when the starter was cranking that more current flowed, causing the contacts to overheat and stick.  Sounds counterintuitive.   

[NAKID]

I've had intermittant issues with the horn not working since I replaced the relay. I'm thinking the switch itself may have some contact issue. I'll probably take the left side hand controls off this weekend and take a look. Really not worth the time to take it to the dealer...