Horn Doesn't work but Ticks.

Sort of new on mechanical. So I would appreciate some help.
1968 Riviera.
The horn doesn't honk, but when you press the steering wheel to honk, you get a tick/ticking noise. Any idea on what this could be?

 

the horn has to be grounded to the metal

 

Is the tick under the dash or at the horn. If it is at the horn, the tick indicates it is getting power to it. Check the ground, and make sure it is good.
Horns can get clogged up with dirt and other stuff and they will quit working.

 

The ticking sounds likes it coming from somewhere on the drivers side firewall.

 

That's the relay clicking.

Disconnect the wire from the horn and connect a wire straight from the + of the battery to the terminal on the horn.

If the horn works works when you follow the procedure above, next you should check if there's power on the original horn wire when you push the horn button.

 

Sounds like the horn relay located on the rear of the left front wheel well just below the washer jug. Could be bad corroded connections, a bad relay, poor/bad connection at the steering wheel or horn bar, or poor electrical connections or ground connections on the horn or the horn mounting brackets. o No:
If your keeping that car Mike, I strongly recommend you purchase a '68 Buick Shop Manual. It's probably the best investment you can make, and will provide information and answers to a lot of the questions you may have - a 'must have' for any restoration project !
They do appear frequently on evilBay at various prices. :beer :TU:

 

Thanks for the info guys!
Ya, I went ahead and bought the manuals. I bought them on CD a while ago. I will be checking it tonight. I also noticed they have troubleshooting sections as well. It arrived a couple of weeks ago. Its a CD, came with The 68 Buick Shop Manual and also came with the 68 Body By Fisher. Pretty much the books on CD. Which was a great buy, tons of info! like you said a lot of info and must have.
I already gathered some pictures as well from it too, because I will have to replace the hoses for the vacuums/hideaway headlights. I will be checking the CD/book again tonight for the horn. I will check the car later this week(Since its not with me right now) and see how it goes.

 

I see your from Ontario, if you are at all close to Ottawa, you need to make friends with Rivman Randy and his Riv tool box....

 

Ya, Rivman Randy is a good guy. He, along with some others, are always helping me out on this forum. I believe he's 5 hours away from me. I am near the GTA.

 

I am having the same problem on my 68. The relay near the headlights, driver side, clicks but no power to the horn assembly. I've learned that a clicking relay is not necessarily a working relay.

 

Okay, now we get no ticks, nothing. We replaced the relay with a new one, and still get nothing. The wires also sparked, but the fuses are all okay. But no ticks, no sparks any more. We also checked the terminals in the steering wheel/ horn.

We also tested the horns like Bad Boattail has said, but nothing from either horn.o No:

Could it a be both horns? A wire? We have to get a test meter to see where the power is going to I guess.

 

Did you also use an extra ground wire when you tested the horns ?

 

Yes we used a ground wire too.

 

Test light between the horn wire and - terminal of the battery ?

If this works, you know for sure that the wiring + relay is okay.
So the next logical step is to replace the horns.

 

Ya, I'll see if I can get a test light this week and see how it goes.

 

Two pieces of wire and a 12 V light bulb can also do the trick if you have to wait to buy a test light.