So my loving wife got me a Stebel horn for Christmas. instillation on my 2017 RTL was straight forward. Used the included relay. Works like a champ. We went for a spin today and had my first opportunity to try the horn. If I press the horn button for more than a quick beep with the cruise control set it trips the cruise control off, as in no longer set. The cruise is still on and I can re-engage right away. This one has me stumped with the exception of possibly a weak battery, which I would be suprised, the bike is only 8 months old and sets on the trickel charger in the garage when not being ridden. Any ideas?
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Stebel horn trips cruise control off
- Thread starter heynavt1
- Start date
IdahoMtnSpyder
Active member
Where does the ground side the horn connect to the ground wiring? If one of them is connected to the ground side of the cluster, or ECM, or whatever, maybe it raises the voltage on the ground side of the cruise control processor so that it thinks it's being turned off. That's the only thing I can think might be happening. For a test connect the ground side of the horn directly to the battery and see if that makes a difference. Where do you have the coil of the relay connected, in place of the OEM horn or parallel to it? Keep in mind the horn button is in the ground side of the OEM horn circuit.
I have my Wolo trumpets wired directly to battery negative and have noticed my radio mutes for a moment when I blast the horns.
Ground is wired direct to battery. Right now the only thing I can think to do is switch the oem horn leads wired to the relay and see if that makes a difference. I wouldn't think so, the relay doesn't care if the dc current flows left to right or right to left to close the relay, but I only got an into to electrical engineering when I was getting my aero eng degree, so I may well be wrong on that.
Temporarily wire the horn directly to the battery and see if that resolves the problem.
IdahoMtnSpyder
Active member
That may do it. The horn switch completes the ground circuit from the horn to ground. The horn button is part of the processor board in the Multi-switch on the left and so has a common ground with the processor board. The processor board in the right Multi-switch is connected only to the processor in the left handlebar. So if when you press the horn button you happen to be backfeeding into either or both the left processor board and right processor board via their ground path, that may be what is tripping the cruise control.
When I installed my Wolo trumpets I brought the power lead from the battery to the + side of the relay coil and the relay contact. The other side of the contact went to the horn compressor and the ground from the compressor back to battery ground. The - side of the relay coil is spliced into the horn lead between the horn and the horn button. In effect then the relay coil has + 12 v on both ends until the button is pushed. I left the OEM horn in place. It too has + 12 v on both connections until the button is pushed.
Easy Rider
New member
What kind of charger exactly ?
Hope it is not actually a cheap trickle charger.
The battery might have been "abused" at the dealership.
Check the connections at the battery terminals AND the main ground connection.
Having a voltmeter would be really helpful.
Not likely. The most likely cause for your symptoms is that your horn compressor is wired into an existing circuit that also powers some aspect of the cruise control system.
Easy Rider
New member
What ??
Easy Rider
New member
Very likely actually.
OR the horn is generating too much electrical noise which is feeding back into the CAN bus.
Actually with a DC relay, current direction does make a difference. But, that's not your problem because obviously the relay is working.
The purpose of a relay is to close a switch with a heavy current going through it WITHOUT that heavy current also going through the 'button' switch that actuates it. Think of the horn button as a remote control for the horn compressor. The actuator button can be small and light duty because it only has to carry the minimal current to 'fire' the relay. The relay has a plunger that causes a heavier duty switch to close, providing the larger current needed to drive the compressor. Call this the 'load' switch; it requires larger wires and should ideally have its own fused circuit (load circuit) direct to battery.
The smaller wires that run to the horn 'button' can be tapped into an existing circuit, such as lighting or accessory, because it draws just a minimal amount of current.
View attachment 169260
In the above diagram, the red colored switch would be your horn actuator button. The green one would be the 'load' circuit to run the compressor. 'NC' means not connected (there is no wire going to it). When the red switch is closed, the relay's coil closes the green switch by moving the arm from 'NC' position to the 'ON' position.
I hope this helps.
The smaller wires that run to the horn 'button' can be tapped into an existing circuit, such as lighting or accessory, because it draws just a minimal amount of current.
View attachment 169260
In the above diagram, the red colored switch would be your horn actuator button. The green one would be the 'load' circuit to run the compressor. 'NC' means not connected (there is no wire going to it). When the red switch is closed, the relay's coil closes the green switch by moving the arm from 'NC' position to the 'ON' position.
I hope this helps.
Easy Rider
New member
I was thinking about this as I was cleaning out the garage.................
And I think that dis-engaging the cruise when you blow the horn is a GOOD safety feature to have.
I would leave it alone.
:thumbup:
And I think that dis-engaging the cruise when you blow the horn is a GOOD safety feature to have.
I would leave it alone.
:thumbup:
Good point. Maybe they all work like that ... something to look into.
Exactly what I was thinking as well. Was really debating if I wanted to dig into it or not for that reason. I will say that the first time it happened at 70 mph and the rapid deceleration, including the voice activated auto-pilot yelling my my headset really took me by surprise.
Easy Rider
New member
What ?? :dontknow:
oldguyinTX
New member
I used the supplied relay (following the instructions carefully) and wired my Wolo + & - directly to the battery with an in-line 20 amp fuse on the + side, and have had no problems whatsoever. Might want to give that a try.
Have you tried sounding the horn at freeway speeds while cruise control is engaged?
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