Strange random short w/ horn and high beam 97 240SX

[Chaws15]

I haven't found much on the forums on this so here goes...

Last night I was going to take the 240 out, so like any other day I unlocked it with the remote, got in, and turned the ignition when all of a sudden the horn started blaring and the high beams decided not to turn off regardless of high beam switch position.

I tried restarting the car, locking and unlocking with the remote again, but eventually I just popped the hood and disconnected the negative terminal.

Now, I'm afraid to take her out on the roads because it may short again at very inopportune times... so any thoughts on what might be the cause of this? Thanks!

[OutToWinPAHC]

car lowered? If so pull your wheels and inspect the wire harness in the wheel wells which is probably rubbed through

[krash]

werd.

[Chaws15]

car lowered? If so pull your wheels and inspect the wire harness in the wheel wells which is probably rubbed through

Car's not lowered, mostly stock besides some tidbits. Although previous owner might have installed an aftermarket horn at one point in time.

[OutToWinPAHC]

strange, but look for damage in those areas

[biggie]

Possible the horn button/metal got warped or something for the horn issue.

But wouldn't think that would effect the lights.

If nothing in wire loom under fender then check all wires connections on the steering column, head light switch and take off steering wheel cover to look around.

[Chaws15]

Okay interesting development... I haven't really checked anything yet but wanted to see the issues in full...

Right now as the car sits, when I turn the car on she starts up pretty rough, and it's never had issues with rough idle... feels like the engine is gyrating on the mounts a wee bit... aside from rough idle (the engine was cool) whenever I press on the horn, the high beams light up at the same time.

Are there prone areas within the engine bay, like points on the harness, that could lead to something like this? I'm pretty sure the source shouldn't be under the fender because the car was never modded for coils or anything..

[maj Andres]

S13 or S14?

Aftermarket horn? check wiring to and from.

Stock or aftermarket steering wheel? If aftermarket, check contacts.

[4cefed]

This could be a grounding issue also. It's possible the clock spring in the steering wheel could have broken or isn't making contact anymore. Pull the steering wheel cover and check continuity between the steering wheel and a ground on the body somewhere. I've had very strange things happen like this when a ground came off.

[BentCrank]

I had an issue one time where the doors would unlock when I put the high beams on. Turned out to be an exposed wire on the aftermarket alarm was rubbing up against some wires underneath steering column.

[Chaws15]

This could be a grounding issue also. It's possible the clock spring in the steering wheel could have broken or isn't making contact anymore. Pull the steering wheel cover and check continuity between the steering wheel and a ground on the body somewhere. I've had very strange things happen like this when a ground came off.

As of right now I'm thinking it's a grounding issue also...

Today I looked to see if the PIAA aftermarket (presumably) horn harness was the source of the problem... messed around with it, but I'm pretty sure it's not causing the issue.

What's weird too is, when I take out the fuse for the horn and press on the horn (while the car is on), the high beams stay lit until I shut off and restart the car. When I take out either of the fuses for the headlight lamps, it does NOT remain on, but only turns on when I hit the horn.

Mind you also, this stuff only happens when the car is on. While off, there seems to be no problem with the horn and the highbeams operating normally.