[GT_424038]

Hi everyone
I took delivery of my A6 Technology in Jan 2023 from Audi Lucknow and it has been a pleasure to own the machine so far, attaching a click of the beautiful Timeless Audi.
Recently I happened to visit my in-laws in Jamshedpur and took this opportunity to take A6 for a long spin.
On the trip itself I noticed that the horn of A6 remains inactive till the time the ignition is turned on. I found it quite strange and at first thought it to be a malfunction in my car, but on confirming with the SA I found that Audi made the horn system in this manner itself. I was also told that this omission exists in all the Recent Audis.
Imagine a situation in which a person switches off his car while being stuck in a traffic jam and suddenly the vehicle in front of his car starts reversing unintentionally or due to a slope the first reaction of a prudent driver would be to honk to let the other person know or to warn him for the same.
Since then I have been wondering that what could be the reason behind configuring the horn in this manner.

[Jeroen]

Actually, on many cars the horn is switched off when the ignition is in the off position.

I don’t think there is a particular rule to it being one way or the other. One of the big advantages of it being wired through the ignition is that nobody can accidentally push the horn when somebody else has their head under the hood, or in the wheel well during repair, maintenance. Ask me how I know!

There might also be other reasons. In many countries it is illegal to use a horn except in cases of eminent danger. So blowing a cars horn is an offence, and a parked car has no need to the use of a horn.

I would think by and large switching the horn off through the ignition is better. Because when a car is parked you want as few systems powered as possible. In case of a small cohort circuit, e.g. A wire being charged the battery will drain, possible fire hazards etc.

Your example of people, switching off the ignition in a traffic jam is illegal in many countries and it would be an immediate fail on their respective driver test.

With the ignition in the off position your steering lock is engaged and none of the board systems work. Notably air bags! But even door locks might be a problem. So as long as your car is on the road and not properly parked you should always have the ignition set to on. You can switch the engine off, but you must put the key or FOB back to the ignition on position.

Of course, when you are stuck in traffic for a long time, you might want to have your radio on. On most modern cars, same thing, won't work in the off position either.

Jeroen

[ashivas89]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

... and a parked car has no need to the use of a horn.


Jeroen

In India parked cars get backed into by genius drivers

Mostly agree with the other points though.

[FIAT3031]

This is not just the case with recent Audi models. I have a 2015 A4, & the horn doesn't function when the ignition is off.

This 'maybe' a thing in European cars - since it did not work in my Fiat Uno as well (back in year 2000)

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by GT_424038

Hi everyone
I took delivery of my A6 Technology in Jan 2023 from Audi Lucknow and it has been a pleasure to own the machine so far, attaching a click of the beautiful Timeless Audi.
Recently I happened to visit my in-laws in Jamshedpur and took this opportunity to take A6 for a long spin.
On the trip itself I [b]noticed that the horn of A6 remains inactive till the time the ignition is turned on.

Congratulations on the car (albeit much late of course)! Looks nice!

As for the car - in most cars that aren't built to only one goal - cost cutting - the horn is actually part of the harness via ignition. I have seen most well thought out cars, to have horns, that do not work when the ignition is off, this includes most Germans that I have been in, as well as most local made cars including Tata.

I feel its alright to wire it this way - as a bonus, this removes a chance of a live 12V wire when the car is parked, especially in areas prone to rat bites. Horn wires tend to be exposed near the contacts and easily accessible for the rats in most cars.

Only in economy grade Maruti/Suzukis have I seen a dumb-wired horn,thats always directly from the battery, without ignition series.

[vijaysrk]

Same thing in my 2021 VW Polo GT. The horn doesn't work unless the key is turned to the ignition position.

On all other (non-German) cars I've driven in India, the horn is hardwired to the battery and works irrespective of ignition position.