30 Tudor; horn very weak when lights on. Why?

W

Willynch

Member
I'm new to model A. Bought one last week. Horn is "fading". Even worse when lights on. Battery problem? Generator? Horn?

Seems the same if car idling or moving.

Picked up Les Andrews books but thought someone out there could point me in the right direction.

Thanks
 
SteveB31 said:
Battery.
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Also, a lot can be done in oiling, adjusting, cleaning or installing that little hidden relay inside the horn cover. The relay shortens the distance of current travel by 7 or 8 feet & it doesn't rely on a "less than perfect" horn button contact.
I used a 6 volt, one wire, alternator & the horn always sounded great, even when idling, even without the relay & the stock lights were always bright & when cranking, it almost sound like it was on 12 Volts, even with a 5 year old battery.
I'm quite sure Steve has those horn relays in stock:D
Bill W.
 
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You have a low voltage problem. How is you generator set? Does it keep up? What condition is your battery? How good are the grounds? How good is the horn button? Use a wiring diagram and a good volt meter, NOT a test light and follow the path from the battery to the horn, same for the ground. This is all assuming you have tested the horn and it is operating as it should.
 
I have a volt meter and will try tracing things out. As I mentioned, Im brand new at this so I will see what I can figure out. I bought from a local enthusiast so I will reach out to him as well.

If I electrocute myself the next post will come from my wife
 
Willynch said:
I have a volt meter and will try tracing things out. As I mentioned, Im brand new at this so I will see what I can figure out. I bought from a local enthusiast so I will reach out to him as well.

If I electrocute myself the next post will come from my wife
Click to expand...


We will watch for her post, what's her name ( lol ) ? Wayne
 
You may want to take the horn off and try to "honk" it on a good battery. If it works well, then it in not the horn but some of the things mentioned above.
 
For starters use some fine sand paper and clean the commutator on the horn motor. Might be all you need to do. Take the cover off and hold the sand paper against it and turn it over a few times by hand to shine it up a bit.
 
Willynch said:
Horn is "fading". Even worse when lights on. Battery problem? Generator? Horn?
Click to expand...

Welcome to the hobby!!!
To answer your question, yes.

The horn draws 5 amps and the lights even more. If you have;

Weak battery,
generator set incorrectly for night time use,
Dirty grounds,
Horn that needs adjusting/oiling

It will sound "sick".
 
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