Horn doesn't sound

wayne1426

wayne1426

Junior Member
Now, that I have the basic wiring problem solved (THANK YOU!!) I still have the problem with the horn. I took it off and took it to a local shop where they fixed it up and made it work. Brought it home and when I connect it directly to a 6 volt battery it works fine. But when I hook it up through the car it won't work at all. I did the continuity check on the horn rod and that was fine. I have a brand new wiring harness installed and the all the lights work like they're supposed to but not the horn. So, I don't know what else to try here. Again, any advice will be greatly appreciated!

I thank you all so much for helping me with the wiring problem I had!
 
The voltage that you are actually getting to the horn now that it's installed is probably a bit different that what you had when it was directly connected to the battery. If you look at the back of the horn you will see a screw that is easily accessible. That is the adjustment screw for the pressure on the diaphragm. When you adjust that screw you will notice that it will only have to be moved a very small amount until you feel it click into place. Do the adjustment a little at a time. Good luck & I hope you get to hear that sweet AHOOOGA sound soon!
 
You might want to check and see if one of the wires that goes to the horn is hot. This wire needs to be hooked to the correct side so the horn turns the right way. The way the horn works is, the one wire is hot all the time and the button grounds the other wire so the horn works.
 
Thank you all again! The horn works! That adjusting screw is very touchy though. Hope it stays right where it is now.
 
wayne1426 said:
Thank you all again! The horn works! That adjusting screw is very touchy though. Hope it stays right where it is now.
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If you tighten the screw that holds the cover on too much you can throw it out of whack as well, for future reference.
 
note thet the original horn cover retainer screw only had threads a short distance up the screw shank. This allowed you to tighten the screw to the end of the threads without tightening the cover so far that you distort the horn. Todays repop screws have threads all the way. If you run them in too far, the screw can contact the brush and short the brush, resulting in a dysfunctional horn and black smoke if you have the hot wire to that brush.
 
James Rogers said:
You might want to check and see if one of the wires that goes to the horn is hot. This wire needs to be hooked to the correct side so the horn turns the right way. The way the horn works is, the one wire is hot all the time and the button grounds the other wire so the horn works.
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Hi James, long time no contact. You might want to rethink the series wound horn reversing with reverse voltage. Just Sayin' Rainmaker.
 
Check the ground,also. I had to go thru everything from the horn to the headlight mounts to get mine properly grounded. all it takes it some time and some sand paper
 
Ok, well, I must have a repo screw there then because the threads go all the way to the head. And no lock nut either. It does work but doesn't sound just right.

I'm not sure how to go about getting it properly grounded. Can you describe that for me?

An old timer here told me to put an 8 volt battery in the car and the horn would sound better. Have you ever heard of doing that?
 
One of the wires to the horn is hot, the other ground. The ground wire is switched by the horn button. Clean commutators and a drop of oil on the bearings are essential to good horn operation, and most horns need attention here bi annually. If the commutators are dirty with oil and carbon, take a rag with a little brake clean on it and rub them as you turn the armature until they are clean. Really dirty ones need some emery cloth, then gently clean out the grooves between the copper. Don't dig too deep in the groove, just get the debris off the insulator, preferably with a non metallic tool. Then clean the bullet ends of the wires and the copper clips they snap into. The horn contact in the light switch should also be cleaned. If your steering box is a leaker, the oil on the contacts will not help the horn. The ground strap and clamp to the battery must be clean and bright at their contact points as well.

If that does not get a good ahooga, then you will have to test the circuit to see if there is poor conductivity somewhere like the button or within the windings of the horn. If it ahoogas well with a direct wire from the starter neg wire and a good ground, then the problem is in the wiring circuit. If a direct connection still does not perform well, suspect the horn internals.
 
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