ok, took apart the horn i have. it wasn't actually on the truck, it was a junkyard find, so i'm not sure if it actually works or not. you guys have any suggestions for me? i don't think my truck had a horn originally, so other than a relay, i'm not sure what sort of stuff is required. thanks!! jon also... pretty rusty there in the last picture. only on the speaker side, though. would that affect the way it works? should i try to dissasemble any further? and how? i'm kinda stuck. thanks!!
Horn Service Notes Stop now and begin to wire brush the diaphram and bell etc. When it's all nice and clean , re-paint it gloss black with RustOleum paint , no primer . Adjust the horn as follows : connect a 6 volt battery across the terminals in series with a test light , loosen the locknut and slack the points adjuster screw untill the light goes out ~ now _gently_ tighen it until the light just comes back on and hold it there whilst you snug up the locknut . Mount the horn firmly in a vise or bolt it to the intake manifold and apply power to one lead and ground the othere ~ it should begin to toot , leaving it connected adjust the points screw to the _loudest_ toot , this is very important . Be aware you _cannot_ possibly adjust the horn unless it is -solidly- bolted to a large heavy object . Be aware the adjustment screw is very delicate and 2 turns can wreck the horn beyond repair . Most of the time I find that cleaning the points and re-adjusting will bring a dead horn back to life . Early trucks didn't have horn relays but it's wise to add one . Your old 6 volt horn will last forever on 12 volts unless you like to lean on it for long periods . I hope this helped , I LOVE horns and drive my son crazy by buying every single $1.00 one I find @ swap meets and prying them off long dead derilict vehicles we find in the desert...
ok, i'll need a little clarification on what the locknut, points adjuster screw, diaphragm and bell are, if you please. i'll check to see if there is a diagram in the assembly manual book. thanks!! jon
can i ask why no primer? also, there is a gasket between the cone shaped part and the actual working parts (i guess that's the bell?) just wondering if i can rip it out to clean it better. can a new one be made? i imagine you can't just buy something like that, right? thanks! jon
I have 2 brand new looking NOS 6 volt horns but they do not work. Any one have a clue on fixing them ? Would it cost a bunch or rather cheap ?
What you're calling the bell is the diaphram . the locknut and adjusting screw is in the middle . some years have a seperate adjuster right on the contact points . The gasket is important as it keep water out of the guts , make a new one out of medium thickness gasket paper . No primer as it'll make the paint chip off . Use the good fish oil paint I mentioned or POR-15 if you're rich , that stuff wears like iron and is nice and glossy too .
awesome! thanks!! steve- seems pretty cheap if you can adjust it and make it work... i'm an amature, though jon
Jon ; Look on the backsdie of the horn ~ you've so far not posted pix of the contact ponts , usually cleaning them will return it to service . Steve , if possible , remove the cover and look at the points ~ carefully slide some lint free paper (business cards) through the points untill it comes out clean then power it up . Remember : you _MUST_ bolt it or clamp it to a solid thing for it to work correctly . If , when you put the power to it , it just hums or makes tiny squawks , take your BIG screwdriver by the tip and _WHACK_ the horn with the plastic handle to jar it into opperation , if it begins tooting , let it toot a while before disconnecting it .
I've always heard: "You the proper tool for the job" With that being said, should one use a BIG flat head screwdriver or a phillips head?
more pictures you guys are awesome!! this is why i love working on my truck. "get the screwdriver!! the BIG ONE!!" ha! ok, so we've got the bell, which is the cone-shaped megaphone thingie, right? and the diaphragm, which is the speaker-looking thing inside the cone, and then the adjusting screw and nut which are right in the middle of the diaphragm, and the contact points which are somewheres on the backside of the diaphragm. man, i could have sworn i put some pictures of the back of this horn up here, but i guess not. anyway- here goes- i'm guessing this is the contact point you're referring to?? jon
That's It ! Yes Jon ~ those are they and you can see the two nuts and screw , adjust those , not the one in the middle of the diaphram . You might have to clean the points bit if they don't have continuity ~ test with your test light (NOT a meter !) and if the light lights , try adjusting the points as I wrote above . I wrecked a few horns before I learned ow to do this so don't be askeert to try it ~ there's still plenty of old horns out there and most can be fixed .
Choosing & Calibrating The Right Screwdriver Just so ! it is critical to select the proper tool for this job as failure to do so will cause your vintage truck to explode Sadly , I am not permitted to show you the secret -Nate
Steering done so I thought I would move on to my horn. I mounted in the vise and attached a ground from the battery to the black wire terminal of the horn and hot from battery to the red wire terminal of the horn. Then I touched the adjustment nut. When I came down from the ceiling and jerked the hot wire off I suddenly realized that bolting it down tight like Nate said had a profound effect. I then settled down the dog cause he was howling and looking at me like I was an evil torturer. So, I put it on the truck and when I went to wire it up it started blowing as soon as I attached the red wire then stopped and has been dead since. One wire goes from the horn button to the terminal block then on to the hot side of the horn. The other goes from the other side of the terminal block to the ground side of the horn. It looks like I am pumping 12 volts to it continuously. It didn't do it long. Did I burn it up? Gater
' Terminal Block' did you mean to say fuse block? . It might have a relay but the horn button wire goes either to the relay )if so equipped) or the horn itself , never , ever to the fusebox . to see if you've killed the horn, disconnect the harness wires and ground one side of it and run a jumper from the + post (" BATT ") of the regulator , it should toot then . Running 12volts through a 6 volt horn won't hurt it unless you toot it for along time ~ even then the points will usually simply stick and you should be able to clean 'em up ,re-adjust and make it work O.K. . If you ran 12 volts to the horn button , you may have fried the contacts , remove the horn button and steering wheel , polish them up with brass polish (note : NOT steel wool or other abrasive !) as best you can and smear a thin coat of Molybium based wheel bearing grease on the contact surface to preserve it .
Yeah man! Okay, the wire from the horn button goes to the fuse bock to a dead terminal where it connects to the wire that goes to the ground side of the horn. The wire from ammeter goes to another dead terminal where it connects to the wire that goes to the hot side of the horn. The hot side it hot all the time. The horn blows when it is grounded at the horn button. You have said this before but it makes sense now that I have seen it with my own eyes. My two problems that were keeping it from working were: The spring in the contact in the steering wheel was so weak that the contact was stuck inside the plastic casing. I replaced it with a spring from an ink pen that was stronger (I watched McGyver too) and it wrks fine now. The other was that I didn't listen to Nate close enough when he said that it was a delicate adjustment on the contacts. A slight turn made a big difference. The contacts are so close that I can't tell if they are actually touching or not. The horn sounds great! Now, seat belts and heater and I am "done". Thanks, Nate. You are the best. Gater
Glad to be of help Now , how about a nice picture of your finished honr on the truck , maybe along with one of how nasty it looked before you began.....
