VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Horn

Where's the best place to ground the horn? Last night I took apart my none working horn, and upon reassembly it worked fine. It appears the previous owner had it grounded directly to the front terminal of the generator. If I want to do more rewiring, what is the best guage of wire?

Thanks

Jarhead,

I installed a body ground strap from the cowl to the frame. I found that wood is a good insulator and this body sits on wood. Sometimes my horn would blow and sometimes not. Its grounded to the radiator bolt now and it works good.

I've done the same thing as John above. I wired a small 14 guage wire from the horn contact to a radiator bolt to do the trick.

Also when experimenting with the "ground" wire, I was often getting sparks. Does that mean there's a short in the positive lead? Inside the horn it appears the positive and the negative leads are connected. Also, my horn assembly has a negative charge on it's own without connecting a ground wire, but the horn doesn't blow? Any advice???

You do not mention what year you are working on, however if it is 1929-32 the wiring is all the same. Your horn has two terminals. They are NOT connected together inside the horn. The proper wiring is to connect one terminal to a voltage source. This could be at the generator or at the starter terminal, or other source.

The remaining terminal goes to the horn button. When the button is pressed it completes the circuit to ground and energizes the horn. The horn does NOT have to be grounded.

Use 14 gage wire as the horn draws considerable amperage.

jarhead,

When I purchased my pan horn it was not working.
After disconnecting the leads from the car.
I hooked the horn leads up to a six volt battery charger. I held the tuning screw with a screwdriver and loosened the retaining nut.
Then I turned the screw 1/4 turn to the right & left until I got a BLAST.
Then while holding the screw I tightened the nut.

Thats how I tested my horn.

:o :o :o I deleted my silly question :o :o :o :o

Ed: As Antique Mechanic stated the horn does not require a ground wire. Check your wiring diagram for 1932. You will see that there are two wires that go to the horn. One wire goes from the mast jacket bushing to the horn and the other wire goes from the light switch to the horn. The horn does not have to be grounded, but it is grounded to the body when it is bolted to the headlight support.

Ray, Are you saying the horn should carry the negative current? I'm working on a 31 pancake horn. I thought it strange that the inside looks the way it does. The two external terminals are connected inside. There is a small medal "bridge" between the two leads. But before I installed it, i layed it on the hood and hooked up one lead, and used a piece of wire, and got it to work...also made a few sparks...

Hello All,

It appears to me the question should be. Is the body component which is supposed to be grounded really grounded and thus capable of completeing the circuit when the horn button is depressed? Or is additional grounding needed on this uni-body construction to make perfect the circuit.

If the horn is wired correctly, and adjusted correctly, you could hold the horn in your hand, press the horn button and it would work. The horn body does not need an additional ground connection.

What appears to be a CONNECTION inside the horn is the make/break points that makes the diaphragm move in coordination with the electromagnet.

Hello All,

This question is not about grounding at the horn its self. It is that a ground is needed some where on the body to complete the circuit ,when the horn button is depressed, and the body components involved must connect in such a way that current can flow!
Kipper,

Your question was not silly! Stick by your guns!

Your assumption is correct. Inside the steering column is a brass/copper ring held by the rubber and provides a contact. This bushing/contact has a wire attached that goes down the steering column and ends up at the horn.

When the horn button is pressed it connects this ring to the steering column which acts as the return ground wire through the column, to the frame, and then back to the negative terminal on the battery.

The horn does NOT need to be grounded.

Thanks All, Your answers are on their way to saving me some green. Ray, I don't quite "get it" The horn is suppying the negative current? I'll spend a few dollars on some 14 gage wire and experiment

It sounds so dam simple. The horn is an electromagnet in a circuit. The horn button when depressed completes the circuit. The ground can be anywhere in that circuit. However, the circuit must be complete when the horn button is depressed.
If the ground is not good why not. Find the source of the ground problem!

As I go back up the line and re-read the posts it dawns on me that you are hooking up the wiring completely wrong. Follow closely: one terminal on the horn (doesn't make any difference which one) is connected to the A+ (this may be generator, starter switch, amp-meter, ect) the other terminal is connected to the wire that goes up the steering column to the horn button. The horn button completes the circuit through the ring on the shaft bushing to the metal steering column which is attached to the frame and then by the ground strap to the negative post on the battery.

This is perhaps the most simple circuit on an oldster.

THE HORN (PANCAKE OR TRUMPET) DOES NOT NEED TO BE GROUNDED.

Ray,

I have a headache! No one is completely wrong.

We were all just on different pages.

You're welcome!

You can also connect one of the wires (like Raymondo says...it doesn't matter which one) to the light switch. There is a terminal on the back of the light switch for the horn wire as shown in the wiring diagram.

Hurray For RAY

Hey Dog,

I know when I'm licked!

Hey Tin-man,

Is this personal for you?

Got ya all...sorry to "bug" you further...but it's not working...all I'm getting is a big spark and smoke...when connected to the light bar, my whole horn is running a - charge and connecting a lead to the front (towards the radiator) post on the generator causes me much stress. I had it working well last night, when it wasn't connected to the light bar, and now tonight much worse..It seems to me that running a wire from the light switch to the horn will have the same results. I was taught years ago the whole car had a negative charge and it's the positive charge that runs through all the switches that when closed, work. You close a positive switch to run the lights. The brake pedal closes a switch...etc...And now I'm "hearing" that using the horn closes a negative switch.???

Jarhead,

Please don't hook up any more wires until you understand the process!

Disconnect both wires from the horn, then check to see if either terminal on the horn shows continuity to the horn body. If it does, you have a problem with the horn itself. The horn switch provides ground to the horn, unlike other switches on the car that provide a switched +v to a grounded load.