VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 36 accessory Town and Country horns

The right horn (shorter) doesn't work. The left (longer)does. I've got the whole radiator brace/horn assembly off the car while the engine is out and testing. Put a NOS relay on as well. As I recall this horn hasn't been honking for awhile--when it was on the car as well. Also tried adjusting the points (I guess that's what they're called) in the right horn, not knowing really what I was doing, but nothing changed.

It doesn't appear to be getting a circuit through the horn--when both left and right horns hooked to the same terminal on the relay neither horn would work.

Any ideas? And how does the adjustment work in the horns? The horns were grounded when testing--and the longer was loud, so shouldn't be that. Thanks!

It sounds like you have adjusted the non-working horn to the point it is a direct short which also kills the other horn.

Disconnect the two horns and work with the non-working horn. To adjust the horn unscrew the adjusting screw until you can see between the points. Now apply power and slowly adjust the screw until it touches the other point. This should make the horn sound, keep adjusting till you achieve the lowedst sound.

Thanks! I'll try this systematic method. When adjusting before, wasn't sure how they should be set. I had power connected and ground to the short horn, but no matter how loose or tight the points, no sound out of the the short horn.

When you connect to the horn does it draw current? As you screw the adjusting screw do you reach a point that it draws current? Your horn may be burned out if it does not draw current.

If you detach the wire from the horn and then touch it to the contact screw do you get a spark? If not then either the points need to be cleaned, tightened, replaced or the coil is bad or you have a bad ground or ???

Horns are basically simple devices. An electromagnet is energized and de-energized using a set of points and diaphragm. The osculations of the diaphragm produce the sound. If the coil wire on the electromagnet, diaphragm and points are good and properly adjusted the horn will work.

Thanks everyone! Both horns are now sounding! The points were not opened enough on the shorter horn.

But now I cannot the horns to work through the relay. Hooking up directly to the horns--both work at the same time. Going through the relay--none sound. The relay points click open and closed--and with a test light there is current coming out of the relay end that have been hooking the horns to.

When I took it off, I wondered why all the wires were connected to one terminal on the relay--I guess at some point someone wired it to bypass the relay. I've tried both the used and a NOS relay-same results. Points open and close and current on both relays.

What is the advantage of using a relay for the horns?

Again, thanks for all the input.

Apparently the wiring between the relay and horns is suspect. If the horn button operates the relay and the horns both work then it must be the wiring unless it is the ground monster that took his finger off the button.

Chipper,

At the moment, no horn button in play! The horns and radiator brace are completely off the car while putting a rebuilt engine in. So this testing is being with wires, alligator clips, and a donor Model A F**d for a battery and ground. I didn't think it would make a difference--but the Model A is positive ground--maybe it does...

Again, the horns will work without the relay, but with, do not... The relay points will click and according to a test light, the relay terminal is producing current.

Appreciate all the responses!

There is the problem. Remove any item with the word F**D at least 10 feet from the work area.

If the horns will work individually and as a pair check the rely closely. Is the relay making any movement? You may be bothered by small test equipment. Try some heaver wires.

The advantage to a relay is that the wires only have to go from the battery to relay and then to the horn. Because of the current draw those wires need to be larger. The voltage loss is less with shorter and larger wires. Also the wire to the horn button does not need to be as large and the contacts are not as big.

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but where is the correct location of the horn relay with the two-horn system?

Well, I'm not known for being the brightest bulb...

Chipper, you were right-I was not grounding everything completely. I had run a ground wire to the ground terminal on the relay, but not a separate ground for the horn assembly(it is off the car). After the second ground was added for the horn body--both are sounding! But weakly, because Chipper also noted, bigger wires are needed and I was using piddly little wires with alligator clips. But they at least work--wanted to verify that before putting back on the car.

As for the relay location, on these they bolt onto the same flat "frame" that the horns themselves are bolted to. There are two pre-drilled holes that the relay lines up nicely with.