Could BOTH my horns be bad?
#3163444
07/26/23 05:03 PM
07/26/23 05:03 PM
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,059 NW/Indiana - Chi town
ricomondo
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OP
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Joined: Mar 2005
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NW/Indiana - Chi town
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71 Demon - ALL new wiring; under dash, column, engine etc and NOS horn relay.
Horns had been working - Prestolite pair that I had the powder coater PAINT and not powder coat due to the heat.
Horns stopped working, checked fuses - all good.
Standard base steering wheel - push the button and you can hear the relay "click". Took horn pad off and took the column connector off the steering wheel switch and grounded to the center nut, same thing relay just clicks.
Bought new relay - same thing just clicks.
Then ran piece of 14GA wire from the + post and touched it at the post and the terminal on each horn, nada. Removed the horns from the brackets and laid them one at a time over the - battery post and touched the wire from the + post to the horn terminal and nada.
I did screw in/unscrew the adjuster screw on the front of the horn and same thing.
Could BOTH horns have gone bad? or am I missing something?
TIA
GY3 71 Demon 340
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Re: Could BOTH my horns be bad?
[Re: Ramrod39]
#3163483
07/26/23 07:19 PM
07/26/23 07:19 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 75,043 U.S.S.A.
JohnRR
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I Win
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Seems to me that if the horn is grounded and you touch the Positive terminal with a 12V jumper wire the horn should sound. agreed Rico , check the ground connection , your powdercoat could be the issue
running up my post count some more .
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Re: Could BOTH my horns be bad?
[Re: PhillyRag]
#3163488
07/26/23 07:34 PM
07/26/23 07:34 PM
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,059 NW/Indiana - Chi town
ricomondo
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Ok, hooked test light to each of the plugs and had my son press the horn button, each horn press resulted in the test light illuminating. So it appears power is getting to the plugs, so must be grounding or the horns are bad?
The horn brackets are powder coated so perhaps I should lightly sand the contact area with the horns and also where it contacts the rad support? But as I stated i ran a power wire to each horn and nada?
Last edited by ricomondo; 07/26/23 07:35 PM.
GY3 71 Demon 340
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Re: Could BOTH my horns be bad?
[Re: ricomondo]
#3163524
07/26/23 09:20 PM
07/26/23 09:20 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,411 Omaha Ne
TJP
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Omaha Ne
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I have been able to revive many over the years flushing with carb cleaner / brake clean and air. If the openings were not blocked prior to blasting /painting etc. there's a good chance they are full of debris. Pouring or spraying the chemical in, block the opening and roll the horn to get the liquid into the center. Repeat until you can hear the liquid inside the horn when you shake it. Reverse and see how much cr-p comes out. Repeat above if needed. Counting the number of turns, Remove the adjusting screw, write the number down.. If it is dry, it's sealed. Squirt the cleaner trough the hole and shake. Repeat as needed. Flush both sides with air and set aside in a warm area to evaporate any remaining solvents. When no residual vapors are detected, Reinstall the screw the same number of turns. Bench test. Sometimes adjusting the screw under power will wake them up. The above method has worked many times but not always. Probably ` 75%| If this does not work refer to the article suggested. You decide which is easier Not to hijack the thread but has anyone ever found a source for socket used to turn the adjusting screw???
Last edited by TJP; 07/27/23 10:02 PM.
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Re: Could BOTH my horns be bad?
[Re: stumpy]
#3163599
07/27/23 10:58 AM
07/27/23 10:58 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 75,043 U.S.S.A.
JohnRR
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It helps to have a toothed washer between the bolt and horn for a good ground through the bolt. exactly , the original bolts that hold the horn , and other electrical components throughout the car , sometimes have toothed washers that will dig into the thin paint on the part . This is how they get their ground instead of using a seperate wire , the washer digging into the paint combined with the bare threaded hole that the bolt screws into makes the ground connection. With the practice of over restoration that is prevalent in the hobby many parts of the body get painted that were never originally painted, in combination of over restoring parts that get bolted on .,. kinda like powder coating a horn ..... can create electrical issues ...
running up my post count some more .
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Re: Could BOTH my horns be bad?
[Re: moparx]
#3163755
07/27/23 09:47 PM
07/27/23 09:47 PM
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,059 NW/Indiana - Chi town
ricomondo
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Thanks everyone for the great suggestions!
Will try getting the insides cleaned out as suggested.
Mopar buddy about 20 mins away has a horn possibly two that are known to work. Gonna borrow and see what happens. I cleaned the brackets with a dremel (mounting area) as well as cleaned up the mounting area on the rad support and still nothing. Leaning heavily towards the horns are bad. We'll see once I get the loaners.
GY3 71 Demon 340
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Re: Could BOTH my horns be bad?
[Re: TJP]
#3165624
08/04/23 06:28 PM
08/04/23 06:28 PM
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,059 NW/Indiana - Chi town
ricomondo
OP
top fuel
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OP
top fuel
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,059
NW/Indiana - Chi town
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I have been able to revive many over the years flushing with carb cleaner / brake clean and air. If the openings were not blocked prior to blasting /painting etc. there's a good chance they are full of debris. Pouring or spraying the chemical in, block the opening and roll the horn to get the liquid into the center. Repeat until you can hear the liquid inside the horn when you shake it. Reverse and see how much cr-p comes out. Repeat above if needed. Counting the number of turns, Remove the adjusting screw, write the number down.. If it is dry, it's sealed. Squirt the cleaner trough the hole and shake. Repeat as needed. Flush both sides with air and set aside in a warm area to evaporate any remaining solvents. When no residual vapors are detected, Reinstall the screw the same number of turns. Bench test. Sometimes adjusting the screw under power will wake them up. The above method has worked many times but not always. Probably ` 75%| If this does not work refer to the article suggested. You decide which is easier Not to hijack the thread but has anyone ever found a source for socket used to turn the adjusting screw??? This was great advice! First; THANK YOU to everyone that took time to help diagnose this issue. Been away for a few days for baseball and wanted to report back. While working with these horns, accidently dropped one on the garage floor and when I picked it up, there was a chunk of crud on the floor. Shook the horn and sure enough it had a bunch of media that had hardened from when it was blasted prior to painting. Same with the second horn when I gave it a whack with a soft mallet. Even after that, still no "honk" after blowing compressed air in it and through the adjuster screw hole and bolting up with the cleaned up mounting brackets. Lastly, borrowed a set of working Sparton horns from Mopar buddy and that did the trick. Soon as they were bolted up, they worked flawlessly. After that bought new set of Sparton horns and bolted those up and same thing, working flawlessly! BUT, after getting both sets of horns bolted up, came to realize that one of the original horns was not working to start. It was nowhere as loud as it is now with working horns. So, I was only working with one working horn to start and then that one gave up the ghost. ** We did try jumping the old horns once again after the media was discovered inside them and they just will not work. Thanks again for all the good advice and diagnosing techniques, it was all very much appreciated!! 1971 GY3 340 Demon
GY3 71 Demon 340
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