horn troubles

[del]

I bought three horns off ebay, the add said untested. Sure enough they do not work. I took one apart and cleaned the points and tried to adjust the adjustment screw, still no noise.


Any suggestions on getting them to work?

thanks del

[emiller]

Are they 6 or 12 volt are they positive ground.

[del]

Are they 6 or 12 volt are they positive ground.

6 volts and do not know the polarity. Does a horn care about polarity? I will try tomorrow.

thanks del

[caseydog]

Those are electric horns? They look like air horns.

CD

[del]

Those are electric horns? They look like air horns.

CD

Electric. at least there are electrical connections.

[del]

Tried positive ground. The one that made a little noise, still makes a little noise, the other two nothing. I will try to clean the points again.

del

[mezmo]

Maybe it's a problem with the diaphragm?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_horn

It's something else to check out anyway.

[halfdome, Danny]

Try blowing into them Del Danny

[D.J.]

Are you checking with a fully charged 6V battery or just a battery charger ? A charger might not have enough power to run a horn . The horn has its own relay because it uses so much power . .... D.J.

[emiller]

I don't believe there is a diaphragm in there. I think it just vibrates inside. Not sure. I know I had some on my 1939 chevy when I bought it and they where 6 volt. I sold them a while back.

[del]

Are you checking with a fully charged 6V battery or just a battery charger ? A charger might not have enough power to run a horn . The horn has its own relay because it uses so much power . .... D.J.

A relay is there because when you press the horn button it runs a ground to a relay that sends a hot (modern cars this is positive) to the horn. Older German cars used no relay, it was grounded through the button. The hot was from a keyed source, that was always hot any time the key was on. All this to say I believe my charger is sufficient to power my horns, and that and I have no access to a good battery (much less a 6 volt one). So I have no choice but to continue on with my 6 volt charger. When I attach these to the jeep I will need to use a resistor, because the jeep has been converted to 12 volt (from 24 volt).

del

[del]

I don't believe there is a diaphragm in there. I think it just vibrates inside. Not sure. I know I had some on my 1939 chevy when I bought it and they where 6 volt. I sold them a while back.

I believe the noise is made by a thin piece of steel ( hey it has rust on it) that vibrates. Its technical name I have no idea. Since I am not the one who bought the 39 chevy horns that most likely worked, I need to work on mine, and stoke up the fire.

thanks for the help guys
del

[Kevin & Sandy]

Isn't this why they put bells on cows??? Because their horns don't work !!!

[del]

Isn't this why they put bells on cows??? Because their horns don't work !!!

My uncle always have the horns cut off!! They wine a lot when the vet cuts them off, not a pretty site. Supposed to warm up soon, so I can work on my car horn again.

del

[mezmo]

That thin piece of steel that vibrates would be the diaphragm.
It's my understanding that the electric current and whatever controls that
causes it to oscillate, which causes the air to flow through horn and thus
produce the sound. See:

http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/508.cfm

Just Google: "how an electric car horn works" and you'll get a lot more explanations.