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  • Horn not well

    My horn has not been sounding too good lately so I took it off to check it out. I took it apart and everything looked good so put it back together. I tested it directly to the battery and it sounded great. But when I hooked it up to the wires and pushed the horn button it didn't sound so good. Like it wasn't getting enough juice. Do you think my problem is where the horn rod makes contact in the light switch at the bottom of the steering column.

  • #2
    I would say that is a very good possibility as there could be oil, dirt, or plain crud there that is interrupting the flow of pixies from the horn to ground. It is also possible that the horn button itself has dirt in it.

    Are there any problems with the lights? If you also have a bit of a problem with the lights, it could mean the goop from the steering box has crawled down and is slowing the pixies down.

    Might be time to remove the light switch off the bottom of the column and lightly clean it.


    Be damned sure to disconnect the battery before starting this!!
    You wana look waaay far up da road and plan yer route because the brakes are far more of a suggestion than a command!

    Comment


    • #3
      Yes, could be the horn rod connection; however, often overlooked is that lots of times one can "quickly" tune up a "sick" sounding slow rotating Model A horn by occasionally:

      1. Taking a tooth pick to clean out the horn bushing(s) black ...... "oil-mixed-with-worn-brush-residue" ..... that has collected in between the multiple transverse separations on the commutator; and,

      2. Next, place a Q-Tip on the commutator, and rotate the commutator followed by immediately discarding "dirty" Q-Tips; and,

      3. Continue cleaning the rotating commutator until Q-Tips are white and are no longer appearing to clean the commutator. The (2) contacting soft horn commutator brushes will get cleaned by rubbing a "cleaned" metal commutator with recessed transverse separations..

      4. If very dirty, and horn was very "sick", one may want to try repeating steps 1. through 3 prior to dismantling everything..

      Comment


      • #4
        try putting a drop of ATF on the rear of the armature shaft, spin it with the cover off then another drop

        put the cover on and readjust

        and what Henry and Wiz said
        3~ Tudor's & 1~ Coupe
        Henry Ford said,
        "It's all nuts and bolts"
        "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

        Mitch's Auto Service ctr

        Comment


        • #5
          When I took it apart all looked good. There was oil on the shaft end and everything looked clean. The motor spins easy by hand. I will try cleaning up the light switch aria. The lights do work fine but I know there is some oil in there.

          Comment


          • BILL WILLIAMSON
            BILL WILLIAMSON commented
            Editing a comment
            It's common for them to sound POOPEY, when the generator's NOT CHARGING!

        • #6
          The horn must have a good ground. Original ground for the horn grounds with the headlight bar when the horn bolts to it. You can run a wire from the horn motor frame under the horn cover through the conduit then attach to the frame of the car. They also make a horn relay that goes under the horn cover so the horn motor current doesn't go through the horn button, just relay coil current. I have both of these and horn never fails to make correct sound.

          Comment


          • #7
            Fordman: The (stock-wired) horn has a dedicated hot wire and the ground is provided through the horn switch on the other lead. At least mine is that way. I don't think the horn uses the headlight bar ground unless you are using a horn relay.

            Comment


            • BILL WILLIAMSON
              BILL WILLIAMSON commented
              Editing a comment
              Horn body or bracket do NOT have to be GROUNDED!!!
              With both wires hooked to the horn, you can hold it under your ARM & BLOW IT!!!---(Or balanced on your flat HEAD)
              SA Dad

          • #8
            When you install the horn cover are you using a original screw? Most of the reproductions will tighten to far and you have to back it out for the horn to sound good . The original screws only have threads part way to the head so it can only be tightened so far . Norm

            Comment

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