horn

[cadetchris]

having recently liberated a set of two tone horns from my ex-austin, i have decided to give primrose a new voice. however, the horns dont actually work, despite a good clean.is there a way of refurbishing them so they work nicely?

[bmcecosse]

Open them up and clean the contacts.

[mike.perry]

Make sure that the wiring is in good condition, they draw a lot of current. There should be an adjuster screw in the middle of the horn, try screwing it in or out, it may work.

[cadetchris]

cleaned all the points, tried a few different ways of wiring them up (on the bench) and hay presto one set of very loud horns. going to give them a repaint and then install them in primrose.
where would the best place to mount them within the engine bay?

[bmcecosse]

Pointing forward - best actually to NOT have them in the engine bay - because they will be 'muffled' in there! Mount under the front bumper ?? The Minor horn push will not be rated for two of these horns - best use a relay.........

[cadetchris]

where could one find such a relay? and how is it wired in?

[bmcecosse]

Lucas 6RA is ideal. Many sources - here's one http://www.vintagemotorspares.com/phdi/ ... ent&part=5 Google for how to wire a relay - it's been explained on here many times in the past.

[cadetchris]

smashing, would you suggest fixing then to the chassis rails facing forwards? or maybe using the bumper irons as mounting points?

[bmcecosse]

Pointed down so they don't scoop up water!

[cadetchris]

i had a wolseley that did that once, made the horn sound very odd

[cadetchris]

i think ill have to have a look where they would best fit, i am tempted to use the engine mounts as a mounting point for the horns, maybe sandwiching them between chassis and mount, but i am thinking that that may used things alot more than necessary. so suggestions for mounting points would be good

[cadetchris]

having trawled the forums for somthing about the wiring required to fit the two horns, i also nipped in to halfords to get a relay, but i got confused about the wiring, so how does one wire them up? (a diagram would be of benefit)

[bmcecosse]

The relay is just a switch. So -your horn button works the relay - and then it works the horns! Simples!!!
Google for it - plenty of guidance there - and it's been on here plenty of times too - search for it.

[MarkyB]

The button or switch energises the solenoid (coil looking thing).
The horn, or other load, is switched through the contacts.

[cadetchris]

right, had a google trawl and came up with thishttp://media.photobucket.com/image/twin ... schema.jpg

any good?

[MarkyB]

Do those number match up with your relay?
Two or more connectors should energise the solenoid, when you put 12 volts across them there should be a click and a bunch of contacts should come together.
If the cover is clear you should be able to see what connects to what.

[bmcecosse]

That's the idea - except your horn button works by earthing the current AFTER it has been through the relay.

[cadetchris]

so to clarify, i would have the two original wires for the horn go into the relay,

one wire from each horn, whilst the other goes to earth and one wire direct from a live source?

or have i got it wrong again?

[bmcecosse]

Just follow the diagram.......!

[cadetchris]

right, electrical side sorted,

where can i out them? my engine bay is a forest of servo, 3 branch exhaust and heater air inlet, so they really cannot go in there. underneath the car leaves a few mm above the ground, so thats out, as does the idea of using the bumper mounts as it leaves them very low to the floor.

so i am a bit lost really. i could mount them on the cross bar within the bonnet, it would result in a little wire bridging the gap, but it could solve the problem