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 Dual Horn problem
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Lee Hedges
 July 22 2010 19:15 PM (Read 142 times)  
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I confess I’m an idiot when it comes to electrical work Rolling Eyes … so I could really use the advice from this group.

I’m working on my original 1962 with 6V electrical system. I restored the dual inner horns and front hood drain pipe and am now trying to get the horns working again but I can’t recall if they ever worked. The horn relay (H) is an NOS T14 relay with the exact same connections as in the diagram. The wires are all connected as in the wiring diagram. The original ground wires to the horns are clean & buffed. The wire connectors are tightly fitting on the spades (with the exception of the #86 wire at the relay that is a bare wire threaded through the spade hole). The fuses are OK in the fuse box.

With the key ON and the horn ring depressed I hear a CLICK Question sound each time I press the horn ring but the horns do not sound-off. If I hear a click then the relay is working, right? Does that mean the horns are non-functional or my grounding to the horns is poor?


Lee [restored 1962 Cabrio replica (0 001 776) -- 1965 346 (345 012 044) under restoration since 2004]
 
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Lee Hedges
 July 23 2010 16:32 PM  
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Removed the dual horns and the relay still clicks, so it's not coming from the horns. Connected the horns to a 12V battery to "jolt" them into working but nada. Gotta go buy a simple horn that I know works to see if the power is coming through the relay. What a pain!


Lee [restored 1962 Cabrio replica (0 001 776) -- 1965 346 (345 012 044) under restoration since 2004]
 
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Lee Hedges
 July 23 2010 19:30 PM  
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Success! What a beautiful noisy sound!

Big thanks to Andy Holmes for his advise on sanding-down the points inside the horn & adjusting the screw until the tones worked smoothly.
First I removed the horns from the spare tire area, disassembled the eight screws/nuts, and removed the top cover. Then I cut a 4" long by 0.5" wide piece of fine sandpaper. I adjusted the screw on the outside of the horn back all the way out (loosest possible before it comes off the points piece). Then I pried up the points metal and slid the sandpaper in between the points & upper metal piece. Then I pulled the sandpaper back & forth across the points for about a 10-count. Reassembled the parts and installed the horns one at a time into the spare tire area. Connected the power & ground wires and took a deep breath while pushing the horn button ... and I got a new noise, not just the click as before but a small whine. I then began adjusting the screw two rotations and tried the horn again and amazingly the horn came to life! After about 5 adjustments the sound was clear & sweet, a perfect vintage VW horn! After both horns were cleaned & adjusted I reinstalled the rubber boot, drain tube, and wiped everything down. What a beautiful sight! Then I needed another couple adjustments on each horn when the two were working in tandem.
Andy ... you da man!

Here are the photos of the process: 1) sanding points, 2) adjusting tone, 3) finished!



Lee [restored 1962 Cabrio replica (0 001 776) -- 1965 346 (345 012 044) under restoration since 2004]
 
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