horn problem ahooga

[Epetek1]

on model As I have and have had if I let them sit for a while, sometimes six months the horn doesn't work. The ammeter shows that the horn is getting power but rather than putting it on the bench and having it rebuilt are there easy ways to check it and get it firing again? Thanks for reading.
Pete Krulewitch in the beautiful Hudson Valley of NY

[Jim/GA]

Pete-
Try to separate a poor connection in the horn button (not providing a good ground) from poor contact inside the horn motor at the brushes by opening the horn cover and carefully connecting a temporary ground wire from the ground side of the horn connectors to a clean ground under the hood (head stud, for example).

Be very careful and certain that you are connecting the ground jumper (alligator clip) to the ground wire of the horn, not the power feed wire.

See if the horn blows well when given a direct ground. If so, the problem is the horn rod and/or horn button. Some corrosion, rust, poor connection inside the light switch is not allowing the horn to get full power.

But if the horn still does not blow, with the ground jumper, then the problem is bad connections in the motor at the brushes. With the horn cover off, clean the contacts where the brushes rub. Once you get it to blow, just running the motor will often clean the brush surfaces up more.

Hope that helps.

Remember, when taking the horn cover off, the wires in there are hot all the time. Don't touch the wires with the cover as it goes off and on. Or temporarily disconnect power (pull the fuse, etc.).

[JayJay]

Another thing to consider - on the armature there are two felt pads that need to be oiled periodically. Use a very light oil, just a couple of drops, and then spin the armature by hand to coat the shaft. The fact that you report that things deteriorate over a few weeks/months suggests that this may be part of your issue. As Jim suggests, bad connection is also common, my horn works oh-so-much better since I rebuilt the steering shaft and cleaned everything up.

[MickyD]

The horns on my 28 Roadster and 31 Tudor barely worked when I got the cars. I took the horns apart, cleaned them up and oiled them. They are still working great.

[nkaminar]

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Sometimes just moving the horn button back and forth while pushing on it will clean up the contacts enough to get the horn to work. You can also back off the adjustment one or two or more clicks to get the motor spinning and then turn in the adjustment to the sound you like.