1952 Horns

[RalphG]

Its no big priority at this point but I re-installed the dual horns on the 52 Mercury the other day and can't get much more than a click out of them. I even removed one and tried a direct battery hook up but still just a click. They appear to be a sealed unit with no option for disassembly and cleaning. Has anybody ever tried taking one apart or have any tricks to make them work again?
They look like this......

[JAKEFORD]

I have had some Ford horns do the same thing. In one case wasps had done their magic and stopped up the diaphragm. WD-40 to soften the mess and than knocked it out.

If I remember correctly there was a small screw at the back to remove the cover. Once removed you can check contacts, etc. I know the unit came apart because I spent a lot of time with my old 53 trying to get one side working.

[rotorwrench]

If it clicks then it still has some coil function. The caps are a tight fit but they can be pried off if a person is careful not to bugger it up. Horns are a simple vibrator coil system. The coil vibrates by the rapid motion of the core within the coil which moves to open a set of breaker points then relaxes to close the points and start the movement all over again. This makes for a rapid movement which vibrates the diaphragm that makes all the noise. Only a small amount of adjustment can be made to clear the tone. Generally one horn has a different tone than the other for a harmonious sound.

The points generally need to be cleaned after many years of use and abuse. A person has to make sure the vibrator diaphragm in not cracked. After you get one sounding off, you can futz with the adjustment screw a bit and see if it makes the tone better or not. You might need to warn folks what you are doing or they will think something is wrong with all the horn honking going on.

[51 MERC-CT]

Once you un-snap the cover this should give some idea on how to adjust it.

[RalphG]

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Originally Posted by 51 MERC-CT

Once you un-snap the cover this should give some idea on how to adjust it.

Thanks, that photo of the internals of the horn gives a good idea on what I am up against and what to do (if I get it apart without wrecking it).
Rotorwrench, no need to worry about the neighbours. In my location I can make all the noise I want and nobody will hear.