Sick ahooga horn
 

My horn seems to only ahoo...... no '"ga" It's loud enough but falls short. I'm looking at giving it a good cleaning and a good inspection at the parts. Hopefully it will do it's full voice when I'm done. Should this work or is it more serious? I have no problem replacing some parts if needed....




Don

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Besides cleaning and oiling it, you might want to back off one notch on the adjustment. The "ga" sound comes from the motor spinning down after releasing the horn button.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Clean, oil and adjust will usually fix what ails a horn. The venders sell a parts kit to replace the noise creating parts. As above, try backing off the adjustment a click or two first, it may be fine. If they spin fast they should work.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

I tried that and it' didn't seem to help much.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Is it getting enough power to spin up to full speed?

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Besides a good cleaning, especially the armature, I'm going to remove the light switch body and q-tip clean the bakelite switch contact.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Most horn problems are from dirty contacts. Just clean everything up, re-oil, and go from there.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

After cleaning & oiling I usually back off the adjustment so there is no sound and hold the horn button down to run the motor for 10-15 seconds to exercise it, then adjust to preferred sound.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Take some fine sand paper and hold it lightly against the armature while you push the horn button to rotate it. It will clean and shine it up a bit. Doesn't take long and works wonders.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Voltage and current resistance can be a culprit! If the horn switch is not making good contact, if the wiring is sub par for the current, if the commutator is dirty, these kinds of electrical things just do not jump out! If your car has original wiring codes, the blue-yellow wire on the horn can be grounded to simulate the horn button. Make sure, regardless of my comment to know which wire on the horn connects to the battery!!!! If the horn does what it is supposed to do, then you have kind of isolated the problem. Next is the wiring to the horn button and then the actual horn button switch.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

I installed a horn relay which fits inside the rear cover. This way the horn button just activates the relay and the relay gives the horn more of a direct path to to the battery. I actually had to readjust the horn afterwards because it was spinning up to fast. It has been in for three years now and it has been trouble free.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Yesterday and today I also renounced the original Sparton "Trotter".

The hint from Dave is good, but in my case the collector was so bad that it had to be turned off on a lathe.

It is important that the ratchet is not greased, but receives 1 drop of very thin oil. For the sound to be hard, grease softens it.

File the brushs the same radius as at the collector.

It is important that the membrane sits between two paper seals, so that they can swing.


That worked well. But the horn button had no good contact, the horn fluctuated depending on the pressure point. Therefore, I have additionally installed a relay. With thick cable diameter 1/10 inch². This is another big step forward, tough!

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Most horn problems are remedied with a couple of drops of 3-in-1 oil on the felts.

A horn relay solves dirty horn button contact without pulling the wheel. I installed one that fits inside the horn cover, but extended the ground wire through the conduit to the frame.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Does the horn button pop off the wheel?

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

It does. Pull the spider off the end of the light switch rod and then pull the rod up out of the steering column. There are 4 tabs you will have to bend straight then pull the horn button retaining ring out of the switch handle.


This was a bit of a pain in my fordor as I had to do it in the car, not enough room to pull the rod all the way out. On your phaeton you can pull the whole thing out and do it on a bench. Must be one of the reasons they command a higher price:D

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Those tabs like to break off and none of the vendors sell a replacement part separately. I ended up soldering one back together. Sorry, no picture.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Wow just looked it up and the kit with the retaining ring is $33. Seems a little steep.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

I have a horn that works just fine - most of the time. On average, every third or so time I want to use it, nothing happens. I have even taken the horn off the car and tested it accross a battery. Same thing. I figure one field sector is bad. A working horn doesn't turn up very often and when they do, they are expensive here so I have some other horn on it. I don't like the "foreigner" but it makes noise reliably.How common is this?

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

Synchro, that was the the same horn-problems of my A and the Citroen Traction as well.

One of the causes is the rare use of the horn. That's why I keep pushing them time to time in a lonely forest area for a minute.

The other problem is a dirty commutator and stuck carbon brushes.

The field windings burn in the Spartons broken when the insulation of the two cable glands reach vehicle ground.

The easiest and fastest way to get your horn going hurry is a relay with a thick special lead from the alternator / generator and a thick earth lead.


P. S.: You can check the two field-coils with an Ohm-gauge.

Re: Sick ahooga horn
 

I just worked on a buddy’s sick weak horn and diagnosed a couple of cold solder joints on the wires ends going into the terminal connection. They had a big lump of solder there but you could pull the wires out so it was apparent that there was no good electrical connection. Resoldering these wires can not hurt and maybe the solution.....

Oiled up shaft with sewing machine oil worked into front and rear bearings. He says horn never sounded so loud and strong now with a great ah oogah....