The Ford Barn

Marshall V. Daut · 03-22-2025, 10:26 AM

If you have been following the never-ending saga I started two weeks ago about repairing a light switch rod's functionality, you will also recall that the ahooga horn was on its last legs when I tested the repaired rod (which ultimately broke off). We bit the bullet and ordered a new light switch rod. Problem #1 solved.
Problem #2 reared its ugly head in the form of a burned-out ahooga horn. Upon testing the rod, the near-death horn with its crispy burned wiring finally died. My past contact people for rewiring horns are either dead or don't respond anymore. I have watched an on-line video on how to rewire the horn and although I am still a dunce when it comes to electrical matters, I think I can handle this job. I'll post a link to the video I refer to here at the end of this question. In the video, the man says to use #20 insulated copper wire and wrap each pole 40 times. Les Andrews in his red book says 48 turns each for the same recommended wire. For those of you who have done this, which number of windings will work better: 40 or 48? Or does it matter in that range? I could wind the poles 48 times and if not satisfied with the sound, unwrap eight turns and try again. But that entails a lot of soldering and unsoldering. I'd rather get it right the first time.
The reason I am not relying 100% on the video's recommendation of 40 turns is because at the end of the video when the assembled horn was tested, it sounded sick and didn't seem to want to reach the "ahooga!" sound we are all after. It could be the small test battery he used didn't provide enough juice. We all know that the ahooga horn sounds better when the engine is running and generator is charging. Still, I want to do this unfamiliar job right only once. So, what is recommended by the electron-minded readers here for number of turns: 40 or 48? Maybe a short explanation of the difference would be helpful, too.
Here's the promised video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80HheWrv2_s. As a video producer who made exclusively training videos for a living, I would have done several things differently. But for an amateur garage type of video, it's helpful enough for my purposes. I think you will find it entertaining.
Marshall

03-22-2025, 10:26 AM	#1
Marshall V. Daut Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Davenport, Iowa Posts: 2,627	Another electrical question - horn rewiring If you have been following the never-ending saga I started two weeks ago about repairing a light switch rod's functionality, you will also recall that the ahooga horn was on its last legs when I tested the repaired rod (which ultimately broke off). We bit the bullet and ordered a new light switch rod. Problem #1 solved. Problem #2 reared its ugly head in the form of a burned-out ahooga horn. Upon testing the rod, the near-death horn with its crispy burned wiring finally died. My past contact people for rewiring horns are either dead or don't respond anymore. I have watched an on-line video on how to rewire the horn and although I am still a dunce when it comes to electrical matters, I think I can handle this job. I'll post a link to the video I refer to here at the end of this question. In the video, the man says to use #20 insulated copper wire and wrap each pole 40 times. Les Andrews in his red book says 48 turns each for the same recommended wire. For those of you who have done this, which number of windings will work better: 40 or 48? Or does it matter in that range? I could wind the poles 48 times and if not satisfied with the sound, unwrap eight turns and try again. But that entails a lot of soldering and unsoldering. I'd rather get it right the first time. The reason I am not relying 100% on the video's recommendation of 40 turns is because at the end of the video when the assembled horn was tested, it sounded sick and didn't seem to want to reach the "ahooga!" sound we are all after. It could be the small test battery he used didn't provide enough juice. We all know that the ahooga horn sounds better when the engine is running and generator is charging. Still, I want to do this unfamiliar job right only once. So, what is recommended by the electron-minded readers here for number of turns: 40 or 48? Maybe a short explanation of the difference would be helpful, too. Here's the promised video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80HheWrv2_s. As a video producer who made exclusively training videos for a living, I would have done several things differently. But for an amateur garage type of video, it's helpful enough for my purposes. I think you will find it entertaining. Marshall