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Re: HORNS............Don't Blow!!!!!!!!!!!

To: "Ben Zech" <motormite@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: HORNS............Don't Blow!!!!!!!!!!!
From: "Patrick J. Horne" <horne@cs.utexas.edu>
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 09:45:06 -0500
> OK List;
> Horns, relay is clicking, getting juice at horns, but all I get is a 
> clicking sound..........ideas please
> Thanks, BZ
> 
> BZ/NC/SPL/SRL
> motormite@hotmail.com
> 
> 
> 
Been there, done that.  The hornes need some internal cleaning.  Don't worry,
even if you are a complete electrical clutz, you can't make the horns worse 
than 
they already are!

Disconnect the wires from the horns and remove the horns from the car. Work on 
one horn at a time.  Before going into the horns let's do a bit of testing.
Use an ohm meter to see if the screw that had the wire to the horn relay on
it is grounded to the case of the fan or not.  If it is, there is either a 
short in the horn (not likely, because it didn't blow a fuse or eat the realy
when you heard the relay click) or the contacts are closed.  If there is an open
circuit then a bit more testing will be needed after the horn is open.

Put a dot of paint or liquid paper on both the front of the horn and the body so
that you can get the horn back together as it is now.  Remove the screws around
the front edge of the horn. Remove the front of the horn.  (Most of the time it
it off with the diaphram stuck to the front cover, that's OK.
Inside the body of the horn you will see a pair of contacts and a coil of wire.
If you found continuity between the screw and the case of the horn, you can 
probably just clean the contacts and be done.  If you found an open, not is the
time to see if the contacts are not closing, or the coil is open.  Use the
ohm meter again to see if the coil is open.  If it is, get youself another
horn.  If it isn't, then the contacts are just dirty.

Cleaning the contacts:
Use a point file and just clean the contacts as if they were points.  Note: do 
not pull the contacts apart as you would a set of points, they will bend out of
position if you do.  You will also find a screw going through the back of the
horn and into one of the contacts.  There is probably some goop on the head of
the screw to keep it from self adjusting.  This screw is used to adjust the 
horn.  Make sure that the screw will turn, but reset it to its current setting. 
 
rn back together and do another test.  The horns should both have continuity 
between the wire connection and the case.  If not, try adjusting the screw on 
the back of the horn a few turns each way, remembering where it was set 
originally.  If you don't get continuity, open the horn up again and see if the
contacts are sprung.  They should be touching when the front is off.  Re-connect
the horns one at a time and try them out.  If they sound funny to you try 
adjusting the screw on the back of them until they sound correct.

That's all ther is to it!

Oh, don't forget to put more goop on the adjusting screws to hold their  
settings.

Peace,
Pat


-- 
- Support Habitat for Humanity, A "hand up", not a "hand out" -
Pat Horne, Network Manager, Shop Supervisor, Hardware Guru 
CS Dept, University of Texas, Austin, Tx. 78712 USA 
voice (512)471-9517, fax (512)471-8885, UUCP:cs.utexas.edu!horne

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