[Tigers] Horn Wiring

Mon Sep 25 14:48:00 MDT 2023

I attempted to repair my original horns but the wiring inside was
crumbling.  I saved them for a future project.  What I installed in my car
was a pair of Hella dual trumpet horns.  You can see them at
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hla-007424801.  They come with a relay
and they mount up in the original locations with the original wiring.  I
didn't use the relay but I might go back and add it.  I tested them before
I installed them and they were really loud but they didn't seem to be as
loud after I installed them.  So I'm guessing that if I rewire them and use
the relay I can get more current to them and have a louder sound.

Have Fun,
Joe Brown

On Mon, Sep 25, 2023 at 3:21 PM GARY WINBLAD <garywinblad at comcast.net>
wrote:

> Most all aftermarket horns have only one terminal or have 2 terminals that
> are both 12V.
> There was only one brand that Paul Reisentz found to use.. I wish I could
> remember.
> I think it was SPAL (the fan guys) but googling I can't find them.
>
> I remember because I dissected a defective original horn for him.  Unlike
> Theo, I couldn't
> see any way to fix that one.
>
> Bob, you will probably need to look for some original horns (that still
> work) or add a relay for the
> fans you already have.
> Gary W.
>
>
>
> On 09/24/2023 8:08 PM PDT Bob Wanty <bobwanty at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> My horns have a single terminal so I will get two terminal horns. The
> relay idea sounds good.
> Thanks for the help.
> Bob
>
> On Sep 24, 2023, at 9:45 PM, Theo Smit <tsmit at shaw.ca> wrote:
>
> Hi Bob,
>
> The wiring diagram here:
> http://tigersunited.com/resources/wsm/tt-images/MKIABIGwiring.jpg shows
> two solid purple wires to the horns feeding 12 volts, and two purple with
> black stripe wires that are the horn ring connections. There is no separate
> jumper wire from one horn to the other; if your car has that then it was
> added by a previous owner.
> <Screenshot 2023-09-24 at 7.34.26 PM.png>
>
> But, if the horns already start to sound when you connect just the hot
> side, then there is an internal short in at least one horn, which is not
> how it's intended to be. if you have an ohm-meter that can measure very low
> resistances then you can take measurements across the two horn terminals
> and from each terminal to the horn body (or the frame mount). That would
> help you isolate where the wiring problem is.
> <Screenshot 2023-09-24 at 7.38.18 PM.png>
> This is a sketch of the high-tone horn. The low-tone horn has an L cast
> into the bell. The two terminals connect (through the wire coil and the
> points) to each other, but there should be no connection to the horn body
> itself. The way you're describing the operation of your horns, connecting
> one of the terminals to hot causes the horn to go, even if the other wire
> is not connected (or, without pushing the horn ring on the steering
> wheel).
>
> Do both horns work the same way (i.e. they go off when only the hot is
> connected) or does only one horn do that? If one horn works properly
> (connect the purple wire to one terminal, connect the
> purple-with-black-stripe wire to the other) then that horn is fine and it's
> the other one that has an internal short. It can probably be fixed by
> opening the horn up and figuring out where the short is.
>
> Theo
>
> ------------------------------
> *From: *"Bob Wanty" <bobwanty at gmail.com>
> *To: *"Theo Smit" <tsmit at shaw.ca>
> *Cc: *"Tom Witt" <atwittsend at verizon.net>, "tigers" <tigers at autox.team.net>
>
> *Sent: *Sunday, September 24, 2023 6:41:37 PM
> *Subject: *Re: [Tigers] Horn Wiring
>
> Thanks for the responses.
> Everything is wired to the horns, they look original. There are 2 purple
> wires to each horn, one is hot from the fuse box the other wire goes to
> ground when the horn ring is pressed. When I plug the hot wire to the  horn
> it works fine, even honks. So the horns must not be original since they are
> grounded to the frame.  I still have 4 purple wires when I only have
> connections for two and the wiring diagram only shows two wires, one to
> each horn.
> So should I isolate the horn frame ground, plug the hot wire to the horn,
> use the existing jumper between the horns and connect the horn ring wire to
> the other horn?
>
> On Sun, Sep 24, 2023 at 1:50 PM Theo Smit <tsmit at shaw.ca> wrote:
>
>
> Correct except that Rootes (or Lucas) would never use a relay where they
> could instead pass all the current through a finicky sliding contact.
>
> Bob, the horns, when properly adjusted, draw about three amps each. It
> would be a good idea to wire in a cube type relay so that the ring contact
> does not have to pass that much current.
> If you like I can draw up a wiring diagram for that.
>
> Theo
>
> On Sep 23, 2023, at 10:52 PM, Tom Witt via Tigers <tigers at autox.team.net>
> wrote:
>
> I believe most horns have a relay and the 12v+ is already at said relay.
> When the horn ring makes contact it GROUNDS the relay (completing the
> circuit) and the relay contact points connect. That passes through the 12V+
> to the horns. So, typically the horn ring simply grounds the relay to
> activate it. Sorry too late for me to check the manual for Tiger specifics
> but MOST cars function that way.
>
>  Think of yourself standing at a light switch in the house. When someone
> presses you on the shoulder (connecting to ground) you and the switch act
> like the relay moving the switch to the on position. This then send power
> to the light (horn). When the person pressing on your shoulder releases you
> turn the switch off. Hope that helps.
>
> On 9/23/2023 5:59 PM, Robert Wanty wrote:
>
> I am working on wiring the horns for the first time since my 15 year
> restore. I am working with the original wiring harness and horns. Starting
> at the horns there is one on  each side with a jumper wire between the two
> horns, there are 2 purple wires leading to each horn, one wire on each side
> is hot  and wired to the fuse box the second wire is not hot or grounded. I
> installed a new horn ring from SS and have one wire from the contact on the
> horn ring and a second wire for the circle contact off the signal switch, I
> think the wire for the circle contact should be hot  but I don't seem to
> have a connector for it in the harness under the dash and nothing for the
> wire to the horn ring.
> It would seem to me that I should have a hot wire to the ring contact then
> a hot to the horns when the horn ring is pressed. but the wiring harness
> does not seem to follow that way of thinking.
> The wiring diagram is some help but as usual my limited knowledge on this
> will probably start a fire.
> Any help would be appreciated, I would rather not rewire the circuits so
> hopefully I can restore the Lucas system.to its original splendor.
>
>
> Bob
>
>
>
>
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