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Discussion Topic:
40 Ford horns
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bwhitworth |
02-28-2011 @ 6:14 AM
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Member
Posts: 59
Joined: Nov 2010
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I have a set of 40 Ford horns that one of the two horns does not work, it just clicks when I connect to the battery. What can I do to repair the horn? Thanks
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kubes40 |
02-28-2011 @ 7:36 AM
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Senior
Posts: 3395
Joined: Oct 2009
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Are you certain you have a good ground? If so, clean the contact points. Normally, between the two, you'll get the horn to work. I've had only on rare occasion a horn that could not be fixed (reasonably).
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Dolman |
02-28-2011 @ 8:04 AM
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New Member
Posts: 177
Joined: Dec 2010
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I recommend using bond type paper to clean the contacts. Learned that years ago watching a telephone guy working on switching equipment. Without voltage applied, the contacts in the horn should be normally closed. Open the contacts by pressing down on the blade holding the moving contact, insert a strip of paper, let the contacts close and pull the paper through. Crocus cloth would be the second choice. Of course if you see a peak on one of the contacts, a coarser grit followed by crocus cloth will be necessary. Your post was quite coincidental in that I had to work on my 34 horn yesterday. It was intermittent and when it did work, the sound was wimpy. Found a bad solder joint. Resoldering the connection solved the intermittent problem and a very very slight tweaking of the nut that adjusts the armature travel restored it to its original robust volume.
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supereal |
02-28-2011 @ 10:36 AM
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Senior
Posts: 6819
Joined: Oct 2009
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When dressing any contact points that carry high currents, such as horns, ignition points, etc, avoid using any kind of sandpaper, as it will produce a rough surface that soon erodes, and any grit left on the surface accelerates the process. Running bond paper thru the points is good, but if they are badly pitted ot burned, use a point file of the type designed for ignition points and burnish the contacts until they are smooth.
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TomO |
03-01-2011 @ 10:02 AM
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Senior
Posts: 7250
Joined: Oct 2009
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The contacts should be closed completely when there is no power to your horn and should open when voltage is applied. The armature gap should be between .030 and .055. .030 for the short horn and .055 for the long horn. It sounds like there is not enough armature gap or the contacts are not opening on your horn. The sound is made by vibrating the horn diaphragm. When voltage is applied, the armature moves, opening the contact points interrupting the circuit to the armature and then the armature returns to its relaxed position, closing the contact points and starting the process over.
Tom
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