Bugeye horn repair help

[ichthos]

Does anyone have any advice on how to repair a horn? I have the original horn that goes with this car and it looks very simple in design. I hooked it up to the battery and it does not work. I tried screwing in the piece in from the back. It looks like all it does is push the front part out to possibly to change the tone. I will probably take it apart, but I was hoping I could get feedback from someone who has done this first. Thanks for your help.
Kevin

 

[Billm]

That screw that changes the tone is what you need to play with to make it work. That screw pushes against a pad that is rusty right now. If you hook up power and adjust that "tuning" screw it will break thru the rust and as the horn blows will clean itself. Then when it is working well adjust the tone to where you want it and put it in the car.
BillM

 

[ichthos]

I cleaned the oxidation on the screw and where it contacts the inside. I will try working it back and forth for a while and see what happens. I have no idea how rusted it is in the inside. I sure hope I don't have to take it apart.
Kevin

 

[DrEntropy]

Does it make ANY noise or "click" with power applied, Kev? It's a coil inside, basically an electromagnet. Ohm the contacts, not sure what resistance you should see but it should definitely NOT be a zero-ohm reading. That'd indicate you're pushin' a boulder uphill.

Sometimes you can get 'em to break loose, sometimes not. Simple device internally, tho: a diaphragm, spring, copper coil and a "bar" magnet. If you disassemble it, putting it back together to get it looking like original is the real challenge. :wink: Very much like an audio speaker.

If it's the riveted style, ACE hardware will have suitable rivets to do the job.

 

[DrEntropy]

Mixed metaphors here? I thought this was the horn, not the wiper motor...
I'm sooo confuzzled.

 

[Guest]

Mixed metaphors here? I thought this was the horn, not the wiper motor...
I'm sooo confuzzled.

Kenvin, that's correct but only with both tailights lit. :crazy:

 

[DrEntropy]

Motor can be freed from the cable only by removing the "gland" nut at the cable end and removing the side cover plate to free the cable-end from a pin internal to the unit.

The horn is a different matter.

 

[ichthos]

How embarassing. I have three posts going and got confused. I will blame it on no coffee before I wrote. I deleted the post. Yes, I am only talking about the horn on this post. So, back to the horn. There is no sound when I hook it up to the battery. I have never used an ohm meter before, so I am not sure if I tested the horn correctly. I picked up a cheap multitester at Harbor Freight. I set the dial to the ohm section at 20K. The meter reads one. When I touch the two probes, it reads zero. When I touch the two probes to the contacts on the horn it drops back down to zero also. Am I doing this correctly? If I have no resistance, what does that mean? I have moved the screw behind the horn repeatidly with no results.

Kevin