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Horn Quit today

Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 4:10 pm
by dman
My original horn quit today it seems that where the electrical harness connects that one of the male posts inside the connector has broken off. I assume there is no point trying to fix it and that I should just replace it with a NOS unit? Thanks

Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 5:15 pm
by Lifer
It might be repairable, but without seeing a pic, it would be impossible to say for sure.

Horn Quit today

Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 5:36 pm
by dman
I have Douglas connectors and am not sure if a replacement 24V NOS horn is easy to find or not. If anyone has one or knows where to find one please let me know. Thanks

Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 6:22 pm
by knattrass
I'm sure John at MWM has them. I did the bond head move of the century this winter - totally disassembled, stripped, primed, painted, got it to a point you could read the original tag - only to test it later to find out it was shot. I took mine apart and it was bad inside the coil - non servicable.

Horn Quit today need more info

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 8:06 am
by dman
I tried replacing the old horn with a NOS one and still it doesn;t work. I put a tester on the wires and no power. I am new at this and need some advice on how to trouble shoot it.

1) Why are there two wires going into the horn?

2) Will the horn work without the engine running?

3) Is the horn on any kind of fuse?

4) What are some of the other possibilites that could be wrong?

All I know is it worked fine and then one day quit.

Thanks

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:21 am
by Lifer
Okay...here goes:
(1) there are two ternimals on the horn because the hot wire goes through the horn button to one terminal, then a wire goes from the other terminal to a ground. (Have you checked your ground?)

(2) The horn should work without the engine running, but the ignition switch has to be turned on unless it has a permanent hot lead.

(3) The horn is not a fuse, but if there is an "open" circuit in the internal works it just became one. ;)

(4) The first possibility is a bad ground. Next would be a bad connection at either end of the "hot" wire, followed by a bad horn button contact. Then comes a bad "hot" wire. If all of these things check out okay, the horn itself is toast.

You can check the horn by hooking wires to both terminals and touching them to the terminals of your batteries. If it honks, the horn is good and you will have to start checking wires.

Happy hunting! Electric gremlins are invisible, but easy to fix once tracked down. Good luck, and enjoy the learning experience! :)

Horn Quit today

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:10 am
by dman
I confirmed the horn does work by conneting it directly. I opened up the horn button and see the one wire and it is not hot at this point, I traced it down the steering column and it is dead. Everythign seems dead back to the point where it goes through the firewall. ANy other suggestions other than tracing each wire back at this point?

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 2:52 pm
by Lifer
Okay! The horn works, which is good. I erred in my previous advice re the wires. The juice goes into the horn on one wire, which should be hot whenever the ignition switch is on, and comes out the other terminal that goes to the horn button. Pushing the button completes the ground, causing the horn to blow, This wire should be "dead" until the horn button is depressed. Check the wiring from the other terminal for breaks, loose connections, shorts, etc.

Horn quit today found the problem need help with a part

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 1:27 pm
by dman
I found the problem I have traced it to what I would describe as a relay which is located right behind the guages and is mounted on a cross member. There are two of these connectors and three wires come into it it seems two of the wires are hot but my third wire is cold. The connector is the one closet to the firewall. When I bypass it the horn works fine. Does anyone know what this connector is called and where to find one? I am going to try and clean it tomorrow. Thanks

Re: Horn quit today found the problem need help with a part

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 1:59 pm
by MSeriesRebuild
dman wrote:I found the problem I have traced it to what I would describe as a relay which is located right behind the guages and is mounted on a cross member. There are two of these connectors and three wires come into it it seems two of the wires are hot but my third wire is cold. The connector is the one closet to the firewall. When I bypass it the horn works fine. Does anyone know what this connector is called and where to find one? I am going to try and clean it tomorrow. Thanks
It's a circuit breaker, replace it & you should have it solved.

Horn quit today found the problem need help with a part

Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:42 pm
by dman
Charles thanks for the advice do you or anyone know where to order one and does it have a part number?

THanks

Horn quit today found the problem need help with a part

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 4:28 pm
by dman
problem solved thanks