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and seem to remember reading someplace that they should not be hooked directly to the battery for testing. They are out of the car along with everything in the engine compartment and every wire and guage. So I have hooked a ground wire from the horn to the neg side of the battery. Have hooked the positive side of the battery to the center terminal of the horn relay. From the hot side of the horn I have run another wire that I figure should contact one of the two end terminals on the relay. Am I close? Trouble is, touch one terminal and nothing. Touch the other and the relay "clicks". Am I doing something wrong? At least one horn worked before I took everything apart, and the battery is charged. Thanks. Pat.
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Re: I want to test my C1 horns...
Pat,
I rebuilt my '57 horns and tested them with a 12v motorcycle battery with no ill effects.
The wiring method in the car is that the "B" terminal from the voltage regulator runs to the "B" terminal on the horn relay. The "S" terminal on the horn relay runs to the horn button. The "H" terminal on the horn relay runs to the horns. One side of horn returns to ground. A horn relay circuit is completed when the horn button is depressed, creating a ground. This energizes the relay, which allows the voltage from the regulator to pass thru the horns to ground.
As you described your wiring for testing, the "end terminal" you want to connect from the horns to is the "H" terminal. The other outside terminal is the one that connects to the horn button. - Hope this helps - If you need I can email a sketch of the wiring. Its a lot easier to understand than the AIM wiring diagram.
David B.Dave, 1969 427, 1957
Previous: 1968 427, 1973 454 -
Re: I want to test my C1 horns...
Pat,
I don't think you have it hooked up quite right. One hot should come from the battery pos terminal and another hot should leave the hot terminal on the relay and go to the horns. The grounding of the third terminal (pressing horn button)is what causes the relay to close and current to flow through to the horns. Also, the relay itself must be grounded.
However.... you actually don't need the relay in this circuit at all just for testing. Just ground each horn and apply 12V to the terminal and it should work. The relay, when used in the car, is only there to eliminate a lot of unneccessary wires in the wiring harness and also eliminate the heavy load that the horns draw from having to travel through the harnesses.
MichaelComment
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Re: I want to test my C1 horns...
Since we are on the topic of horns ... I replaced the wiring harness in my '58 with a new one from Lectric Limited. Also replaced the aftermarket relay with a correct rebuild. At present I have only one horn connected which worked previously. Problem is I get a click when I push the horn button. Worked before with the old harness, old relay and same horn. Connected the new harness wires as indicated in the wiring diagram. What is wrong? The only thing I can think of is the wire connections from the steering column, but they are connected per color code ... or a bad ground at the horn. Everything went back together the same as was disassembled. Any assistance would be appreciated. Hope to see some of you at Old Town next week.
DavidComment
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Re: I want to test my C1 horns...
David,
Sounds like only a grounding problem. You can temporarily run a test lead from the ground on the horn to the frame and see if it "fixes" the problem. If it does, then you have a lack of continuity somewhere in the grounding of the horns.
David B.Dave, 1969 427, 1957
Previous: 1968 427, 1973 454Comment
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Re: I want to test my C1 horns...
David,
I'll surely print your response and any others that surface. I know nothing about the electrical system and only follow the wiring diagram to make connections. My car is in cold storage in northern Maine right now, so I will tackle the problem during the mud or black fly seasons. I am sure some of you can relate to our summers up here. Thanks, David, for you quick response. Still welcome others to chime in.
DavidComment
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Thanks Michael & Davids...
One works and one doesn't. Oh good...another project. Thanks again. Pat G.Comment
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Re: I want to test my C1 horns...
If you find that the wiring is correct and you have a good ground, and it still doesn't want to honk, or honks feebly, turn the adjust screw SLIGHTLY one way or the other and try it again. Sometimes that helps.Comment
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Don't forget...
The electrical system runs on 14V when the engine is running, not the 12V of the battery. I have seen horns work fine on 14V which were weak or inop at 12V.Comment
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