TR6 Horn

[davjac889]

Hello All,
When you press the horn it sounds a weak squeak. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Bill '73 TR6

 

[charleyf]

Bill,
Your TR6 is the same as my Tr4s. That squeak is from the horn push brush ( the tube under the horn cap to the contact plate ) rubbing on the lower contact plate. This contact is what makes the horn work. Now the big question is how to get rid of the squeak? I have tried to put dielectric grease on the lower plate and that seems to work for a very short time. It seems that the horn push just has to much pressure ( to much spring) and this causes the horn push brush to wear a lot and then the squeak gets worse. Maybe somebody else has a good idea for stopping the squeaking.
To verify that this is the problem pull off the horn cap and pull out the horn push brush and then turn the steering wheel. Your squeak should be gone.
I also suspect that part of the problem is that I have Motolita steering wheels on my two cars. I suspect that the distance for the brush is changed from a normal Triumph steering wheel.
Charley

 

[TR3driver]

Hmm, I read that as the horns make the "weak squeak" instead of the normal "BLAAAT". If so, then the first thing I would check is how much voltage actually gets to the horns when you push the button. Probe the terminals at the horn while a helper pushes the button. If they aren't getting at least 12 volts or so, there is an electrical problem somewhere outside the horns.

 

[davjac889]

Thanks men, I'm working on it. I checked the steering wheel part out. I believe it is electrical, oh boy, Lucas electric.

 

[Marvin Gruber]

Quick test. Run a hot wire from battery to horn, if it sounds off strong then you know its a power supply problem.

marv

 

[davjac889]

Well a ran a wire from the battery to the horn relay and I get a good sound. But when I press the button on the steering wheel nothing. I took the push brush out and it seems alright. What about the button itself, looks like a copper coil underneath. Could these things be worn? Or should I be looking someplace else?
Thanks,
Bill

 

[TR3driver]

"Wire from the battery to the horn relay" -> According to the Dan Masters diagram, on a 73, the horn relay is supposed to get power all the time, through the "purple" fuse. The horn should only sound when the horn button provides a ground for the relay coil.

I am guessing that you ran your test connection to the output terminal of the relay. The next test would be to try grounding the coil terminal that has the black tracer and see if that makes the horn work. If so, the problem is closer to the horn button. If it doesn't work, check the voltage on the purple terminal while grounding the PB terminal. If you find full battery voltage, the relay is the problem.

 

[davjac889]

Well, I traced it down to the horn relay, cleaned up the connections, works fine. Sometimes I wonder with the age of these cars, that many electrical problems can't be traced to rust, dirt, corrosion leading to bad connections. Hey to the left of my horn relay is another small relay (2 prongs) anybody know what that is?
Thanks all for your insight.
Bill

 

[poolboy]

Check the wiring schematic. See if the wire colors are a match for a hazard flasher.

 

[mrv8q]

Sometimes I wonder with the age of these cars, that many electrical problems can't be traced to rust, dirt, corrosion leading to bad connections.
Bill

I know on my 6, disassembling and cleaning the fuse box cleared a host of problems....

 

[TR3driver]

I know on my 6, disassembling and cleaning the fuse box cleared a host of problems....

Ditto for my first Stag, although I also had to re-stake the rivets a bit to get the connections tight.