General Tech Horns

[KVH]

My new horns worked great until after a long drive, and then they wouldn't work at all. I couldn't even hear the relay click. I fiddled with wires for nearly an hour. No luck. I had power and ground both working to the relay, and to the horns. I rapped both horns with the tips of my fingers, and then they did work. Then a few minutes later they wouldn't work. Dead again. I then took a Phillips to the adjusting screws. Screwed them almost to the limit, then back about three full turns. Now they work. Okay, any ideas what's going on?

(Electrics!! I don't get it, but one day I will)

Marc

 

[mezy]

Horns fubar. Return

 

[NutmegCT]

Marc - when you first got those new horns, did you have to do any adjusting of the screw to get them to work? Or did they work ok right out of the box?

Tom M.

 

[Popeye]

Hi Marc,
You mentioned initially you could not hear the relay click. Once working, did that change?

My thinking: to get power to the horns you need power to the relay (grounding issues on the steering column seem common here); power from the relay (defective relay, perhaps?); and then a working horn (an electromechanical part, meaning it can fail mechanically or electrically!).

 

[KVH]

The horns immediately worked upon initial installation, and before I touched the adjusting screws. It was after driving that the horns died. I have good ground and power to the relay. I wasn’t able to find bad connections. Tapping was the clue something was strange. Then, of course, turning the screws which may have solved the issue, at least for now.

 

[CJD]

There is a steel pin inside an electromagnet that bounces back and forth in the magnetic field...making and breaking the electromagnet contacts and hitting the bellows to make the "honk". The adjuster tightens or loosens the spring for the pin and contact. If the pin corrodes or sticks, then you must disassemble the mechanism and clean the pin and slot.

In short, the Triumph horns require maintenance just like the rest of the car!

 

[mezy]

But the OP states they are new horns, why would you want to take them apart and clean contacts/fix them,

 

[CJD]

But the OP states they are new horns, why would you want to take them apart and clean contacts/fix them,

Like, to make them work?? It's not my idea, it's in the manual how to maintain tune the horns. Or, if they are really "new", KVH can send them back. I've found that "new" in this hobby doesn't always mean "brand new". I had a ton of "new" parts that were 5 years old by the time the restoration was finished. There is no returning those new parts.

 

[KVH]

They now seem to be working after I fiddled with those adjusting screws. I will report further if I learn more, but maybe just one of those flukes. Thanks for the input all.