ConcoursMustang Forums
Restoring - General discussions that span across many different groups of years and models => Processes, Products & Techniques => Topic started by: Pete Bush on June 25, 2010, 08:34:37 PM
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Horns aren't working.
I just finished taking the steering wheel apart, and checking all the connections there. Everything looks fine and we have power to the contacts.
So I unplugged the horn jacks by the horn and put my meter in place of the horn. When I depress the horn button on the steering wheel, I show current - on both sides.
So I checked continuity on the horn from the jack terminal to the bracket, and I get nothing, no continuity. I'm thinking both high and low horns are dead. There's a code painted inside the low horn of 6E4C. Nothing in the high horn. Would this be the code for the original horn(s) of my May/June '66 vert?
Will repro horns match the original styling? If not, does someone rebuild these? Or does anyone know of NOS replacements?
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Pete-
I haven't used these people so I can't attest to their work but maybe they can help if nothing else works.
http://www.classiccarhorns.com/
Greg
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Thanks, Greg! I'll check them out.
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One more quick test. Make sure you have very clean connections, hold the horn bracket on the NEG side of a fully charged battery and connect a jumper from the horn terminal to the POS of the battery. Hope for noise! ;D
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There was a mustang monthly article a few months back. They suggested spraying WD40 in the horn and tap it with a mallet. If my memory is working I believe it stated that solved the problem on a lot of stuck horns.
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Horns are extremely easy to service and repair. The toughest thing is getting the case apart. There's an old Corvette Fever magazine article floating around that detailed the horn repair process. I used it to fix the original horns on my '66 fastback, and if those rusted things could be fixed, any set out there can be repaired!
One note on the reproduction horns: the reproduction horn bodies are screwed together, as opposed to riveted/bradded together like original horns.
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drummingrocks,
Is this the article link you were referring to?
http://www.corvettemagazine.com/technical-articles/c1/48-beep-beep.html
When you took your horns apart, what did you use to replace the rivets you drilled out?
Zip Products only handles Corvette rebuild kits. Will I need a source for any Mustang related parts i.e., gaskets, coil, etc.?
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Here's a picture of the horns. The one with the date code in it is the low. I found it on the right side of the car. NPD indicates that the low goes on the left side of the car.
If I rebuild, are there any suggestions on how to accurately redo the date code once the horns are re-painted?
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drummingrocks,
Is this the article link you were referring to?
http://www.corvettemagazine.com/technical-articles/c1/48-beep-beep.html
When you took your horns apart, what did you use to replace the rivets you drilled out?
Zip Products only handles Corvette rebuild kits. Will I need a source for any Mustang related parts i.e., gaskets, coil, etc.?
Sorry for the late reply! Yes, that's the article. The gaskets I used came from Eckler's Corvette parts, and were an exact match for the original gaskets on my Mustang horns. I also bought a rivet kit, which I think also came from Ecklers. I installed the rivets individually by pressing them together in a vise. The heads were a little taller than the original rivets, but after dressing them with a grinder, they were indistinguishable from the originals. Hope this helps!
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Update: After reviewing the Beep Beep article, I remembered buying the horn repair kit from Zip Corvette Products. It came with the gaskets, new vibrating discs, and the reassembly rivets.
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Thanks, drummingrocks. I've got the kit ordered.
Now all I need to do is figure out a way to reproduce the date code once I've repainted the horns.
I wonder if I could create a stencil from a photograph?
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Pete, I photograph the horn date codes with a machinists rule in the photo, plus take accurate measurements of the letters/numbers on the originals. Then it is off to the office supply store with my enlarged images printed on a paper and they will make stamp that matches the image provided. Usually about twenty or twenty five dollars for a stamp, mostly what the guy there feels like charging I suppose. Try an office supply store near you while you still have the original stamping so they understand what you are doing and how important the font and spacing and size of the date code is to you. It helps to show them the originals if you can.
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Actually, Murf, a stamp is an excellent idea that hadn't occurred to me!
I think I'll start cleanup and disassembly of the horns.
I'm curious, though. For those that don't have suitable cores, or don't want to spend the time and effort rebuilding the horns, could someone buy the reproduction horns (you know, the ones with the screws), and then remove the screws and replace them with the rivets from Zip Products, then stamp a date code in one of the horns, and wind up with a Concours correct replacement? Or do the reproductions still differ slightly from the originals?
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Pete, The '67 reproduction horns that are sold are damn close to '66..They have the correct type '66 bracket.. Just the orientation of the horns is slightly different. Most people would'nt even notice the difference. I would go with those if I were you...Until you find some clean originals on Ebay.. An old trick on stubborn horns id to spray wd-40 liberally inside the original horn, and it springs back to life...but that is just a temporary fix.. You might want to give it a try..before you blow them apart.
The new repro horns ar held together with phillips screws, but you can paint them to make them less noticable.
Tony K.
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Hey Tony,
I've got the repairs parts ordered, so I'm going to take a stab at taking them apart and rebuilding them. It's good to know the reproduction are so close to the originals, though. This way if I screw them up, I've got a backup plan (lol).
All,
Were the bolts that hold the horns to the radiator support painted black?
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Horn attaching bolts were phosphate/oil.
There are some variations in the later horns. Going from memory, but know that at least some '68 had date codes stamped into the metal.
Also some variations in the ink date stamps, but that is probably worthy of another thread.
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Thanks, Charles. I did some searching of the archives here, and there's been some interesting discussions on phosphate finishes.
I see where Midway Products sells a cold phosphate product: KG K-Phos 4000. Seems like an easy, economical way to handle the small bolts, and get an introduction to the coating process. Have you had any experience with the product?
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I haven't tried the cold phosphate solution. If you do, let us know how it goes.
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Hey Pete how are the horns? If your still having problems this might help. You mentioned using a meter and reading current at the jack? What you were reading was voltage. You can have a full 12.5 plus volts at that jack and have good horns and still have an issue.
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Macdude,
I check voltage at the jack (12v), and continuity through the horns (none). Is there another test I should have performed?
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someone mentioned it but i didn't see a repost on it, can you make the horns work by connecting them directly to a battery by placing the horn bracket on the negative post and connecting the positive post to the horn terminal with a jumper wire?
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Yes, they can be tested like that. Just be careful!