What do you suggest for a low budget horn upgrade?

[chuck c]

I realize that cosmetically these would not be acceptable for a lot of people to put on their bikes. I wouldn't put it on a nice shiny chrome one either. But on this one they will fit in just fine.

 

[dan filipi]

Throw that wimpy Suby horn in the trash.

 

[chuck c]

dan filipi » Sat Jun 18, 2016 5:40 pm[/url]":3iq2dww1]
Throw that wimpy Suby horn in the trash.

It sounds better in person, really. Especially in open air. It's small and would be easy to fit on most bikes. I'll toss it in the spare parts pile for possible use on some future smaller machine.

The Wing gets F150 music. :music:

 

[joedrum]

hmmmmm i need horn mines missing.botton and all

 

[Daeouse]

Paint it with Duplicolor Chrome. . .

 

[chuck c]

Daeouse » Sat Jun 18, 2016 9:22 pm[/url]":1aknh91h]
Paint it with Duplicolor Chrome. . .

NO CHROME! Oh, I guess you meant for shiny bikes. Yeah, I think you're right. They could be cleaned up and painted to look ok. Maybe flat black with chrome brackets.

 

[Daeouse]

chuck c » 19 minutes ago[/url]":7qwvxoag]

Daeouse » Sat Jun 18, 2016 9:22 pm[/url]":7qwvxoag]
Paint it with Duplicolor Chrome. . .

NO CHROME! Oh, I guess you meant for shiny bikes. Yeah, I think you're right. They could be cleaned up and painted to look ok. Maybe flat black with chrome brackets.

Or orange like your other bike bits. . . LOL!

 

[Denver]

Believe that i read the original Stebel was German, & very good quality. :yes: Later American, then went under, :headscratch: as they were not near as good. :roll:

 

[Ansimp]

A hi/Lo pair of Subaru horns would be a great replacement on an Oldwing as they have a great sound and plenty of noise. The F truck horns look similar to my Falcon RTV horns which are great but an upgrade as well because the RTV originally only came with a single horn :head bang:

 

[chuck c]

I started test-wiring and mounting and found the OEMs were not working. Voltage at the connector to them (no horn) is only 1.2V. WTF? How can that be? I figure it should be 12v or zero. I've looked at the wiring diagram and can't see anything that would cause it.

 

[mcgovern61]

chuck c » Sun Jun 19, 2016 7:24 pm[/url]":3mknttqf]
I started test-wiring and mounting and found the OEMs were not working. Voltage at the connector to them (no horn) is only 1.2V. WTF? How can that be? I figure it should be 12v or zero. I've looked at the wiring diagram and can't see anything that would cause it.

Bad ground can cause that. The green wire at the horn button shares the same ground as all of the other systems. Be sure the ground connections at the coil and frame are good, then check the connectors. Also, check to be sure the connectors at the horn fuse are good and clean.

 

[chuck c]

Thanks, that's a good start. I suppose if those don't fix it I have to take the button apart and clean its contacts too.

 

[Denver]

Friggen electrical issue's take you all over the place. :sensored: Always hated them :Awe: Not one of my better ability's, or talent's! :smilie_happy:

 

[Ansimp]

Put a relay in your horn circuit and you take all current issues away from the old switch gear and wiring. You will still need 200ma to run the relay. :yes:

 

[OldWrench]

The green wire is your ground, bypass the ground with your meter by going directly to the battery negative side. If you then have battery voltage you have a bad ground. If ground is good pull the cover off the front where all your wiring connectors are. Check the voltage coming out of the horn button there. The positive horn wire is black and white You should get full battery volts at that plug. If you have full battery volts at the black and white wire connect your meter negative lead to the green wire. When you press the horn button if you see high voltage you have a bad horn button or poor connections. Whatever voltage you see is what is not being passed through the horn button.

As Ansimp said, put a relay in, if you force too much amperage through that horn button you may burn it up.

 

[OldWrench]

I spoke too quickly, the positive to the horn button is black and blue, not black and white.

 

[Ansimp]

OldWrench » Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:32 am[/url]":kukwqak6]
I spoke too quickly, the positive to the horn button is black and blue, not black and white.

They all look alike to me? :smilie_happy: :smilie_happy:
That's why I ran some twin core from the original horn wires back to the relay on Val. I will admit that I then checked it so that I could put the negative onto the 85 terminal and the positive onto the 86 terminal, even though it wouldn't make any difference with my relay. :whistling:

 

[chuck c]

What's the first rule of diagnostics?

First, check the very, very, obvious.

It was a blown fuse. Thing is, it wasn't the fuse I thought. The diagram I have has the horn on the turn signal fuse which was ok (I DID check that first) but it seems to be on either accessory or parking which were not. Anywho, cleaning the ground terminal, horn button, turn signal switch was worth the time. Yes, I'm using a relay. There's only 11.6V at the horn wires even with the battery fully charged. That's more than enough to trip the relay.

I rigged it all together and it works. Now it's just run wires and make some mountings. Good Ghod that's loud in my low-ceiling garage!

 

[chuck c]

I used my meter to see how much current they draw so I could size the fuse. HOLY CARP >14A! I figured my meter was reading wrong so I looked up the horn fuse for the truck I got it from. It says 20A. Those horns draw as much as the GW starter! Now I'm a bit nervous about using them before I upgrade the alternator. I guess they don't get used much but I'm worried that if the battery is very low and I hit the button it will be too much load on the charging system. I have tossed around the idea of adding a gel cell in place of the lump of iron on the fork but they can't deliver a large burst of current quickly.

But these can:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Antigravity-Batteries-XP-10-600-Peak-Amp-Pocket-Battery-Pack/44500323

I have one and it's a wonderful thing. It started my F150 3 or 4 times and when the battery finally got too low to even run the engine, it still started it and acted as the battery to get me home. I think I'll make a pocket for 1 or 2 of these and replace the useless iron with more power :mischief: .

 

[Ansimp]

Now you know why we have been suggesting a relay for the horn upgrade circuit. Every time I use my lithium jumpstarter I wonder if it could explode like those computer battery videos that you see on YouTube.