Horn repair worth the trouble - RESOLVED

[sprice]

Have old horns from my 68' 300. They are in creped condition and sickly sounding. Has anybody successfully reconditioned these horns? I have viewed some Youtube video's on this but none specific to the Spartan or Prestolite horns. I see you can get aftermarket for maybe $20 plus dollars however would like to keep the era sounding horns.

It appears that you would need to cut the rivets to expose the inside and then hopefully recondition the inside and re-assemble/rivet the assembly. Sounds easy. but does it work?

Thanks.

 

[Pete Kaczmarski]

Several years ago I met a retired school teacher at his booth at the West Bend WI. January swap meet. The guy is Gary Wise and he restored vehicle horns. He restored my '59 Imperial horn for $15. Now I would suggest calling him to get current pricing etc. His home phone is 262-353-9637 and a cell of 262-339-0507. Good Luck.

 

[CBODY67]

Have you tried adjusting the horns? There should be a small hex-head style screw sticking up from the housing, near the center of the mechanism. Sometimes, moving that screw can affect output. The FSM mentions it, with a picture.

Just a thought,
CBODY67

 

[mgm1986]

Have you tried adjusting the horns? There should be a small hex-head style screw sticking up from the housing, near the center of the mechanism. Sometimes, moving that screw can affect output. The FSM mentions it, with a picture.

Just a thought,
CBODY67

This is exactly what I did for my '68 300. My horns barely made any sound. After turning the adjustment screws in and out a few times they started to work. After doing this a bit they now work fine. Be gentle and don't force it.

 

[sprice]

Have you tried adjusting the horns? There should be a small hex-head style screw sticking up from the housing, near the center of the mechanism. Sometimes, moving that screw can affect output. The FSM mentions it, with a picture.

Just a thought,
CBODY67

Yes, I saw that in the FSM. These are rough. One is barely squeaking a sound out, others . . . . nothing. Going to try MGM1986's suggestion. If that doesn't work I'll crack the rivets off and look inside. Learn, learn, learn.

 

[Big_John]

If that doesn't work I'll crack the rivets off and look inside.

It doesn't work, so you have nothing to loose.

Just take a lot of pics, both for yourself and for us!

 

[sprice]

Feel like an amateur. Not sure what resolved the issue however removed the adjusting screw. No sign of rust or contamination. Cleaned up the screw, replaced and did as MGM1986 suggested, maybe exercised something and then forgot horns require a very good ground to operate properly. Cleaned the outside of rust and paint and they are sounding off with the touch of the power probe. Thanks to all. Still wouldn't mind taking one apart to examine and learn how they work. Cheers!

 

[CBODY67]

Glad ti worked!

Consider a "horn" as a loud, single note, loudspeaker. The magnet must have a free range of motion to operate. The curvatures and diameter increases of the metal "horn" amplify the sound vibrations. As other design characteristics determine the frequency of the sound emissions.

In earlier times, I've heard of some people spraying WD-40 into the horn to free-up the internals, sometimes, which they claimed worked well.

Take care,
CBODY67

 

[Big_John]

While the problem is resolved, I thought of this thread when I ran across this horn thread on FABO. So for any searchers in the future and our own knowledge: Prestolite Horn Demystifed