[Che]

Can anybody tell me which is +/- of the blue and white wires coming form the stock horn? Trying to get my new horn working - i've ditched the included relay as i'm running a 25A positive wire from the battery, but i'm getting no noise at all. I've definitely got +/- of the horn right, just not sure whether to ground off to the blue or white wire I thought white was hot so i've used the blue as a ground, but yeah.... no noise

[steak_knife]

Because horn earth's at the wheel (steering type wheel) to sound said horn.

[Che]

^^ I can get it going backwards for a quick moment, you can hear it sucking, not blowing (he he). Change the polarity back to the right way and nothing.

I just cleaned all the contacts ultra sparkly too, those little copper squares are the cleanest they've ever been.

Using the circuit tester i've got current from the battery to the negative side of the horn, nothing at the contacts...


how on earth do you replace the horn --> button wire? Anyone have a steering column or behind the dash pics?

[steak_knife]

What??

if it was going backwards, how was it triggered?
Was the horn working before you started playing with it??
Look at the rag joint on the steering box, make sure it's not buggered. It's the steering shaft's earth..

[royce]

hook it up to the stock wires, take your add on out of the equation for a minute, does it work?

[shep]

use the relay cos the horn you have will need a lot more juice then the stock one one.
are both the wires + with one changing to - when ya push the button like the headlights do

[Che]

royce wrote:

hook it up to the stock wires, take your add on out of the equation for a minute, does it work?

Yes it does (well... it did, the horn is temperamental of the last two weeks), but no shortcuts being taken with the replacement wiring - 60A wire to the battery, 25A to the terminals, now fully shealthed with a layer of shrink wrap and installed... came up well





I was having problems with the horn before installing this, so don't know if my wiring is wrong or the other probelm is interfering

[steak_knife]

steak_knife wrote:

:? What??

if it was going backwards, how was it triggered?
Was the horn working before you started playing with it??
Look at the rag joint on the steering box, make sure it's not buggered. It's the steering shaft's earth..

[Che]

^^^ But I should be getting a current reading at the steering wheel horn contacts even if the rag joint is knackered shouldn't I? I'm not getting anything from either contact point

[royce]

you know thats doing SFA in reducing the horn load right?

its still earthing out through the loom and via the horn button, so the one thing you are meant to fit a relay to protect is still copping the full load of the horn

simple way to fix

grab the relay

the 2 stock horn wires, plug to terminals 85 and 86, you should hear/feel the relay click when you press the horn, if not you have a drama elsewhere in the stock setup, likely the slip ring on the wheel needs a clean

now take your new fat power wire and plug it to terminal 30 on the relay

make up a new fat wire to run from terminal 87 to the + on the horn
earth the - on the horn to the body

all fixed and proper

[Che]

Horn has a peak current draw of 18A, I've got it fused for 30A on 25A wire using avery short line... I shouldn't need to run the relay to get it to work

[Ben_Sierra]

che_guitarra wrote:

^^^ But I should be getting a current reading at the steering wheel horn contacts even if the rag joint is knackered shouldn't I? I'm not getting anything from either contact point

Um no, if the earth is buggered and there's no connection back to earth how are you gonna get any current at all?

[royce]

che_guitarra wrote:

Horn has a peak current draw of 18A, I've got it fused for 30A on 25A wire using avery short line... I shouldn't need to run the relay to get it to work

power is a two way street, its gotta get in, and its gotta get out, it gets out via the button on the wheel, your power lead is doing NOTHING

[shep]

che_guitarra wrote:

Horn has a peak current draw of 18A, I've got it fused for 30A on 25A wire using avery short line... I shouldn't need to run the relay to get it to work

while i am no electrics nerd i am sure that 18amp is higher then a 100w driving light.

[royce]

shep wrote:

che_guitarra wrote:

Horn has a peak current draw of 18A, I've got it fused for 30A on 25A wire using avery short line... I shouldn't need to run the relay to get it to work

while i am no electrics nerd i am sure that 18amp is higher then a 100w driving light.

higher than 2 actually

[Crunched]

royce wrote:

you know thats doing SFA in reducing the horn load right?

its still earthing out through the loom and via the horn button, so the one thing you are meant to fit a relay to protect is still copping the full load of the horn

simple way to fix

grab the relay

the 2 stock horn wires, plug to terminals 85 and 86, you should hear/feel the relay click when you press the horn, if not you have a drama elsewhere in the stock setup, likely the slip ring on the wheel needs a clean

now take your new fat power wire and plug it to terminal 30 on the relay

make up a new fat wire to run from terminal 87 to the + on the horn
earth the - on the horn to the body

all fixed and proper

Hook it up exactly as royce has detailed here. I have the same horn and only just installed it today, exactly like this.

[royce]

is it a nautilus thingo? I have one on my bike, I like scaring people with it

[Crunched]

Don't know what a nautilus thingo is, but this is one of those compact air horn thingos and it scared the absolute bajesus outta me when I first hit the angry button.

[royce]

its a brand of stebel horn, all in one airhorn thingy

[Che]

That's the one. Cable tied in for now, but it ain't moving

[Crunched]

Yeah ditto, got the same one. I mounted mine off to the left of the radiator, horns pointed straight out the grill. Surprisingly loud!

[Che]

OK i've just put my stock horn back in the loop and it's not sounding either.

I know i've asked this already, but its got me stuck - i'm not getting any reading from my circuit tester at the horns contacts in the steering wheel, but the negative post of the actual horn is hot... even if the grounding isn't tough enough for the 18A load, shouldn't I be getting some sort of current registering at the contact points? I'm not getting any load at all to this point.

I gotta work back from the horn button contacts and try pinpoint my ghost in the system, the circuit isn't completing.

[royce]

current is not potential, which is what you are seeing with your test light, power coming through the horn

hold the horn button in and turn the wheel back and forward and see if it works in certain spots

[skyman]

if you got hot to the horn, and out of the horn, then the short is between the horn output, and the switch one the wheel.


it goes
battery-horn-switch-ground through steering column /rag joint.

You have

Battery-horn-horn out (break in line somewhere)-switch-ground through steering column.

[Che]

royce wrote:

current is not potential, which is what you are seeing with your test light, power coming through the horn

hold the horn button in and turn the wheel back and forward and see if it works in certain spots

Yeah, nowhere. I'll try cleaning the modular connectors in the wiring loom and where the wires come into the dash, maybe they're just dirty. I suspect the wire connection that meets the horn contact may have worked free or be really dirty... but don't know where it's be located.

The circuit I was going for is just a beefier stock circuit:
Battery --> fuse --> horn +ve --> horn -ve --> horn button -->ground

But between horn -ve and horn button is the issue at this stage...

[royce]

if the wire from teh horn to the contact at the horn button isnt lighting up your test light then the slip ring or contact button is likely the problem

pull the wheel off and you will see a ring on teh wheel and the button that rubs on it, if you get power at the button its in the wheel, if not its from horn to button

[whincup]

che_guitarra wrote:

Horn has a peak current draw of 18A, I've got it fused for 30A on 25A wire using avery short line... I shouldn't need to run the relay to get it to work

not helping the problem, but shouldnt your fuse be rated to less than your wire?? you want the fuse to burn out before the wire...

[want33s]

Run a wire from the battery direct to + on the horn.
Run another wire from _ on the horn to _ on the battery.

If it works you know you have isolated the problem to the wiring between the horn and the switch/earth.

[89_tintop]

royce wrote:

if the wire from teh horn to the contact at the horn button isnt lighting up your test light then the slip ring or contact button is likely the problem

pull the wheel off and you will see a ring on teh wheel and the button that rubs on it, if you get power at the button its in the wheel, if not its from horn to button

i

I have had horns play up where it is there is contact between the "button" and the ring on the steering.
it had been worn down from years of wheel turning.. just added a bit of solder on the end of the "button" amd all was good.

[Teracis]

I don't know what the stock horn wiring is rated for, but these boys are right.

You should be hooking it up exactly as royce said.

If you don't understand what he's saying, basically hook the coil of your relay up where you used to have the horn. Get it so that when you press your horn button (on the wheel) the relay actuates (clicks) and once that is working, hook the actual horn between the positive and the relay load terminals, and the other side of the relay to earth (to keep it negatively switched)

Good luck, but as said put a relay in dude, if you're having trouble with the joints, you might get away with it just working (because you aren't trying to draw as much current) If you want to know why or don't know why, I can explain it later.