R 21 Horn

M

markm

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 14, 2009
Messages
158
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C (Sterndrive)
Vessel Name
Mark Twain
I was on the yesterday and was passing a large boat. I pressed the button to signal with my horn and the horn sounded for one blast. To me is sounded like on half power or one of the two horns. When I pressed it the second time is sounded for one second and died. I checked the fuse on the panel and it was in tact. Does anyone have any idea how to figure out what is wrong? I am not sure if it is wiring/electrical or the horn needs to be replaced.

Thanks

Mark

:cry:
 
Mine did exactly the same thing. Exactly. With the power off, I sprayed electrical contact cleaner into the horn button while "exercising" the button vigorously and repeatedly. The horn works great now. I was actually ready to replace the horns, but thought a little spray and exercise was worth a try.
 
Thanks for the reply. I am on my way this morning to an auto parts store. I'll report the results in a few hours. Thanks a million. Mark 😀
 
Well I sprayed the horn switch and it honked like a weak sick duck. Then nothing... My next plan is to unscrew the panel and check the connections on the switch itself, look for corrotion, look for anything for that matter. If anyone has a suggestions, please let me know. Its always something! :cry: Mark
 
Hi Mark,
Sometimes it takes a while for the spray to do it's job...try it tomorow and spray again
Did you look inside the horns?...mine seem to attract yellowjackets and their nests (so do the nooks and crannies on my trailer).
 
Thanks Jack. I'll check again after work on Tue. We certainly have yellow jackets everywhere, they may have set up shop. I'll check that as well.

Thanks again,

Mark
 
Okay, here is the latest on my horn saga. I checked the trumpets for hornets, clean. I have sprayed electrical connection cleaner over thirty times. The horn sounded at about five percent twice. Then the light went out and that is the last time I got anything out of the horn. I then unscrewed the switch panel in the pilothouse and disconnected the three wires to the horn switch. I have removed the switch from the panel.

My plan to go to West Marine and hopefully they will have a replacement switch in stock. By the way it is a Carlingswitch made in Mexico. They seem to have replacements at West Marine under another name. Now will they have the switch I need in stock? Who knows.

I sure hope it is the switch or I am STUMPTED!

Mark
 
Most of the time it is not the switch. Everytime I have seen one of these horns lose their sound or stop working was due to corrosion on the contacts on the actual horn. I fixed one the other day for a customer by doing some messing around. As far as I know, it still works fine. If you would like to send me an email to my ranger tugs address, I can send you a fix it sheet on this that might help if the switch doesnt solve it. andrewcustis@rangertugs.com
 
Electric horns are adjustable to get the proper sound.Back as far as my 1918 Model T' Ford. Remove the rear cover and there is an adjusting screw with a lock nut--usually! This adjustment controls the contact point setting. You may have to file the points back to flat if they are pitted? Connect power to the horn and turn the adjusting screw till it makes the sound you want--disconnect power or lose your hearing? Set the lock nut on the screw and a dab of Locl-Tite to keep it set. Cheers RB
 
Welcome to todays round of "What's With The Horn".

Today I took the switch and had it tested. It works fine.

Next I came home and checked all the connections to the switch, they were fine.

Next I took both horns apart and the connections were fine.

Next I removed the cabin light on the overhead (which is where the horn wires enter the pilothouse) and checked the connections there as well.

That leaves one thing to check, the power wires (or is it wires?) for power. The light goes on when you press the rocker. A couple of times it gave me a 10 percent blast (very weak). Then is did nothing at all again.

How do you test the wires to see if there power reaching the switch.

Thanks

Mark
:shock:
P.S. Lost sense of humor today.
 
Are you sure your house battery is up to par? Horns are high-current devices and I guess it is possible the house bank is down. I did note that you were under power in the first instance, but it is possible the charging system is leaving the house bank un- or under-charged. (On some R21-ECs, for instance, the 110VAC charger only charges the start battery. It could be that the isolator has failed and you are not charging off the engine either.)

Just a guess, but you seem to have covered most of the other potential failure modes. You might try the horn with an automotive jumper cable between the positive posts of the start and house battery to make sure that is not the problem. A simple voltage check does not assure proper current flow out of the battery.

If, and only if, this was the first time you ever tried the horn, and you have no experience with it sounding properly, the other (somewhat wild but relevant) thought I would have is that somehow the wrong wire is feeding the horn and it is undersized so producing a large voltage drop. Autos used to have a "horn relay" triggered by a light line to energize a specially heavy line to feed the horns. An undersized wire in the circuit could produce a significant voltage drop.
 
I just completely dis-assembled both horns. Both were packed with bugs. I cleaned that up and am now ready to clean the contact points. I don't know how to upload the .pdf file I got from the horn maker Ornago. This might be handy for others. If you want me to send the file to you, drop a message and I'll copy it right away. I post after I perform this operation.

Mark
 
For past day and a half I have completely taken apart the horns and sanded the contact points. Many of the screws and bolts were zinc coated and the heads snapped off. I had to use an easyout and remove the threaded remains. I spend many hours getting everything put back together. All I have to do now is press the button and give it a test. I finished this morning at 8 am, I figure the neighboors would appreciate me testing it this afternoon rather than now. :lol:

I report in a few hours if all this work payed off.

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

Mark
 
Both horns blasted. Dismanteling the horns and cleaning the contact points is the answer. Beware, it is HARD to get the horn apart. But, I saved about $150 plus shipping and tax for a new pair.

😀

Thanks to all

Mark

P.S. Now on to my mast wiring problem.

:shock:
 
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