Broncoboy36081 Posted October 4, 2014 #1 Posted October 4, 2014 Well since I have had the bike the horn hasn't worked. I pulled the horns cleaned the contacts. Opened up the controls on the handlebars and cleaned it. Put it all back together and nothing. I hooked up the horns to a 12v battery and they work just fine. Measured voltage at the horns and was getting 10.35-11.2 when pushing the button. You can here the horns want to but they just make a squawking noise. I have no idea where to go on this. But being as its a safety concern I would like to fix it.
MikeWa Posted October 4, 2014 #2 Posted October 4, 2014 Two things. 1st check the voltage to the horns with the horns hooked up & trying to operate. Reading should be within .2v of battery reading. 2. Check the ground with the horns hooked up trying to operate. The easy way to check this ground is one lead of your meter on the horn ground terminal the other on the battery negative. Reading should be under 1 volt. This tests the horn switch and ground. Mike
Flyinfool Posted October 4, 2014 #3 Posted October 4, 2014 If what Mike says is good, then this is an upgrade opportunity to a Wolo Bad Boy horn.
Broncoboy36081 Posted October 5, 2014 Author #4 Posted October 5, 2014 Two things. 1st check the voltage to the horns with the horns hooked up & trying to operate. Reading should be within .2v of battery reading. 2. Check the ground with the horns hooked up trying to operate. The easy way to check this ground is one lead of your meter on the horn ground terminal the other on the battery negative. Reading should be under 1 volt. This tests the horn switch and ground. Mike Ground? Mine just have two spades on them. I see a screw on the horn that looks like it could be used for a ground.
djh3 Posted October 5, 2014 #5 Posted October 5, 2014 The horn is one things on this bike that are bass a c kwards. The power is at the horn all the time, but the button completes the ground so the horn works. To me its a completly backwards deal. I have probably had more troubles keeping horns working on this bike than anything else. I have a stebel and speed somethin is the other one.
MikeWa Posted October 5, 2014 #6 Posted October 5, 2014 Power comes in on one spade. The switch provides ground on the other. To test these set your DVOM to volts and connect one lead (black) to the battery ground. Touch the other lead (red) to one of the spades. With the key on press the horn button. Record your reading. Now connect the red lead to the other spade. Press the horn button again and record your reading. Turn the key off One of your readings should have been very close to battery voltage. That is the positive spade. The other should have been under about one volt. That is the ground circuit through the switch. If no readings were near battery voltage something is wrong with the supply (power) side. Fuse connections or wires. If you had a reading near battery voltage but the other did not go to near zero (under a volt) when you pressed the horn button the ground control side is at fault. Possibly a faulty switch, the actual ground connection, or the wiring. Mike
Broncoboy36081 Posted October 5, 2014 Author #7 Posted October 5, 2014 Power comes in on one spade. The switch provides ground on the other. To test these set your DVOM to volts and connect one lead (black) to the battery ground. Touch the other lead (red) to one of the spades. With the key on press the horn button. Record your reading. Now connect the red lead to the other spade. Press the horn button again and record your reading. Turn the key off One of your readings should have been very close to battery voltage. That is the positive spade. The other should have been under about one volt. That is the ground circuit through the switch. If no readings were near battery voltage something is wrong with the supply (power) side. Fuse connections or wires. If you had a reading near battery voltage but the other did not go to near zero (under a volt) when you pressed the horn button the ground control side is at fault. Possibly a faulty switch, the actual ground connection, or the wiring. Mike Ground is at .52vDC Power to horn was 10.52VDC and battery was 12.52VDC
Broncoboy36081 Posted October 5, 2014 Author #8 Posted October 5, 2014 It's the ground contact or horn switch. I plugged the spade to the + then ran a separate ground to the battery's - post. Horn worked just fine.
djh3 Posted October 5, 2014 #9 Posted October 5, 2014 OK so back up there and look for the ground. If I think about it I will go look mine over tomorrow and see if I can give you a heads up. There is a service manual available but I hate tryin to read schematics.
MikeWa Posted October 5, 2014 #10 Posted October 5, 2014 It's the ground contact or horn switch. I plugged the spade to the + then ran a separate ground to the battery's - post. Horn worked just fine. You can use a jumper wire to track the problem. Work your way to ground from the horn. Jump first one side of the switch then the other etc. As a side note. Due to the voltage readings you got I am surprised it is the ground side even though that is the usual culprit. ("Ground is at .52vDC Power to horn was 10.52VDC and battery was 12.52VDC") Mike
Broncoboy36081 Posted October 5, 2014 Author #11 Posted October 5, 2014 You can use a jumper wire to track the problem. Work your way to ground from the horn. Jump first one side of the switch then the other etc. As a side note. Due to the voltage readings you got I am surprised it is the ground side even though that is the usual culprit. ("Ground is at .52vDC Power to horn was 10.52VDC and battery was 12.52VDC") Mike I will see if I can trace it down. I have the service manual but tracing this down is gonna be a huge pain!
MikeWa Posted October 5, 2014 #12 Posted October 5, 2014 I will see if I can trace it down. I have the service manual but tracing this down is gonna be a huge pain! I would start at the switch. Jumper one side to ground then the other. Both with the switch pushed on and the ignition on. Mike
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