Colin

Hi Morgana. Confession time:- I did not contact Mick D - on the basis that (some of) the original screws seem to have stripped the thread in the carb body (must be very soft steel and I must've been over zealous in my tightenings during previous dismantling and subsequent assemblies. At the time I was out of country and inclined to use anything which would do the job (e.g. hold the two parts together tightly) and I used some bolts close to the screw size which had butterfly nuts in the stripped thread holes. These have done the job all these years! Were I to purchase a set from the part numbers given above, I'd still find I couldn't tighten in at least two of the thread, so a bit pointless. As I recall, the screws were viable still (not with mullered thread), but had clearly cleaned out the threaded body. So, what does one do . . . ? I'm sure the more capable mechanic engineers here will say cut a new thread in the lower carb body and match with a suitable screw. I'm not that au fait with such practices & have always worked round such things! Let us know how you get on!! At .10p each, a set from M Dolphin can't be a bad thing to have?? Best, C.

Gully & Chaps:- I'll take it, if this is a record! Similarly, I feel a twit for having completely forgotten about (out of sight out of mind) the u/j . . . to the point that when mentioned (here comes the Miranda clause), I couldn't even conceive of mine having one!! And yet, I HAVE done the job before!!! I'm only 64, too . . . starts early, doesn't it?!? 🤣🤣

Literally, 'Boom Boom'. God bless Basil Brush! 😁

Strewth, Iain! 🤣🤣

PS, gonna slather the joints externally to prevent future corrosion - also horn terminals.

Cracking stuff, fellas! Yep - the 'bus' comment was an inadvertant (lucky) use of word. Good news:- I must've done this same job many moons ago (25 yrs+) as I mullered a rather skinny tagged wire as I tried to clean it up - I note there was a twisted wire threaded through the nuts & bolts I wasn't to use - presumably this would have been the original earth from time of manufacture. Anyway, have made a new Earth, reassembled it and the horns blare plenty loud!! Thanks to All for continued on-going help. Photo of previously made earth (2 photos) and my latest (3rd). Let's hope it's another 25 years before it all needs re-doing!!

By bus, Doug??!! "The first property we bought here had never been connected to electricity, the nearest cables were 100 metres away. Once the EDF had installed their box I did the whole house - to French norms which meant I needed to do a bit of reading, in French of course 🤔" and with the added fun of that 4th purple (neutral?) wire, Chris??!!

415V 3 phase is what was supplying a Burgundian farmhouse (essentially) I once had! Huge 3 pin circular plugs & sockeys everywhere! Was going to be an arm & a leg to take it back to a 'regular' domestic supply voltage. So I left it! My bro' reckons some of the wiring antics I've tried whilst not understanding what he was getting at in his texts should in theory have set the car alight!! 🤣

Excellent Chaps. As you can tell, once my little stupidity is over, it'll be back to the chubby chalks for me! As my wife says:- if it breeds, it's biology; if it smells, it's chemistry, if it doesn't work, it's physics (and, she adds, or something Colin can't work out!!).

Non-member you are an electrician??

Thanks Jeffsds1360, you have properly confused me now!! 🤣🤣 Chris, John & Dick . . . all info duly noted, thanks! Those strips dragginv the road (if they ever reached it were, as I recall, supposed to prevent your static sparking when touching the car body, but from what I heard they actually charged it up!! 😄

Good point, Wagger. I might actually just do that. It does look bloomin' awkward to get to . . plus it'd be more obvious, should it fail - and be an indicator for the next owner (my son?) that this continuity wire HAS to be there and is utterly necessary . . . Thanks. Good suggestion & I like my knuckles!😃

Thanks! I hadn't realised that about the u/j. Now, reversing (and probably) fog lamps are also on my list - but am reluctant because of my lack of circuitry capability . . . but that's another project!!

And conncting horn earth terminal wire to my fresh bare steel patch also activates them. Pretty bloomin' loud they are, too . . . Will confirm the u/j connecting scenario once I've attempted to undo it, clean it and reassembled. Can't really understand why a u/j won't conduct an earth current - or for that matter, how the car actually earths itself - it sits on rubber boots!!

Thanks! That looks familiar Iain:- however, I took 5 seconds out to stick my preprared speaker wire down the pencil connector hole and earthed to door handle and BINGO! Twin horns. So it HAS to be the u/j at fault, doesn't it??

Thanks Iain. Will do!! Something for the weekend, sir? Yes please, more horn circuit testing, thanks!! 🤣

Thanks, Non-Member. Probably what my Bro' has been berating me for!! Not testing properly 🤣 As this Forum has probably figured out, I get there in the end but always take the long way round! Over the weekend, I'll find a good earth and poke the other end down the pencil connector hole. I'm guessing this'll indicate a bad earth (blasted u/j, isn't it!!?!). And do the horn test properly!! Best, C.

Hi again, Colin. I cannot for the life of me understand how this is not working! I simply removed an (the) old horn. Put a new pair on. Used the existing wiring as was, all cleaned up and in the case of the o/s horn, with new spades (due to corrosion) and got nothing! It has to be a simple thing. There's good voltage at the horn. The circuit has to be being 'blocked' somewhere. I hope to have a go at cleaning the u/j and its cabling In the next few days but the various tests my bro' and others have suggested have taken their toll on me for today - particularly as I don't really understand what their oitcome is meant to mean!! 🤣🤣 But yes - I have power to the horns via the brown only cabling and the opposite terminals are hooked up to the brown/black cabling on the secong terminal of each horn. It is beyond me what us not working - but, as with my loss of headlights and several other lighting issues since renovation, everything seems to be bad earth related . . . Best, C.

Hi Doug. They are new Lucas high & low pair - I tested on the bench with a jump start unit. They both sounded. 12V is on the supply side of the horns in situ and connected up. For me, that's brown only wire. Although I got a phantom reading with a new probe multimeter (and figured I shouldn't have 12V to both terminal on each horn!!) I then used a working 12V bulb with flying leads one end to the earth terminal (brown/black in my case) and the other on the 12V horn terminal with a resultant bright bulb lighting. I ascertained that the brown/black had NO power on them (whew!). And one end of wire to chassis eath point and other to 12V pos horn terminal only produces an initial spark, not an operating horn noise. I guess until I overhaul the filthy u/j (shown in a previous picture), I'll not have eliminated anything more.🙂

So . . . I have just connected a wire between the steering box earth I re-made (by extension, hopefully considering it to be the lower part of the column) and the top part of the steering column. Horn pushed. All I got was a spark. Second push illicited nothing . . .

Ok will do. I'm only just in the garage. Gonna try your column test suggestion, but I think my bro just suggested sumnat similar - brown/black cable removed from horn. Wire affixed to battery earth and other end touched to 12V horn terminal. Just get sparks. I'm assuming your purple/black is my brown/black . . . 😉

One wnd of test wire to thebright metal radiator mounting, other end of the test wire I placed on the 12V side horn terminal. No sounding oc horn.

The radiator side mount brackets - ground to bright steel

I'm a great example of why the school curriculum needs to change!! 😂😂

Thanks Chaps! My Brother is doing his crust with me . . . As one of many previous test suggestions, I have connected a wire from the 12V connected terminal directly to a new shiny earth which he claims should hoot the horn - but doesn't . . . I'm sure I'm not carrying out his Whatsapp test instructions properly . . . 🤣🤣