aggie Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 I'm having a problem with the horns on my Spitfire 4. They are the original " Clear Hooters " which have not been used in anger for a number of years but, here's the point. They work perfectly well off the car or, indeed, on the car if you connect them directly to a battery. Very loud too ! However, when connected as they should be only the high tone horn works when the horn button is pressed and then only if the low tone horn is disconnected. When both are connected neither works. I have checked the wiring and there are no high resistance points. I should say that the wiring diagram in the workshop manual shows the horns are connected via a relay but, this is not the case. They are actually wired as per the diagram for a Vitesse i.e. one side of the horns permanently live with the other side being earthed when the horn push is operated. Any ideas please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 are you sure they have not got wired in series not parallel so thye are trying to run on 6v ??? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 Possibly poor earthing. The hornpush earths through the little pencil, down the column, and the there should be a wire bridging across the steering joint. And I believe ab=nother earthing the steering rack itself. The way to check the earthing is to try bypassing the hornpush etc. Use a length of wire attached to the purple wire coming up to the steering column, and earth it somewhere. If they work OK then you know what the issue is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggie Posted February 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 No, Pete it's the original wiring which hasn't been changed. Good thought though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggie Posted February 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 Thanks Clive I will check those points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 2 hours ago, aggie said: No, Pete it's the original wiring which hasn't been changed. Good thought though. But you said it's wired like a Herald, not like a Spitfire, so that sounds unlikely. The relay is useful because it avoids precisely the issue Clive mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 Aggie, You're obviously not handling them correctly! Sorry, Pete made me do it. Doug 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyman Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 We are talking horns Doug....... Should make it work it work though Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 28 minutes ago, poppyman said: We are talking horns Doug....... Yes, I was just on the point of getting one. From my store, that is, to check how they perform firstly in series then in parallel, just to see what difference it makes. Otherwise, if one works only when the other is disconnected, and neither when both are connected, then the fault lies in the low tone side of the circuit. Probably, as Clive says, a poor earth or short - can you hear the relay click if you press the horn push and no horns sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 14 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said: can you hear the relay click Right at the beginning Aggie says it doesn't have a relay. Try and pay attention at the back Lindsay. db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 Doug your Hooters are on the level Aggie has one hi and one low never mind if they are clear hooter or windtones reminds me of testing , truck fitted with clearhooter and lucas and from the designed distance we bought the cheapest as you couldnt hear either of them Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 55 minutes ago, dougbgt6 said: Right at the beginning Aggie says it doesn't have a relay. Try and pay attention at the back Lindsay. db Sorry, your photo distracted me a bit. I'm still trying to make out the television programme. So we're talking about a relay involving hooters... I'm all ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinR Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 Enough of this old fashioned Clear Hooters stuff. Add a relay and replace them with a really loud Stebel Nautilus hooter - https://www.mx5parts.co.uk/stebel-nautilus-compact-horn-black-p-3356.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 agree they are brilliant hooters , scare cats dogs and old ladies,,............. 100% all hooter and very compact. you still need a relay with one of these I have had two over the years .. I did keep a pair of truck 3ft chrome trumpet air horns but you needed a big reservoir to provide the volume required... never mind a compressor thought of pre charging a tank but it all got a bit silly ....... these little units make a right racket Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted February 23, 2020 Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 51 minutes ago, KevinR said: Enough of this old fashioned Clear Hooters stuff. Add a relay and replace them with a really loud Stebel Nautilus hooter - https://www.mx5parts.co.uk/stebel-nautilus-compact-horn-black-p-3356.html As fitted to my spitfire! Makes the MoT man jump every year 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s99sdp Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 On 23/02/2020 at 10:37, clive said: Possibly poor earthing. The hornpush earths through the little pencil, down the column, and the there should be a wire bridging across the steering joint. And I believe ab=nother earthing the steering rack itself. The way to check the earthing is to try bypassing the hornpush etc. Use a length of wire attached to the purple wire coming up to the steering column, and earth it somewhere. If they work OK then you know what the issue is. 100% correct, I've just replaced both on mine. I couldn't even see the lower one until I jet washed the bottom of the column / rack. SP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 if fitting to a modern with ecu /can bus and whatever would operating a relay instead of the awful bleating lamb horn fitted to most moderns allow you to stop being embarrassed at tooting a Baaa and fit a rooting tooting blaster on a relay ??? done this on my 06 megane but things have got more complicated in 19 with more ecu controllers on board any views Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s99sdp Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 What ever happened to the life shortening air horns I used to put on my cars when I was a teenager. One blast at a zebra crossing would reduce the life expectancy of any unsuspecting granny in an instant. The horn on my Spitfire is laughable so I was actually thinking of replacing it with a blaster from the past. SP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 I had a klaxon on my GT6, but it got nicked, they didn't even undo the bolts, just hacksawed it off! Toe rags! Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s99sdp Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 Just now, dougbgt6 said: I had a klaxon on my GT6, but it got nicked, they didn't even undo the bolts, just hacksawed it off! Toe rags! Doug Think back to who you got with it. It may have been a revenge attack! 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 Yes! The neighbours weren't over keen on it Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave.vitesse Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 10 minutes ago, dougbgt6 said: I had a klaxon on my GT6, but it got nicked, they didn't even undo the bolts, just hacksawed it off! Toe rags! Doug Was it part of an alarm system? Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s99sdp Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 8 minutes ago, dougbgt6 said: Yes! The neighbours weren't over keen on it Doug There you go then, there's a clear reason to break in to their house and search for it is ever I saw one. SP 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 52 minutes ago, s99sdp said: There you go then, there's a clear reason to break in to their house and search for it is ever I saw one. SP Leave it where it is!! There's a 2020 movie just out on the same topic... they're lethal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 2 hours ago, s99sdp said: What ever happened to the life shortening air horns I used to put on my cars when I was a teenager. One blast at a zebra crossing would reduce the life expectancy of any unsuspecting granny in an instant. The horn on my Spitfire is laughable so I was actually thinking of replacing it with a blaster from the past. SP The Stebel horns are excellently loud. They do a range, but as the thread, I have a nautilus. Suitably loud enough to scare grannies and children. And my MoT man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now