Horn test
 

Hi all,just finished installing new steering wheel and horn button on the 48,but no toot--toot,ran two wires from battery and still no toot--toot.I have looked all over and found no horn relay,wire from horn button goes directly to wiring harness,is there another way to test the horn? Thanks
Griff

sfaik, you should be able to run power direct from the battery to the horn, and if it isn't defective, it should honk. I've done it before. Just be sure to use a heavy gauge wire, 'cause a horn draws a lot of amps, and will move some serious juice. Holding too small of a wire will burn you, very quickly.

Yeah, 52 Merc is right on that, you should be able to ground out the case or bracket for the horn and touch the power hook up VERY briefly.

He's also right about the wire size - should be 10 ga at least.

Here's a couple more things to consider. If you are talking about trumpet horns, they pull and amazing amount of amperage. You MUST ensure that not only do they have a good ground, but the ground is substantial enough to pass the current. If they are hood mounted, this includes the hood being grounded enough.

Eventhough they were designed to be used with 6 volt positive ground, they can be used with 12 volt negative ground with no problem - they're just louder - darn!

If the gauge wire going to the horns either from the relay (which you MUST install to prevent welding your horn button parts together) or from the battery to the relay (via whatever path it takes - through circuit breakers or fuses or ignition switch, etc) is not large enough, there will not be enough current flow to sound the horns.

Also, unless the old harns have been used recently, are clean and lubricated properly, they probably won't sound. There is a blued metal diafram inside that vibrates (its a big DC buzzer) and it wont vibrate if it is rust covered.

Lastly, the trumpet horns were adjustable. If they are dirty or rusty, or the contact points are burned they may need to be filed or adjusted to sound. The procedure is in the shop manual.

I have two sets of them on my 51 and I had to enlarge the power wire from the alternator/ignition switch link up to 8 gauge to get those four to sound.

But, there isn't a little old lady driving her Buick in Rancho Bernardo who will ever be the same since I moved here!

Attachment 20665

Note how visible the wire is - it's a biggie! :-X04

Here's a picture of the Horn Button set up just as a check:

Attachment 20666

PS: Be careful when touching the wire to the battery. I might be tempted to attach a set of jumper cables to the battery, and connect the grounded cable to the horn body, then touch the power wire to the power stud some distance from the battery to prevent a possible battery explosion or fire - it's gonna be a BIG spark! And don't hold it. No matter how prepared you are for it, it's gonna blair out, vibrate, make brown fog, and make you jump!

Why not ground the relay terminal that the horn button connects to first, so you can see if it's the button or the relay/horn end? The horn is grounded thru the bracket to the hood, they get rusty, might be worth checking that too.

Here's a good site if you want to rebuild your horn.

How to Restore a Classic Car Horn

It also has an article on a 52 F1 Ford rebuild:-X06

SCG Classic Car Restoration: 1952 Ford F1 Pickup Truck Restoration Project

Don't remember how I found this site:9

Dale
Ford52F2:-dancing1

OP stated there was no horn relay installed.

Just FYI, you need to install a horn relay and you need to check that the horns are properly and adequately grounded. And after that, you need to install a horn relay and make sure the horns are properly and adequately grounded - after installing the horn relay. :-X05

But, you can check the actual function of the horns as I described above with the jumper cables in answer to your original question.