AarhusTr6 Posted July 5, 2017 Report Share Posted July 5, 2017 So one of my horns which both look original is dead. I have a question to the experienced... 1. Should I strip, clean etc etc. I can see a guy on a site has a step by step guide on this- 2. Replace with new ones from Rimmer (are these Chinese copies and am I losing something...) 3. From the US, there is a ebayer selling Lucas horns, looking same as mine (question apart - how is he doing this? Did he buy a factory load once??) 4. Put fog horns on! From memory, they were all the rage back in the 70s !!! More of a vote question I guess but aim on my TR6 is originality (without being a nerd...) Rich Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted July 5, 2017 Report Share Posted July 5, 2017 Rich, My high tone horn is also defective. I dismantled it, but had to surrender, could not get it to work at all, so have to buy another horn. New ones are relatively cheap, so I am interested too if they wor and sound satisfactory. Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mark69 Posted July 5, 2017 Report Share Posted July 5, 2017 Ed Hollingsworth restored is horns, step by step guide on his bullfire blog. Ed.h on here. Mark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Case Posted July 6, 2017 Report Share Posted July 6, 2017 From the US, there is a ebayer selling Lucas horns, looking same as mine (question apart - how is he doing this? Did he buy a factory load once??) ...but aim on my TR6 is originality (without being a nerd...) Hi Rich, FYI, current aftermarket repro Lucas horns are cheap plastic. To retain originality a pair of OEM metal Low and High Tone Lucas 9H Windtone Horns will give you a period correct British Car Horn loud "Bloody Wanker!" sound which is quite attention grabbing when need be. Lucas 9H Windtone horns were OEM installed on numerous British marque cars from '62 - late 70's like Jaguars, Healeys as well as Triumph TR6's so they're relatively not very hard to find NLS parts. 9H horns are normally salvaged and refurbished like new from damaged parts cars and made available on eBay every so often thru reputable British Car repair and restoration specialist shops located here in the US. Keep 'em on the road! Cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AarhusTr6 Posted July 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2017 Bloody Wanker . . hahaha!!! This is the link I saw from the eBay on the other side of the pond http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Lucas-Horn-Set-for-Jaguar-XK120-XK140-XK150-XKE-E-Type-/151472801100?epid=2088147292&hash=item23447b854c:g:jMkAAOSwnDZUKJAT&vxp=mtr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Case Posted July 6, 2017 Report Share Posted July 6, 2017 Hi Rich, Try messaging Greg at http://stores.ebay.com/hoffmannsautomotive/ to see if he can fix you up with a pair of authentic OEM Lucas 9H horns. Greg's a straight up guy and great source for NLS LBC parts. Best, Casey Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveR Posted July 6, 2017 Report Share Posted July 6, 2017 17 years ago on my Vitesse I drilled out the rivets to get inside. The clean the inside and cleaned the contacts. Reassembled with screws and grease between the two hafts. Then re-set the magnetic gap and contacts. They been OK since. I would have a go. Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted July 6, 2017 Report Share Posted July 6, 2017 Dave, Yes, I did that. Looks like mine is shorting, it gets warm very quickly and no sound at all. I looked at Ed's site before tackling this job. Cheers, Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim F Posted July 10, 2017 Report Share Posted July 10, 2017 Hi. I'm having a problem with a couple of horns. They work off the car, (when I wired them up to the battery), but when I fit them to the car I get a click but no sound. They are original horns and I think they may need too much current to make them work. I constructed a relay to provide a better earth but that didn't solve the problem. This is an early horn configuration so constant live. So a few questions: Anyone else experience this problem? Any recommended solutions? Anyone have a relay wiring solution that I could use? Thanks. Jim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Denis Posted July 10, 2017 Report Share Posted July 10, 2017 First thing I added to my car in 1972 was Maserati Air Horns, I left the originals in place but have never used them. Few Horns sound like Masers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
john.r.davies Posted July 10, 2017 Report Share Posted July 10, 2017 Maserati horns are for girls! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fTRMJPLmX98 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spit_2.5PI Posted July 11, 2017 Report Share Posted July 11, 2017 Besides your horns not working, are there any other symptoms? Back in the 80's I found the horns on my Dolomite (guessing they're the same as a TR) would occasionally stop working! (I didn't use them enough - defensive driver?) Before each MOT I would remove the cable from each one in turn & check the other. When they didn't sound, they would invariably make a dull "clonk", (meaning the coil was pulling in but the circuit wasn't being broken). I would bring them back to life by turning the adjusters. Was it clockwise or anti-... or perhaps it was a bit of both? Never failed! But ... you've tried this already guys, haven't you? Cheers, Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR Paul Posted July 20, 2017 Report Share Posted July 20, 2017 Hi Rich, I've got Fiamm twin air horns on my '6, The horns tuck in neatly inside the bumper (using the spare number plate bolt holes), & the compressor is mounted under the bonnet, below the radiator overflow bottle, so it's all fairly unobtrusive- till you give them a blast! They are easily available on the 'net', and sound great: I believe they were O/E on Ferraris, 'til fairly recently. Good luck, whichever path you decide to follow, Best wishes, Paul. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Keith66 Posted July 24, 2017 Report Share Posted July 24, 2017 Hi All, Read this post and looked at Ed's refurb guide as i'm mid restoration of my 1972 Pi, similar sized job to ed's funnily enough and i've used his site to help in a few areas already as its very good. Just wish i had such a nice workspace. So I tested my horns as they have been on a shelf for many years and one worked fine but with the other i only got a groan out of the one, so i thought i to would have a go. But my horns are not the same as Ed's? Externally they are similar but the terminals are different and internally very different, although i'm sure they work in a similar way. So i had a quick look on the various retailer sites and the ones they sell seem to be like Ed's design, so were there different versions and secondly what are the remade ones constructed from, they looks so smooth they may be plastic? I'm still going to see if i can get it up and running but as you can see from the pic's the internal condition is poor. Cheers Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
duncan Posted July 27, 2017 Report Share Posted July 27, 2017 (edited) wrong topic ! Edited July 19, 2018 by duncan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SeanF Posted July 18, 2018 Report Share Posted July 18, 2018 I'm still going to see if i can get it up and running but as you can see from the pic's the internal condition is poor. Cheers Keith DSC_0086.JPGDSC_0087.JPGDSC_0088.JPG Hi Keith and Waldi, Did you ever get your horns working? I finally tackled mine this evening. They are Clear Hooters horns, and are identical inside and out to Keith's. Not Lucas Windtone like Ed's. Both of mine seem to be shorting internally. Like Waldi's they get hot when power is applied but the coils do not pull and there is no resistance registering in the coils on the ohm meter either. Are they toast or is there something I can do? Many thanks, Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted July 19, 2018 Report Share Posted July 19, 2018 (edited) double post Edited July 19, 2018 by Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted July 19, 2018 Report Share Posted July 19, 2018 Hi Sean, I finally surrendered on mine, and bought a new repro. The repro is a bit cheap looking plastic thing, but works and sounds ok. Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
astontr6 Posted July 19, 2018 Report Share Posted July 19, 2018 So one of my horns which both look original is dead. I have a question to the experienced... 1. Should I strip, clean etc etc. I can see a guy on a site has a step by step guide on this- 2. Replace with new ones from Rimmer (are these Chinese copies and am I losing something...) 3. From the US, there is a ebayer selling Lucas horns, looking same as mine (question apart - how is he doing this? Did he buy a factory load once??) 4. Put fog horns on! From memory, they were all the rage back in the 70s !!! More of a vote question I guess but aim on my TR6 is originality (without being a nerd...) Rich Hi Rich! If you now go and buy new Lucas Boxed Horns they are made by Elta Lighting a Danish company I believe. The Lucas trade mark is owned by TRW and Elta has bought a license to use the Lucas green box house colours and remanufacture. They also manufacture many of the other Lucas electrical parts. AS to whether they are exactly the same as the original I do not know? So it might be a case of buyer beware as well? Bruce. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewP Posted July 19, 2018 Report Share Posted July 19, 2018 Always repair/restore where you can in my opinion. I have done 2 or 3 sets and to date only one horn has been totally broken. I have a set I'm doing now. I normally split the horn into two halves and give them a clean internally with elec contact cleaner, wire wool, fibre stick and wet and dry where required. I then gently, in my blast cabinet, clean the outside (I swap over to inda medium for ally). The horns are becoming sought after now as the repros are plastic and look less than a quality part (just my opinion however). They are relatively easy to open up, and as long as the electrical coil and the thin metal diaphragm is in good order they can be fixed up. Sean, when you say no resistance do you mean a short or no resistance as in open circuit? Either way by opening them up you are not making them worse than they are now. The things to look for are the contact points internally welding together so first thing check you can gently open the points apart. Second thing to check is the solenoid 'plunger' can move up and down as if water gets into the workings it can rust the plunger in th casing which is attached to the diaphragm. For info, these work on the same principal as the indicator relay or voltage regulator as in a bi-metallic strip that when current passes through it, it heats up and deflects. This causes the points to open breaking the circuit allowing the strip to cool down and the strip deflects back, causing the points to close, current then flows, strip heats up and so on and so forth. Each time the points close it also energises a solenoid that pulls in the centre of the diaphragm. It's this in-out of the diaphragm that creates air movement and a beep. Back to my ramblings..be careful with the 'tuning' screw. It's opp threaded and can break if it's rusted in there. You can remake the gasket that goes between the two halves as well with a bit of gasket paper. Finally, tuning the horns is a bit of fun. You have a nut/screw on the top of the casing that limits the diaphragm plunger movement up and down. You also have the little opp threaded screw that limits the points opening/closing distance. I'm sure there is a science with it, but the best way I found to tune the horns is to grab ear plugs, apologise to the household (and neighbours) and hook them up to a battery and tune as you go. There is a noticeable sweet spot when they are working in their hi or low range, and outside of that they might squeek or further from that they do nothing (you might feel the solenoid click) Word of warning but as you have found out they pull a fair bit of current, so they get warm quickly. If they don't make a noise, don't leave it too long before disconnecting the supply as this could burn out the solenoid quickly. Hope this helps. Cheers Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SeanF Posted July 20, 2018 Report Share Posted July 20, 2018 Thanks Andrew and Waldi, I am pleased to report that I have got the low tone horn working and am about to tackle the high tone. The contacts were very dirty but the main problem was that one side of the wire connectors which go through the case to the coil was not conducting power. In other words, power applied to the lucar connector was not passing through to the rivet to the copper inside. No idea why but I drilled out the rivet and replaced with a screw and all good. Andrew when I said resistance, I meant continuity which was the result of the problem above. What a great forum this is! Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Keith66 Posted July 21, 2018 Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 Sean Nope never got the one working although not sure if it was the high or low note. However i've still got he bits and will have another go when i've finished a few other more pressing TR related jobs. I had bought a cheap plastic repo thinking i could still the new insides into the old casing but that looks a no go to me. I'll give your rivit cure a go as my issue seems the same continuity issue. AndrewP, not sure if your techniques apply to the Cleer Hooters as well as the Lucas Windtones but i'll have a play, nothing to lose as it doesn't work. The other question that comes to mind is were the Clear Hooter OE or were they replcements sometime in "History" Be nice ti know as i try to repair refurb where practical. Cheers Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JubileeNut Posted August 11, 2020 Report Share Posted August 11, 2020 (edited) Hi everyone, I saw this while searching for information on Clear Hooter horns which are fitted to my TC Jubilee Marina. These are original 1973 fitting. I have high and low tone and the high had stopped working so pulled current which also made the one working very quiet. So sorry I don't have a TR6. The horn just made a click and consumed current. After looking at this forum I went out and moved the adjuster screw at the rear of the horn back and forth. this did not get the horn working, but them I removed the front centre nut and washer and large outer disc, still did nothing. Behind this was another nut and washer so I loosened this and found the stud went a little loose. I tried it and it buzzed but as it was loose no nice sound but better then nothing. I then very gently did the inner nut up to take out the play and tried it. If to tight no buzzing so backed off a tiny amount. Then fitted back the outer disc and washer nut and tightened without the centre stud turning. The horn worked OK and then I tuned the rear adjuster until it sounded constant. It is now working as it should without drilling out rivets so looks like I was lucky. the old metal horns are far better made and can be brought back from the dead. I am like most of you and restore repair rather than replace with new poor quality parts. Thanks and cheers, Paul. Edited August 11, 2020 by JubileeNut Additional information added Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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