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Mon Jan 26, 2015 7:25 pm

Just replaced the horn in my 6 volt 1965 Bug.

It works just fine but sounds kind of weak and sickly.

Is this just a 6 volt thing or is something connected incorrectly?

Thanks!!

Mon Jan 26, 2015 7:38 pm

What type of horn did you replace it with? If it's a NEW horn it could be two things.

1, it's just JUNK! This is a big problem and very disappointing. I went through 3 new ones until on the 4th found 1 that worked recently.

2, you may have a wiring problem. The horn has juice going to it all the time and then the other wire - the ground wire - comes off the horn and goes up through the steering shaft to the horn button. When you push the horn, you complete the circuit by grounding that wire.

First make sure you have good voltage coming to the horn. you can check that with a meter pretty simply.

Then make sure the other wire coming off the horn has a good clean connection at the horn. There are also connections where that wire jumps across the rag joint steering coupler at the bottom of the steering shaft. Make sure those connections are tight and clean. If they are loose or dirty it may just not be getting enough of a ground.

If you have an old style horn that is held together with screws, they can be taken apart and serviced. There is a set of pints in there that can be adjusted to give you the sound you need.

Tue Jan 27, 2015 12:07 am

thanks for the info. I'll check it out!

Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:19 am

If the horn itself is fine, and it does sound albeit weak, then my first guess would be corroded wire contacts at the horn.
That's a common problem on cars that sit for a longer period of time (the horn did not get used and the connectors rusted in the meanwhile).
Easy fix: clean the wire connectors, or replace them.

Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:34 am

Sure you dont have a 12V horn?