The Ford Barn

VeryTangled · 02-01-2021, 10:58 AM

The diagrams were provided by Don Rogers, I think.

Lawson Cox · 02-01-2021, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuckwp

I am working on a '35 that has been converted to 12 volts. First off, I did not do the wiring conversion. This is a project car in a shop and the person that installed the wiring is long gone. It is an American Autowire HWY 15 system. I have verified that the horn switch on the wheel activates the relay in the fuse block and sends current to the horn.
It has the original horn which does not work. I did apply 12 volts to it and nothing happened. I understand that it should not be operated with 12 volts now. The picure with the dome removed shows how the previous person connected the horn. The green wire is the hot. When testing continuity between the two studs, it showed to be an open circuit. After much patience and cursing, I was able to remove the screw holding the two halves of the horn together. It seems as though the stud to which the ground wire was attached to (circled in red) goes to nothing. So, how is it supposed to work? The other stud has continuity to the solder connection -shown with yellow line. Maybe I am not understanding but, the stud the ground was connected to should have continuity to something. Also, just where is the capacitor?
I do not see it at all.

My horns don't look like THAT on the inside. I can't post pictures on Fordbarn. I only have a Master's Degree.

mercman from oz · 02-01-2021, 08:33 PM

Wiring Diagram for 1935 Ford Models.

SSsssteamer · 02-01-2021, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuckwp

I am working on a '35 that has been converted to 12 volts. First off, I did not do the wiring conversion. This is a project car in a shop and the person that installed the wiring is long gone. It is an American Autowire HWY 15 system. I have verified that the horn switch on the wheel activates the relay in the fuse block and sends current to the horn.
It has the original horn which does not work. I did apply 12 volts to it and nothing happened. I understand that it should not be operated with 12 volts now. The picure with the dome removed shows how the previous person connected the horn. The green wire is the hot. When testing continuity between the two studs, it showed to be an open circuit. After much patience and cursing, I was able to remove the screw holding the two halves of the horn together. It seems as though the stud to which the ground wire was attached to (circled in red) goes to nothing. So, how is it supposed to work? The other stud has continuity to the solder connection -shown with yellow line. Maybe I am not understanding but, the stud the ground was connected to should have continuity to something. Also, just where is the capacitor?
I do not see it at all.

I have the same exact horn on my '36 pickup. No condenser in the horn. My horn rod didn't work, so I installed a starter button to honk the horn. Your wire that appeared to be grounded, is a grounded on my horn. The other wire is the hot wire from my horn button. Works great. There are several fine horn adjustments that have to be just right, or the horn will not honk.

Don Rogers · 02-02-2021, 12:19 AM

I am thoroughly confused by this thread, but getting back to the original question, here are three images showing the correct wiring and adjustment of a 35 Ford horn. If you go to 12 volts, you are on your own but heed the cautions expressed by others.

rotorwrench · 02-02-2021, 01:07 PM

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That diagram has a little different representation of a capacitor but it gets the job done. There has been a lot of water under the bridge since 1935. As for the photo of reproduction horns, there have likely been different reproductions over the years since. They will not look like originals unless they are manufactured like them.

Reading some service notes I've come across, it states to adjust a horn by the amount of amperage it pulls for a lot of the old vibrator horns. Finding specific specs may be hard to do now days. Add 12-volts to the mix and it all goes out the window. A dropping resistor might do the trick though but it still might not react in quite the same way. Horn vibrators are sensitive to voltage changes so the drop in resistance would have to equal the running voltage of the generator in operation.

jrryttr · 10-16-2021, 10:00 PM

This looks like a newer horn motor to me than a '35. Is it possible that it was a aftermarket replacement?

02-01-2021, 08:33 PM	#23
mercman from oz Senior Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 10,372	Re: 1935 horns Wiring Diagram for 1935 Ford Models.

02-02-2021, 01:07 PM	#26
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,436	Re: 1935 horns Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) That diagram has a little different representation of a capacitor but it gets the job done. There has been a lot of water under the bridge since 1935. As for the photo of reproduction horns, there have likely been different reproductions over the years since. They will not look like originals unless they are manufactured like them. Reading some service notes I've come across, it states to adjust a horn by the amount of amperage it pulls for a lot of the old vibrator horns. Finding specific specs may be hard to do now days. Add 12-volts to the mix and it all goes out the window. A dropping resistor might do the trick though but it still might not react in quite the same way. Horn vibrators are sensitive to voltage changes so the drop in resistance would have to equal the running voltage of the generator in operation. Last edited by rotorwrench; 02-02-2021 at 01:18 PM.

10-16-2021, 10:00 PM	#27
jrryttr Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 22	Re: 1935 horns This looks like a newer horn motor to me than a '35. Is it possible that it was a aftermarket replacement?