The Ford Barn

Fred Ryan · 04-11-2023, 01:37 PM

How do I get the ga sound back on my ahooga horn?

ldreeg · 04-11-2023, 03:30 PM

I would like to know too.

alexiskai · 04-11-2023, 03:58 PM

The a-hoo without the ga typically results from the adjusting screw being too tight. If your horn has been working recently, try backing the adjusting screw off 1-2 clicks. If the horn hasn't been sounded in a few months, do as follows:

If you don't know the last time the horn was oiled, remove the cover and oil the felts. Just a drop will do ya; you want to get the oil as close to the shaft as you can. Replace the cover.

Back out the adjusting screw a full turn, or as much as is needed to get the ratchet off the diaphragm completely. Hold down the horn button and make sure you can hear the armature spinning freely. Keep holding the button. Let the armature spin 30 seconds or so. You should hear it speed up and then hold a mostly-constant speed. Once that happens, release the horn button. Incrementally turn the adjusting screw in until you hear the sound you want, then stop.

JayJay · 04-11-2023, 04:25 PM

The "ah" is the motor spinning up, the "hoo" is the motor at speed, and the "ga" is the motor spinning down. Lack of "ga" likely means the motor just stops as soon as the voltage is removed. Could be adjustment too tight, maybe lack of lube, lots of things (as Alex said). I just oiled mine first time since (likely) first of the year and it now sounds lovely. BTW, I use TriFlow light oil with teflon, delivered through a fine tube to the oil pads.

JayJay

nkaminar · 04-11-2023, 05:39 PM

The characteristic sound of the Model A horn also has to do with the armature moving back and forth. When the current is flowing the armature moves closer to the ratchet because of the magnetic force, and when the current is removed it moves away from the ratchet. The adjustment has to be just right to get this sound. Adjust just one click at a time and make sure the adjustment stops at a detent.

Herb Concord Ca · 04-11-2023, 05:47 PM

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When you have the cover off, look at the commutator, if it is not clean and shiny copper, get the motor to run and while running use fine sandpaper to shine up the copper. The motor while run a lot faster once this is clean.

whirnot · 04-11-2023, 11:22 PM

Poor contact can also cause lack of power, and less horn.
Check the wiring at the horn, one is power, one is ground. If you run a jumper to the ground terminal and ground it on the body or engine, and the sound is better, you have a horn button or contact issue, usually poor contact at the bottom of the horn rods.

Werner · 04-12-2023, 05:42 AM

Good morning,

if you want to make the horn work much more powerfully, it is very helpful to mount a relay in addition to the work already mentioned, which supplies the horn directly from the battery with a thick power cable.

Ivan in southeast va. · 04-12-2023, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herb Concord Ca

When you have the cover off, look at the commutator, if it is not clean and shiny copper, get the motor to run and while running use fine sandpaper to shine up the copper. The motor while run a lot faster once this is clean.

I use a scotch brite pad to clean up the commutator.

Bigsnapper43 · 04-12-2023, 09:02 PM

I just finished the restoriaton of 6 horns. I could not get the ga out of the first 4 units. Upon disassembly these 4 units had new diaphrams that are .001 thicker than the origionals. Dug the old units out of the trash reassembled an boom the ga is back!!

alexiskai · 04-12-2023, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigsnapper43

I just finished the restoriaton of 6 horns. I could not get the ga out of the first 4 units. Upon disassembly these 4 units had new diaphrams that are .001 thicker than the origionals. Dug the old units out of the trash reassembled an boom the ga is back!!

Sometimes that’s due to the thickness of the paint. The guides tell you to be careful to just give the diaphragm a very light coat of paint.

Herb Concord Ca · 04-13-2023, 09:13 PM

What is the thickness of the original diaphragm?

rotorwrench · 04-14-2023, 10:33 AM

That may be hard to answer. There were five different manufacturers that made horns for Ford.

MickyD · 04-16-2023, 08:47 PM

When I first got my 28 Roadster the horn hardly worked. I put up with the terrible sound for 3-4 years. I took it out of the car and totally cleaned everything inside it. Oiled it then put it all back together and adjusted the screw and it has never worked better, It works better than my 31 Tudor. It has the best sound ever.

04-11-2023, 01:37 PM	#1
Fred Ryan Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2023 Posts: 6	Ahooga Horn How do I get the ga sound back on my ahooga horn?

04-11-2023, 03:30 PM	#2
ldreeg Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: McKinney, TX Posts: 521	Re: Ahooga Horn I would like to know too.

04-11-2023, 03:58 PM	#3
alexiskai Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Mebane NC Posts: 2,350	Re: Ahooga Horn The a-hoo without the ga typically results from the adjusting screw being too tight. If your horn has been working recently, try backing the adjusting screw off 1-2 clicks. If the horn hasn't been sounded in a few months, do as follows: If you don't know the last time the horn was oiled, remove the cover and oil the felts. Just a drop will do ya; you want to get the oil as close to the shaft as you can. Replace the cover. Back out the adjusting screw a full turn, or as much as is needed to get the ratchet off the diaphragm completely. Hold down the horn button and make sure you can hear the armature spinning freely. Keep holding the button. Let the armature spin 30 seconds or so. You should hear it speed up and then hold a mostly-constant speed. Once that happens, release the horn button. Incrementally turn the adjusting screw in until you hear the sound you want, then stop.

04-11-2023, 04:25 PM	#4
JayJay Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 1,069	Re: Ahooga Horn The "ah" is the motor spinning up, the "hoo" is the motor at speed, and the "ga" is the motor spinning down. Lack of "ga" likely means the motor just stops as soon as the voltage is removed. Could be adjustment too tight, maybe lack of lube, lots of things (as Alex said). I just oiled mine first time since (likely) first of the year and it now sounds lovely. BTW, I use TriFlow light oil with teflon, delivered through a fine tube to the oil pads. JayJay __________________ JayJay San Francisco Bay Area ------------------------ 1930 Murray Town Sedan 1931 Briggs S/W Town Sedan

04-11-2023, 05:39 PM	#5
nkaminar Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Western North Carolina Posts: 3,899	Re: Ahooga Horn The characteristic sound of the Model A horn also has to do with the armature moving back and forth. When the current is flowing the armature moves closer to the ratchet because of the magnetic force, and when the current is removed it moves away from the ratchet. The adjustment has to be just right to get this sound. Adjust just one click at a time and make sure the adjustment stops at a detent. __________________ A is for apple, green as the sky. Step on the gas, for tomorrow I die. Forget the brakes, they really don't work. The clutch always sticks, and starts with a jerk. My car grows red hair, and flies through the air. Driving's a blast, a blast from the past.

04-11-2023, 05:47 PM	#6
Herb Concord Ca Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Concord CA Posts: 635	Re: Ahooga Horn Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) When you have the cover off, look at the commutator, if it is not clean and shiny copper, get the motor to run and while running use fine sandpaper to shine up the copper. The motor while run a lot faster once this is clean.

04-11-2023, 11:22 PM	#7
whirnot Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Bend Or. Posts: 1,056	Re: Ahooga Horn Poor contact can also cause lack of power, and less horn. Check the wiring at the horn, one is power, one is ground. If you run a jumper to the ground terminal and ground it on the body or engine, and the sound is better, you have a horn button or contact issue, usually poor contact at the bottom of the horn rods. __________________ Bill Worden 1929 Roadster 1929 Briggs Town Sedan 1930 Closed Cab pickup Smith Motor Compressor 1951 Ford F1 High Desert Model A's

04-12-2023, 05:42 AM	#8
Werner Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: Germany, near Aachen Posts: 1,153	Re: Ahooga Horn Good morning, if you want to make the horn work much more powerfully, it is very helpful to mount a relay in addition to the work already mentioned, which supplies the horn directly from the battery with a thick power cable. __________________ Beste Gruesse aus Deutschland, Werner Ford Model A, Roadster, 1928 Citroen 11 CV, 1947 Hercules W 2000, 1976; (with NSU-Wankel Rotary Engine), Canadian version

04-12-2023, 09:02 PM	#10
Bigsnapper43 Member Join Date: Feb 2023 Posts: 84	Re: Ahooga Horn I just finished the restoriaton of 6 horns. I could not get the ga out of the first 4 units. Upon disassembly these 4 units had new diaphrams that are .001 thicker than the origionals. Dug the old units out of the trash reassembled an boom the ga is back!!

04-13-2023, 09:13 PM	#12
Herb Concord Ca Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Concord CA Posts: 635	Re: Ahooga Horn What is the thickness of the original diaphragm?

04-14-2023, 10:33 AM	#13
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,425	Re: Ahooga Horn That may be hard to answer. There were five different manufacturers that made horns for Ford.

04-16-2023, 08:47 PM	#14
MickyD Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Welcome NC Posts: 207	Re: Ahooga Horn When I first got my 28 Roadster the horn hardly worked. I put up with the terrible sound for 3-4 years. I took it out of the car and totally cleaned everything inside it. Oiled it then put it all back together and adjusted the screw and it has never worked better, It works better than my 31 Tudor. It has the best sound ever.