Ahooga Horns

[Phred]

I have noticed when our club is parading and the entire herd is honking their horns, there is a wide variety of noises that are emitted. It seems that every car has its unique "ahooga" (or some version of it).

I know there were many different manufacturers of the horns. Back in the day when the horns were new and wiring and grounds were good, did all the different horns sound similar, or were some "buzzier" or moer "metallic" sounding than others?

As always, thanks in advance.

[lookin-backtexas]

Phred:
Having not been around when the cars were new I would assume that most sounded the same when they came from the dealer.

Over the years as the horns have aged and have been "tinkered with" many, many times, any number of things could have happened to make them sound different now. Some may no longer have a good ground, some have been misadjusted where they don't make the full "AH-OOO-GA" sound and now sound like a sick bull bellowing.

The adjustment screw on the back of the horn housing can be easily adjusted using a common 10 cent (dime) coin. Turn to the right to tighten (makes horn rachet spin slower against the diaphram sometimes resulting in a single BLAAAH note) or turn to the left to make the horn rachet spin faster as it makes the diaphram vibrate. Play with it by backing off the adjustment screw until you hear the motor spinning freely (a whirring sound) but no horn sound - then gradually tighten the adjustment screw and test it until you get the full three tone AH-OOO-GA sound you want.

Fred

[Ken Ehrenhofer]

Hi Phred,
Here is a neat trick I have been doing for years with great success. Just don't tell anyone so we will keep it our secret.....OK. I call it the Ken Ehrenhofer horn tuneup.
You see most people do not know Ahoogah is a 3 syllable word. Remove cover, back off adjusting screw, Place paper towel under horn, spray entire motor with WD-40 and turn on by hitting the horn button to sling off excess. Now dry off the armature and the commutator with paper towel. Then lube the front and rear bearing and felt wicks with a light 10 weight oil (sewing machine oil is what I use. Now screw in the adjusting screw one click at a time until you hear a 3 syllable
AH-OOO-GAH
Yes I know I cannot spell syllable.......
I hope this helps, I usually do this in the spring and then usually before a parade.
Ken

[newshirt]

Some possibilities to consider:
1. Poor motor speeds because of dirty brushes, commutator, connectors, or lack of armature lubrication
2. Cracked or painted diaphragms
3. Incorrect adjustments
4. Loose horn motor ratchets
5. Wobbly horn motors
6. Poor horn button connections
7. Fried wiring
8. Model T horn on Model A

[Rainmaker Ron]

Originally Posted by Phred

I have noticed when our club is parading and the entire herd is honking their horns, there is a wide variety of noises that are emitted. It seems that every car has its unique "ahooga" (or some version of it).

I know there were many different manufacturers of the horns. Back in the day when the horns were new and wiring and grounds were good, did all the different horns sound similar, or were some "buzzier" or moer "metallic" sounding than others?

As always, thanks in advance.

Phred,
Everyone knows that the harder you push the horn button the louder the horn will sound. Also, if the horn doesn't work at all or sounds weak, just keep scrubbing on the button. NOT! My theory...holding the buton down on a tired horn will overheat the brush springs and make the motor weak. To test for weak springs, use a toothpick to hold the brushes tight while a helper operates the horn.
Rainmaker

[mhsprecher]

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I had a weak horn sound and oiled it per the Les Andrews book and it sounds a lot more like it should.

[FL&WVMIKE]

Don't forget to put a little grease on the nub, of the diaphram.
MIKE

[pat in Santa Cruz]

whenever my horns start that sick cow sound, I clean the commutator and use a toothpick to clean the junk from between the sections. A drop of 3 in 1 on each felt pad and its good to go for about 6 months. repeat as needed. I also noticed variations in the sound from high heat days to foggy cold ones. I suspect that the diaphragm expands and contracts with the temp.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I agree with Pat. Most of the time all the horn needs is a commutator cleaning and a few drops of oil on the felts. As Mike said, be sure to grease the nub on the diaphram if you have it apart.

[Michael M]

My horn was sounding okay, but intermittently was kind of weak. I used Ken's method of cleaning and oiling and was quite surprised how strong the horn's 'ahooga' is now!

Thanks for the tip!

[Tom Endy]

There was an excellent article that appeared in the MAFCA Restorer (written by Paul Koneak of Austin, Texas) in the January\February 2004 publication (page 29) that addressed the issue of a sick sounding Ahooguh. In addition to all the oiling and cleaning described above, Paul had a theory that most of the sickness is caused by too much of a spring pressure caused by the flat spring located at the front of the armature. The purpose of the spring is to provide a slight amount of pressure so that there is no thrust movement of the armature. Too much pressure, however, restricts the rotation of the armature and slows it down. Paul suggests bending the spring to remove some of the tension and it will improve the performance.

I took it a step further and replaced the flat spring with one I fabricated out of the banding material that is commonly used to band items to a pallet for shipping. The banding material is slightly thinner than what Henry used and has some "spring" to it. I made a number of them while I was at it and have replaced a number of them in Ahooguh's and it greatly improved the sound.

Tom Endy

[clocey]

Perfect instructions. It is amazing how a little TLC can make a horn sound so good!

[johnsor]

A little off subject, but I recently bought a Ahooga horn off eBay. Seller said it was a good original Sparton/Klaxon, but it has no tag or markings on it at all showing that it is actually a Sparton. Took the back cover off and it does look like my other Model A Sparton and it sounds strong and correct. Could early A's have used such an unlabeled Sparton? It wasn't as nice as the seller indicated, but with a light sandblast and a couple coats of gloss black, it will be fine. Not sure who Klaxon was unless Klaxon was the style of the Sparton horn?

[Tom Wesenberg]

" Not sure who Klaxon was unless Klaxon was the style of the Sparton horn? "

My 29 Chevy has a Klaxon horn. It's motor driven like the Model A horn, so it has a similar sound.

[roadster]

How do you tell an orig. Sparton horn from a repro.
I have 1 Sparton horn that has an id number on the Sparton label
and another that does not have an id number on the label.
the one with the number has MOD. AF R121930 6 volts
Thanks

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by roadster

How do you tell an orig. Sparton horn from a repro.
I have 1 Sparton horn that has an id number on the Sparton label
and another that does not have an id number on the label.
the one with the number has MOD. AF R121930 6 volts
Thanks

Your number is the horn date, 12, 1930, December 1930.

[roadster]

does this look like an orig. 1930 horn?
it is in very good condition.

[Jon-Ohio]

It's an original 'A' horn. Sparton was one several horn manufacturers and was used for all 4 years of production. The data plate appears to be one of the A & L repo plates with the date stamped in for December 1930.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I agree with Jon, that it looks like a good original Spartan horn with newer paint and data plate.