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Rebuilding Clear Hooter horns

greenbeam

greenbeam

Platinum Level Sponsor
Has anyone had success disassembling and repairing the Clear Hooter horns from the Alpine?

The low note horn from my car has resisted all attempts to get it working and had a nice 'rattling' sound when shaken, so I drilled out the rivets today to find rust flakes inside it. I have the diaphragm soaking in rust remover now and I'm going to make new gaskets (they'd obviously failed and allowed water inside).

The coils are OK, because I could get a dull 'croak' from the horn and feel it vibrating prior to dis-assembly.

Is this likely to work?

Any ideas for finding replacement aluminium rivets? (will they be factory-correct - sorry, couldn't resist ;-)

Cheers,
Paul.
 
George Coleman

George Coleman

Gold Level Sponsor
Some one at Tigers east/Alpines East did a rebuild and had a step by step lay out. I replaced mine with plastic units from Victoria British, Long Motor Co. they were made in France they look like the org. and they do not rust or fade!:cool:
 
S

spudman5

Donation Time
I rebuilt the horns on my SV. One was a Clear Hooters horn and the other some Bocsh replacement put in by the previous owner. They sound okay to me, but then I never heard a good horn so I'm not a good judge.

The previous owner had sandblasted the car with the horns still installed, which didn't do a lot of good for the horns. That plus corrosion from age caused the horns to not function correctly. It has been awhile, but I think the main problem was the corroded contacts inside the horn. I don't think I took any pictures during the rebuild process.

I didn't use rivets to re-assemble them. I used 6-32 or 8-32 screws.

I also used RTV to replace the paper gaskets that were between the components. I couldn't find any gasket material that was thin enough to use. Using thick gasket material doesn't work, since this can space the diaphram too far from the electromagnet to allow it to work propery.

Mike Tanner
 
Ken Ellis

Ken Ellis

Donation Time
Thin gaskets can sometimes be made from either kraft paper shopping bags, or paper lunch bags... if you can still find either of them...

I've not been inside a horn, so I don't know how "thin" you needed to go, or whether the above would be suitable substitutes.

In electronics, an insulating gasket-like material is called "fish paper". Often used between the bottom of a thru-hole circuit board and an adjacent metal case.

HDPE plastic works well, if temps are under control.

Regarding aluminum rivets -- I assume you mean non-pop-rivets? I have an assortment of aluminum aircraft rivets, via surplus sales. If you post up dimensions and head type, I can check the stock...
 
greenbeam

greenbeam

Platinum Level Sponsor
Ken, there are six rivets, about 5/8" long before use, with a 5/32" diameter shank, and the head is 1/4" diameter, and about 1/16" high ('cheese head' - flat on top and sides, not domed).

I think I'm going to try reassembly using screws and nuts first to see if I can get the horn working then, if I'm successful, swap in rivets one at a time.

Cheers,
Paul.
 
SRQJeff

SRQJeff

Bronze Level Sponsor
I got the VB ones, too, but they're made in Taiwan now. Big surprise. They seem OK, though.
 
T

Thor 1211

Silver Level Sponsor
Horns

Well, there's good news and there's bad news in rebuilding the EOM horns. The good news is that they're not all that tough to rebuild if you drill out all the rivets and get out the crap and rusty bits, fiddle with the diaphram and use the proper thickness of gasket. Believe it or not, I did that in the 60's on my Series I. However, the horns are directly fed from the battery by a very flimsy feed wire and combined with the way the horn button is wired, really don't give you that good of a sound. On my Series V, forty years later, the horns sounded the same, pretty feeble. So, I bought and installed 2 Fiami horns ($20.00 each), 2 relays and heavier wiring (12gauge) and now you can actually hear them.
 
SRQJeff

SRQJeff

Bronze Level Sponsor
Time = time

Yeah, rebuilding the horns sounds eminently doable if you want to spend the time. But when you get to a certain age (I don't like to mention or even think about mine), it isn't even a time vs. money thing anymore. It's a time to do it vs. how much time I have left in this world question. For what it's worth, I got my original horns working again many years ago just by squirting WD40 into them and playing with the adjustment screw. But they still weren't loud enough to scare a kitten out of the way.
 
H

Hillman

Gold Level Sponsor
When my SII's horns didn't work (when I bought it), I initially ignored it. After all a horn is often used as a substitute "finger". Then I had to have it safety'd. So me and my trusty multi-meter got to it. One horn worked with 12V direct, the other didn't. Pressing the button sent 12V to both. Turned out one was "bad", just bought a $10 replacement, the other ok. The carbon brush in the circuit (between steering wheel & column) wouldn't pass enough current to blow the horns. Inserting relays in front of both horns made a lot of noise.

It could be your horns are bad, or grounds, or something else. There is a solution for everything. Seek and ye shall find.
 
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