I am dealing with an on then off horn problem on a 2243 SF. I did get it to work for the first time but after running it with horn on it started fading our. I have tried too many times to adjust the hex screw to get it to work again but it is not coming back to life. The engine is in excellent condition and the owner tells me that the horn never worked but I did get it to work and now it is failing. Help!
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Try adjusting and cleaning the relay contacts. And check all the wiring for good solder joints. How clean are the battery contacts? I've dealt with an EP-5 where the battery contacts looked good, but the top cup had internal corrosion, making for intermittent operation.
Good luck, and keep us posted!
Mitch
I've had a good bit of success working on those horns......F3s, Alcos, GG1s etc. Many times, getting the horn to work takes almost as much time as getting the rest of the components to work on a PW engine after an auction purchase. The main problem is that it is run by a 1.5volt battery. Anything that interferes with the long chain electrical circuit will stop the horn. Frame to horn leg contact, srrews, relay contacts, ground wires. Sometimes, I've added jumper wires for grounding (or even the battery) to improve the connections. When all else fails, I open up the top of the horn. Last ditch thing, but I've had success with it. You have to pry up all the tabs to get it off (you can't do that many times before they break off). Then, once off, clean up the oxidation on all the internal contact surfaces and if that fails.....bend the diaphragm. This last bit, is, as I've mentioned, last ditch, but you have nothing really to lose. And if you do get it to work (which it will with enough time put in), you can't leave the battery in there anyway....they leak and corrode everything. Great feeling of accomplishment to get one of those "finicky" horns to work with it's stupid, bike horn sound. But be prepared for alot of time spent and lots of frustration.
Good luck
-Roger
One other tip I failed to mention above. I find that the best indicator that I'm not going to have to open the top is to remove the horn from the engine and connect a D cell with clips to the horn wire and the horn body. If it works, you generally won't have to bother opening it up.....you're problem is in the chain of connections and contacts.
Roger
One more tip. Before you start trying to pull apart the horn pot, give the horn a few jolts of 12 volts AC for a half second at a time. A few pulses of AC often jars loose minor oxidation and can bring an old horn back to life. A kind of self cleaning. Just don’t do it for more than a second at a time or you may burn out a coil which was designed for 1.5 volts. This doesn’t always work, but in my experience it will work about half the time.
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