hi pretty new here but have been reading threads on here for years. recently i picked up 3 sets of trumpet horns. only the 1 set seemed to work properly when i got them. the other ones didn't really work. i have managed to get the 1 longer trumpet of the rusty looking set working and the shorter trumpet of the black set to the left. i was hoping to get he black set to the left working since the one that is working sounds pretty good. the rusty looking one that works doesn't sound the greatest even with some tweaking plus it is riveted together so not really wanting to drill out the rivets until i get some more info. anyways back to the horns i want to fix. the mechanism has k33 stamped on it and i am no really finding much on it. i would say about 75% of the stuff i find is just horns for sale. no real info.i have taken it apart and done everything to it that i did to he other horn to get it working but i am not having any luck. anyone know much about them? any info or tips would be appreciated. i tried checking both horns with multi meter and i was pretty sure they were both reading the same resistances for things but the horn that is not working almost don't seem like it is having a strong enough pull when i power the magnet or maybe i got it adjusted wrong. thanks in advance CW
Are these the ones that do not need an additional compressor? Do they have a small comp. built into the back of the horn? If so they may be toast. You have to remove the rivets and see if crud or corrosion is fouling it up and try cleaning as best you can. I do not believe there is much you can do if the comp. is burnt up though. You might be able to save the trumpets by converting them to run off a separate comp. with hoses and fittings tapped into the back of them. Don't know if that will work. Good luck
Those are electric. Pull the bells off & file the points - odds are good they still work. Just test w/ 6v ...
thanks. i guess i should have mentioned that they are electric. i don't think the points are the issue or maybe the 1 horn is just different than the other. with the adjustment nut loosed all the way on the good horn the metal plate slams into the magnet when powered and the horn almost works. i can't seem to get the same response from the other horn. i got a couple more pictures of it
I don't know enough about them to help with repairs but I love their sound, I've used them on a couple cars have a pair on my '27 now that I got at an estate sale of a collector. there were several sets mixed in with mid '50s Buick and Cadillac parts. so that was my guess as to what they came off of. yes you can file the points but if the windings are toast they may just be for parts.
i love the sound of them too. my dad has had the same set of horns on his truck for the last 30 or so years. when i had a chance to pick up some for my vehicles i grabbed them. i don't think they winding are toast. i think there just has to be something simple that i am not adjusting right
Thinking out loud. Some military applications were 24vdc. You are testing them with 6? Are voltage labels anywhere?
no labels anywhere on these things. i haven't even found any stampings of brand or model number like my dads horns have. just the k33 stamped on it and i forget where i even saw that. i just know when i search it on google it brings up a post on here of a guy selling horns that are different but the internal mechanism is the same. i was originally testing with 12v but currently working with 6v since i remembered i had a 6v battery kicking around. i am pretty sure they should be 6v tho. the 6v battery seems make the good horn work pretty good.
i guess you were right. i was at my witts end and decided WTF and tried filing the points. sure enough that seems to have fixed them. it was a pain to file the points even with the mini files i had but got it done. now onto the next horn. anyone wouldn't happen to have any info on this type of horn would they? this is the rusty one that doesn't work. i have tried adjusting it and it has done nothing. i have a feeling i will have to drill the rivets and clean it real good to get it work. i already tried spraying a bit of oil into the adjusting hole. that is how i got the 1 horn working reliably. the other horn that doesn't work is the one that looks a bit rustier.
my sister wanted some video of the horns in action since she help me find them and i figure minus well post the video here also. i figure i would also p*** on when i have learned about tuning them. i am not sure if it is right since i really could not find much info on them. the air gap between the metal and magnet seems to affect the sound the horn makes. the larger the gap the louder and deeper the sound gets and the smaller it is the quieter/weaker the sound gets. on the horns with round metal plate you just loosen the 1/2" jam nut and spin the disk to the desired air gap then tighten the jam nut back up. i am not too sure how i would adjust it on the first set of horns i was working on. i think that type of horm might need a shim under the diaphragm to change the air gap and maybe change the sounds. i am going to have to place with it and see.
The adjustment nut allows you to fine tune them. Nice set! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
A lifetime ago I installed a pair of 6 Volt trumpets behind the grill of my '56 (12 Volt) Ford Victoria. Powering 6 Volt horns with 12 Volts makes them very LOUD! And because they are used momentarily, the voltage boost doesn't hurt anything. Except perhaps the eardrums of the **** for whom they are intended.
I run the original 6 volt horns on my Lincoln on 12 volts. You are correct, they are LOUD! I don't sit down on them and hold them, just a brief blast is good enough to get attention. I've had semi trucks with air horns that weren't this loud!
ya they are loud. my dad has had a set on his truck for the last 30 years. i know i used to be able to hear him honk his horn about a block away. definitely stick out thanks. they didn't sound that good when i got them. i adjusted then a tiny bit before recording and it made them sounds good. my truck horn also sounds pretty good. my dads and the rest need some tuning but at least they are working lol ya it is a bit strange but kind of cool. there is tons of horns like this for sale but not much info or video's of them in action thanks. ya the adjustment on the 1st/3rd and mine/my dads set is pretty obvious but the 2nd set is not quite as obvious. i could me wrong but the 2nd set is a tiny bit different than the other horns.
I love the tone of mid-to-late '50s Ford horns...(notes are 1st and 4th in the chromatic scale) Makes a great sound. I have used the '54 and '55 Ford 6V horns on my Fords with 12 volts...Yes, 12 volts give 6 V horns a loud voice. Now I have a mixture of 2 Cad horns, (b*** and 'tweeter') plus a medium loud b*** from a '70s Olds. Sounds like a Riviera locomotive... A female acquaintance says I'm just '*****'.
here's mine, similar horns. pulled one each from two different sets. one was a 90 degree that I re-clocked to point in the right direction when mounted on my custom bracket. I used a relay from a late fifties big GM car.. (sound is a little more throaty in real life)
thats pretty cool. i was thinking about using the relay that came with the 1 set of horns if it works and i can get the screws turning. the set that my dad has are both the 90 degree trumpets off a mid 50's fargo. ya the video's just don't do these horns justice.
i ended up mounting the 1st set from the video in my truck. i am pretty happy with how they sound but was definitely not the happiest with how i had to mount them. as much free space as there is under the hood of my truck there is just not enough free space for the long trumpet. i was considering mounting the horn on top of the windshield washer fluid tank but would have had required building some customized brackets to mount them which would be a bit more time consuming than i would want to deal with right now. i also don't know if it is normal but when in use these things seem to **** back the power. headlights dim when used at night and voltage gauge drops pretty good. i got them on a relay with a 40amp fuse. i was thinking about checking them with an amp gauge to see exactly what they draw but i think it should be good enough. i have a feeling they pull 20-30 amps
i just figure i would update this thread so if someone sees it in the future it might have some more answers. ended up taking apart the 1 horn that was not working and riveted together and managed to get it working. it seemed to be pretty full of rust and dirt but. i think the rust was mainly sitting between the metal plate and the magnet and was preventing it from working at all. i also took the working horn apart since it was sounding pretty weak. after cleaning it out it seems to be sounding healthier. still don't quite sound as nice as the ones i am usings in my truck but i guess that is how it works sometimes. i might try playing with them to tune them in but having them work is better than them not working
I just pulled one apart that was a bit rustier than that one. I've cleaned it up and temporarily bolted it back together. It sounds Ok but not great. I'll keep tweaking it and see if I can make it better. I have a couple of others with shorter trumpets but I was hoping to use this one with the long straight trumpet. Bobby
ya it would be nice to know what really affects the sound the horns put out. for me cleaning the horns out made a huge difference to the sound both made. 1 went from not working at all to working. might see about cleaning things up better and seeing if i can get them sounding better. i would really like to see about getting this set working properly and sounding as good as the set i put in my truck. i really like the bullet shape of the horn covers compared to the standard round covers that are on the other horns.
Mine was sounding a little "tinny". I thought it might be because when I put it back together to test it I didn't use any gaskets and I only used screws in every other rivet hole. I cut out some paper gaskets and tried it again and it might be a little better but still not quite right. I guess I'll head over to the hardware store and pick up some more screws so I can secure the whole thing properly. I'm thinking I'm getting some rattling between the vibration plate and the housing. Bobby
i didn't think the gasket would make a huge difference on the sound they make. i think the big thing is the gap between the metal plate and and magnet. i am hoping to see about looking at the horns again this weekend but we will see. been too busy at work to look at them this week and i think my neighbor might have had her baby today so might have to find a better place to test the horns than out in the driveway.
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