First vintage truck... a Studebaker

[mkibler]

Wire gauge ?

[QUOTE=Mrs K Corbin;1090812]#1. You're starting with much better than I did. MUCH MUCH BETTER/QUOTE]

Mrs. K Corbin,

Thanks for your helpful hints re: insurance and what to do as I start to restore my truck. It's nice to know that I have a good truck to start with. I do plan to change all the fluids as soon as the weather warms up a bit, probably later this week.

To All you mechanics-

I have a question about wire gauge. Skip sent me a nice horn (thanks, Skip~!) and I'd like to wire it up and try it out. Do you typically use a different gauge wire for a 6 volt as compared to a 12 volt system? Specifically, what gauge wire should I use? Thanks for your input.

I called the Studebaker parts place this morning for some various things and I learned they are located in Greenfield, Indiana. That's only a few miles from where I have my hunting dog with a trainer and so I plan to stop by Studebaker when I go to work with my dog next week. What a great combination: an old truck and a loyal hunting dog. Now all I need is a country song...

Mark

[Skip Lackie]

The shop manual shows that the horn uses 12 gauge wire. The hot wire to the horn should be included in the harness that contains the head and parking light wires and terminates at the three-contact binding post on the engine side of the LF side of the radiator mounting. If the horn is missing, then it should be hanging loose. The ground wire comes out of the bottom of the steering column. See my post #22 for where the horn mounts. I don't know which wire goes to which contact on the horn (my truck has dual horns, which are wired differently) -- maybe someone with a 2R truck with a single horn can answer that question.

[mkibler]

Horn... no honk

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The horn that Skip sent me came yesterday and I was eager to try it out. I disassembled it so I could repaint it, taking the horn mechanism out to do so (see photo.) I hardwired the horn, touched the wires to the battery both before and after I took the mechanism out, but there is no sound whatsoever coming out. Not a honk, not a buzz, not even a little vibration. All the metal surface were cleaned so there is good contact. But there is still no sign of life.

I tried adjusting the 'horn adjustment nuts' on the inside of the horn per: the Studebaker Shop Manual but that does nothing. I'm open to ideas and suggestions guys. Thanks for your input (and thanks for the horn, Skip~! A letter is on its way to your.)

Mark in Ohio

[TWChamp]

Do you get any spark at all when the wires are touched to the contacts?
If not, then I'd start by cleaning the contacts by drawing some fine crocus cloth through them, or if there is room stroke them with a thin fingernail or points file.
That oval cardboard looks like it contains a capacitor to reduce the arcing of the contacts. If it goes bad, then the contacts can burn quickly.

[mkibler]

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TWC Champ,

Thanks for your help. It gives no spark whatsoever. Where exactly are the contacts on the horn? I'm guessing that the contacts are the rectangular metal bar that goes up and down when I adjust the horn adjustment nuts (see photos). There seems to be a gap at both ends that increases and decreases when I tighten the nuts and it looks like some sort of an electromagnetic gizmo sits underneath it to pull the metal bar up and down. am I close?

I'll clean the gap between these two pieces and see what happens.

Thanks again~

Mark

[mkibler]

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I think I found the contacts. They look like the set of points underneath a distributor cap, right? I'll clean them gently.

OK, I cleaned the contacts ("points") and gapped them two or three different ways but no spark or sign of life. I'm stumped.

Mark

[Skip Lackie]

Did you try reversing the wires?

[mkibler]

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I reversed the wires a few times and made sure that I attached them to good clean metal. I also tried it on a 12 volt battery with the same results.

I wonder if it has to be connected through a horn relay box? Seems like you should be able to wire it direct with just two wires as I saw a few fellas do on YouTube. That's how I've been doing it anyway.

[Skip Lackie]

The real purpose of a relay is to reduce the amperage through the horn button contacts so they don't burn. Connecting the horn directly to the battery provides all the amps that the battery can provide. The single horn setups did not use a relay anyway.

It is certainly possible that the wiring in the vibrator system is broken and the horn is simply no good. I did not test it. Do you have a multimeter? You might want to check the DC resistance from one contact to the other. Dunno what the resistance should be, but it should register as something if the connections are good.

[mkibler]

You might want to check the DC resistance from one contact to the other. Dunno what the resistance should be, but it should register as something if the connections are good.

I checked the resistance and there is none. No resistance, no horn no honk-honk. I'll move on and look for another horn unless the guys have something else to try. The cone and the base are certainly worth repainting if I can find the 'innards.' It's a standard Delco-Remy unit.

Does anyone have a working horn unit?

Thanks,

Mark

[Skip Lackie]

I checked the resistance and there is none. No resistance, no horn no honk-honk. I'll move on and look for another horn unless the guys have something else to try. The cone and the base are certainly worth repainting if I can find the 'innards.' It's a standard Delco-Remy unit.

Does anyone have a working horn unit?

Thanks,

Mark

Sorry to hear that. If the resistance is zero, I assume it means the horn is shorted internally. If it's infinity, it means the connection has been broken. As I mentioned in my PM to you, I was afraid to test the horn because I was concerned that wiring it backwards would damage it. I think I have another horn here somewhere. If someone with an original 2R horn can tell me which wire goes to which contact, I'll test it.

[Skip Lackie]

Sorry to hear that. If the resistance is zero, I assume it means the horn is shorted internally. If it's infinity, it means the connection has been broken. As I mentioned in my PM to you, I was afraid to test the horn because I was concerned that wiring it backwards would damage it. I think I have another horn here somewhere. If someone with an original 2R horn can tell me which wire goes to which contact, I'll test it.

For the record, I dug through my archives and found a 1960 Delco Service Manual which includes a section on Delco horns. It states that the disc-tone horns that were used as standard equipment on 2R/3R trucks can be wired either way. There are no specific ground and hot contacts. They do not need a horn relay.

[mkibler]

Honk

For the record, I dug through my archives and found a 1960 Delco Service Manual which includes a section on Delco horns. It states that the disc-tone horns that were used as standard equipment on 2R/3R trucks can be wired either way. There are no specific ground and hot contacts. They do not need a horn relay.

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Thanks Skip. That's good to know. I've rounded up three horns now but only one 'honks'. I've tinkered with the other two just to see how the mechanism works and if I could get them going. But I've only had a feeble buzz as a reward.

I'm sandblasting the "cones" from two of the horns and I'm going to repaint them. Then when I find the mechanism from a second horn I'll hook up a dual horn system with a horn on either side of the radiator.

[Skip Lackie]

Not to continue to beat a dead/dying horse, but the parts book shows that trucks with dual horns used a more modern design horn, with high and low tones, and a relay.

[mkibler]

Horses

Not to continue to beat a dead/dying horse, but the parts book shows that trucks with dual horns used a more modern design horn, with high and low tones, and a relay.

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Thanks. This is good information to have before I forge ahead with an idea that sounds destined to be more complicated than I imagined. That's why I signed up to this forum: to get wise advice from fellas smarter than me who have tried things before that didn't work out so well. Thanks for the advice. I'll go with a one-horn system to keep things simple so I can devote more time to the many other things that need fixed.