Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / 1937 horn relay

Reply to Discussion | New Discussion << previous || next >>

Posted By Discussion Topic: 1937 horn relay     Newms 05-02-2019 @ 5:32 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 8 Joined: Sep 2010 Does anyone have any experience adding a relay to the horn(s) on a 37? If so, good add or not worth? Thanks MG 05-02-2019 @ 8:12 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1302 Joined: Nov 2009 '37's are notorious for horn problems. A horn relay might resolve some of the horn problems you have in your '37 but might it not be necessary if you do as I did below. I once considered wiring in a horn relay to resolve the chronic problems I had with the horns not sounding or barely sounding in my '37. Before doing so, I decided to dedicate an entire day in trouble shooting the factory horn circuit as I wasn't too keen on drilling holes in the firewall to mount a relay. After all, the car came from the factory with no horn relay and the horns must have worked fine back then. Long story short, I got out my multimeter and found that there were very high resistance connections at the bullet connectors to the female connectors in the horn circuit. I was able to resolve the problem by soldering the all the bullet connectors to the wiring - I ended up doing this to all the bullet connectors in all the various circuits in the car. While I was at it, I decided to solder the wire connections inside the light switch housing as well as my lights were dim. The horns never sounded better when I was finished and my lights were brighter too. Again, finding the problem saved me from drilling holes in the firewall to mount a relay.... 1937sedandelivery 05-02-2019 @ 9:33 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 501 Joined: Jul 2014 Thanks MG. Good to know and very helpful. My horns seem like they struggle to make a "honk", kinda muffled. I will get out my soldering iron... gregg TomO 05-03-2019 @ 7:26 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7386 Joined: Oct 2009 I use a product that Eastwood used to sell called Copper Shield. They do not list it on their website any more, but Lowe's has a similar product. https://www.lowes.com/pd/gardner-bender-1-oz-ox-gard-anti-oxidant-compound/4514334?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-rpe-_-google-_-lia-_-106-_-electricalaccessories-_-4514334-_-0&kpid&store_code=2529&k_clickID=go_625853472_34614745150_111134523790_pla-74096940012_c_1016751&gclid=CjwKCAjwza_mBRBTEiwASDWVvoDdsLWvQIuk8eOoSl6hUKVsAnhfbXsOAMqKnYOlQVTLS0LYzftq2RoCm9YQAvD_BwE This grease prevents corrosion in the connections and reduces resistance. When I first used the Copper Shield the voltage drop from my battery to the right head light was 0.8 volts, using the grease on all of the bullet connectors reduced the drop to 0.5 Volts, cleaning the dimmer switch brought the drop to 0.3 Volts. Soldering all of the connections can be a problem when you are trouble shooting a short. I do check that all of the bullet connectors are soldered rather than just crimped. Crimped connectors can corrode between the wire and the connector. Tom Newms 05-03-2019 @ 7:37 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 8 Joined: Sep 2010 Everything you both have said makes sense to me. I will try these first. Thanks MG an TomO. Gotta love the '37 Bob 37RAGTOPMAN 05-03-2019 @ 11:22 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1992 Joined: Oct 2009 hi how old is the wiring ? try cleaning all connection, disconnect the light switch bulb from under the car, and see if the light switch is dirty,greasy check the horn connections, ON BOTTOM OF THE LIGHT SWITCH ROD, if so clean did you try using jumper leads to activate the 2 HORNS, ? to see if the horns are at fault ? this helps locating the problem, by eliminating the car wiring, go direct maybe they need cleaning ? contacts clean ? it also may be the light switch rod wire running down the inside of the rod, check for continuity get back to us with what you found, I have a 37 and the horns never failed me, from 1980 , but I did replace the wiring, all of it RHODE ISLAND WIRING is what I used, not cheap but I consider them the best, well worth the money, my 2 cents 37RAGTOPMAN

<< previous || next >>

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED USER AND BE LOGGED IN TO POST (and reply to) messages in this forum. If you are a first time user, please click the CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT in the masthead above to register and Log In. After that, all you do is LOG IN to enjoy using this site.

DISCLAIMER: The V-8 Club does no independent testing of any of the opinions, thoughts or suggestions presented in the website on the Forum, in the Tech Tips section, or any section. A reader should consider the website to be a forum wherein differing solutions to a particular set of circumstances may be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of an item for an individual's vehicle must be based upon the independent study of the vehicle owner in consultation with people in the hobby and restoration experts.

EFV-8 Club Forum Home | Back to Home Page | Contact the Webmaster

Copyright © 2009 - EFV-8.org
Powered by < CF FORUM > v.2.1