70 XR7 horns not working

Cougar Community Classic Cougar Maintenance Restoration and Repair
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I’m restoring my 70 that i’ve had since1981. It was last driven in 2007 and the storage location was damp causing much corrosion. Its been a 4yr process and most every mechanical and electrical part has been serviced or replaced. I’ve just put the lower dash in and now hooking up all the electrical to look for gremlins. Fixing the corroded ignition switch has eliminated many

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of the problems. I’ve just replaced the rim blow switch in the steering wheel as it gave up a ghost thirty years ago. I have full battery voltage at the horns and a good ground. The exterior of the original horns were thoroughly cleaned and repaited but they produce no sound. I removed four horns from two other convertibles that have been sitting just as long. I’ve cleaned the contacts and the grounding area and still none of these horns work. Do I have 6 bad horns or am I missing something simple.

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A lot of the time the horns are bad and need to be rebuilt before they will honk. A good way to test them is with a 12 volt jumper right off the battery and a ground of course. Touch the terminal with the 12V wire - do the horns honk?

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Yes, just tried again to make sure. Still no sound. Just hard to believe all 6 are bad but they’ve all been sitting about the same length of time. I’ve even tried tapping them with a hammer.

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If all 6 have been stored with the car in a damp environment, they likely all have corroded internal contact points.

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Not in the same car but same location, so yes chances are all have corrosion

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Once they are corroded you have no choice other than to repair or replace them. WCCC offers a good reproduction that is loud. Or you can repair the horns but it requires a lot of patience and skill : https://www.zip-corvette.com/64-75-horn-repair-refinish-kit.html

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Thanks. I would agree and I really don’t have time to rebuild and the repops from WCCC would be about eighty dollars each with shipping to Canada. I’ll look to see if I can find a Canadian supplier.

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Not OEM style but I have horns in my 69 XR 7 from a Taurus I found in a pick-yer-part yard several years ago. Not original but they work well. They come mounted on a bracket that is easy to install

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I soaked mine in evaporust for a couple of days. You’ve got to roll them in a circle to get the all the liquid into the center. Each time you add one of the ingredients you’ve got to roll the horn in a circle. Rinsed with water then alcohol. Blew them out. Compressed air will push out the sides because they are not really air tight. Then sprayed the with CRC 2-26 (Lowes) and blew out again which is a cleaner lubricant. Got some sound and then adjusted the screw in and out until I got the right pitch.

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Thanks, probably not a bad idea. Nothing to lose by trying and all 6 are out. I might get lucky and get a working pair.

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These horns have an adjustment screw that can be moved in/out to compensate for contact wear.

Many times that will get the contact points adjusted so they work again.

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Thanks, I did try that as well, hoping it may help loosen the contacts but to no avail. I have all 6 soaking in rust converter overnight in hopes that may work and end with a usable pair.

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I’ve tried this and it does nothing for me.

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The update is successful. I soaked all the horns in rust converter overnight. I flushed them the next day with simple green cleaner then blew them out with air. Then I gave each of them a good solid rap with the hammer where the bracket mounts to the actual horn. The 2 originals started working.The other four did not. Probably because they sat at least five years longer than the originals. Thanks for all your suggestions and quick replies

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15

The horn on my ‘68 is stuck in the on position. I may just need to put my steering wheel horn ring back on, but for now I have the horns unplugged and I’ve been using my middle finger.

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