Weak horns...

[Guest]

Hi all,

The horns on my '81 GS850G both work, but they sound like they're from an old Vespa; not very commanding. I know they're supposed to be louder. The electrical connections are good. Does anyone know if there is a"fix" for this, or do I just have to buy new horns?

[bccap]

Try playing with the adjustment screw on the horn itself before giving up on it.........

[chuck hahn]

That and clean the contacts inside the switch housing. Usually some WD40 and work the switches around will loosen any corrosion. Some compressor air to blow the crud out and your switches will work much better. It may be that the corrosion isnt allowing full voltage flow to the horns...sort of like a dimmer switch for house lights works.

[Guest]

For every bike I rebuild for myself I grab 2 new horns from Canadian tire. If I remember right they're 120 db , huge improvement.

[Brendan W]

As the guys said adjust and clean. In some cases this brings back a non working unit.
However there is nothing like a new one but does anyone use them anymore?
I don't. Never startle an unpredictable animal.

[chuck hahn]

Suzuki horns are stamped 120 DB on them already so the Canadian tire ones are just working better....

[JTGS850GL]

That and clean the contacts inside the switch housing. Usually some WD40 and work the switches around will loosen any corrosion. Some compressor air to blow the crud out and your switches will work much better. It may be that the corrosion isnt allowing full voltage flow to the horns...sort of like a dimmer switch for house lights works.

Never use WD40 on electrical connections. WD40 is a water repellent, not an electrical cleaner. WD40 can ignite from an arc and does a poor job at cleaning the contacts in general. Use electrical contact cleaner for that and then a contact DE-oxidant to keep the contacts clean.

[chuck hahn]

I have used it as well as many mechanics I know that have been wrenching for well over 30 years so Im not t all concerned about WD40.

[Guest]

Chuck you're in deep doo-doo. The good news is I think you were right about the contacts being dirty, because they were dirty - so I cleaned them up with a bit of 000 steel wool. The bad news is that I won't know for sure whether that fixed my weak horn problem until I either find the little piece of plastic that fell out of the horn switch assembly, or buy a new one. You didn't tell me that thing was like a 3D jigsaw puzzle that would explode then I unwrapped it!

So now that I've vented, here is a link to some photos I took during the operation, with notes added for clarity. I figure not a lot of us have seen the inside of their left handlebar switch.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129480...57680389849061

[wymple]

I have used it as well as many mechanics I know that have been wrenching for well over 30 years so Im not t all concerned about WD40.

Count me in.

[1980GS1000E]

Nice photos on that. Me horn is giving me headaches, too. Time fer a cleaning.

[Guest]

Try playing with the adjustment screw on the horn itself before giving up on it.........

What does the adjustment screw do?

[Guest]

Nice photos on that. Me horn is giving me headaches, too. Time fer a cleaning.

I have found that reassembly of the switch is a challenge. There are seven tiny springs inside, as well as several other small parts. You have to figure out a way to get it all together without the springs going "SPROING!" all over your driveway, garage floor, etc. If they do, you're stuck. I finally figured out last night where each of the pieces go and how it's supposed to work, but I still haven't figured out how to get it all back together at the same time. I will try to take and post more photos of what I've learned on
Flickr once I get it all figured out. If you've never done one of these, why don't you hold off until I've had a chance to do that. I hope to have that done by this weekend.

Scott

[bccap]

What does the adjustment screw do?

It adjusts the gap between the contacts. Just screw it a bit in both directions and observe the results........

[bccap]

Here's a short video that shows how they work and how to fix them...........