[jamesa]

Looks like this could be the second year in a row I have to rely on a hand-held. Any ideas as to why the following occurs. On my dash of my '99 Sea Pro 180DC I have a horn button, along with rocker switches for bilge pump lights etc. Horn stopped working in '01. Fuze seems OK, but I thought the wires to the horn (which blows loudly if dismounted and connected to a car battery) were too short (they barely made it to the bayonet lugs on the horn) so I spliced in an extra 8" on both wires. Sunday the horn gave a little toot, than just a click, than nothing. Should I just start replacing the horn button, fuze, etc. or is this a common occurence with a common usual problem? I am obviously not Mr Fixit, especially with electrical, but any thoughts?

 

[St. George]

PUT THE TOOT BACK IN YOUR LIFE

I would suggest you get yourself an inexpensive VOLT OHM METER and keep it on the boat. Less then $20. The button is a switch and since it works off the boat it's probably OK. Coming up to the button should be a hot wire. Put the VOM on 12 DC volts and touch both of the leads. If you get nothing, Put your BLK vom lead on a ground on your distribution panal. If one of the wires shows 12 V you have your hot lead and the problem is in your ground. Rewire the other lead. If neither wire shows 12V your not getting any juice. Go back to the distribution panel and pick up a new hot lead. Make sure it's fused. Most of the time these"opens" are caused by corrosion on one of the connectors or possibly a loose coonector. Bad groung connections are the most common on cars as well.
Good luck and let me know how you make out.

 

[leakyrivot]

Volt/Ohm meters are great, but I find them more confusing for simple boolean (true/false yes/no) type testing. I allways just use a test light - hit auto zone & pick one up for about $3.00. Allways check obvious easy things first - ie fuse.

Next, start at the horn & use a known ground & check for power, if there's power, use a known power source and check for ground. If one's missing, work your way back to the batteries and find the break in your circuit.

Jon

 

[616787]

That sounds like a current restriction - that could be caused by corrosion on the button contacts - or resistance in the wire itself, caused by corrosion or a bad connection. If you are unfamiliar with electrical work, let a pro look at it.

 

[jamesa]

My multimeter reads 12V when I put it on the leads going directly to the horn button. However, if I use a wire to bridge or "jump" the same two leads (bypassing the horn button), shouldn't the horn sound? It doesn't.

 

[jamesa]

Now I really feel stupid. After gettin 12 V at the horn button, I decided to re-check the horn itself. I got 12 v on the leads that go to the horn! However, I dropped the horn in taking the single nut holding it in there (a dual console boat, its somewhere under the ****pit along the keel) so I can not actually test the darn horn now, but off to Boaters World to get a horn !

 

[614690]

Some times you'll find if it's just clicking and you tap on the horn while holding the button the horn will sound. If this is the case the horn is rusted inside therefore defective.

 

[622158]

Boo Lean? Is that a diet Drink for a Ghost?

Nasty old wires.

Just rip out the old wires and go buy a new horn and new pushbutton & new wires. You can use 16 AWG Speaker wire because it is pre tinned and will cost you more but hey its a boat and its worth it.

It is best to solder all connections and then seal them with Silicon and then slide heat shrink tubing over the joint to make it look nice. However if you have not experianced the joy of dripping hot solder on your bare feet on a rocking boat, well this is the time to learn.

Remember to buy the Biggest Loudest horn that is available. It may seem load in your driveway or marina but out on the deep blue sea you will sound not so large.

Remember: In a thick fog, What would you avoid a little toot toot or a horn that sounded like the Queen Mary.

Give a Hoot, Dont Pollute