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Help horn not working

11K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Rob110  
#1 ·
Hi everyone this is my first post��. I am trying to wire up a horn when i touch the horn directly to the battery it works but if i put a switch onto the wires it juat clicks. I thought it might need a relay so i bought a wiring harness, but its the same? I have tried 2 different switches I'm puzzled any help would be appreciated.

The Battery is 12v 4ah and 50A

The horn is 12v dc (Denali sound bomb)

The wiring harnesses has a 40A relay

Thank you
 
#2 ·
Are you sure that it is not just the relay that is clicking? If you have a volt meter you could check that you are actually getting 12v at the horn when you press the button.
 
#4 ·
A relay is really a heavy duty switch that is controlled by another switch (the horn button in this case). Assuming that one side of your horn goes to ground then the other connection on the horn should go to one side of the normally open contacts of the relay. The other normally open contact of the relay should go to a good power source such as the +12v terminal of the battery, maybe via an inline fuse. This will ensure that the horn gets the amps required to make it work assuming that you have used decent wire that can handle the current. The energising coil of the relay should have one end going to ground, the other end is fed 12v from the horn button, when the button is pressed the coil gets 12v, it then closes the normally open contacts and feeds a heavy current 12v to the horn. Note that some bikes do things the opposite way round, they send a permanent 12v to the horn and the button just grounds out the other side of the horn. From memory on my 300 EXC they don't do it this way!

In either case a relay can be used to control the current going to the horn.
 
#5 ·
My horn isn't working good too. Nothing a few blue pills can't cure :)

Seriously, are you sure the horn itself is ok? Connect it directly to the battery so you can be sure it works...
If it just clatters its toast.
 
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#6 ·
Dude the OP stated that it does work when he connects it across the battery. With regards to your medical condition it reminds me of a great forum signature that I saw once, maybe you could use it... "nerves of steel, heart of gold, knob of butter!"
 
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#8 ·
I'm not an electrickery genious, but is it ac/dc issue?Where are you taking the supply from?
Direct from battery with inline switch and fuse should work DC.
But if youve tapped into the loom somewhere for supply, isnt that AC, so it won't work the same?
Or I'm talking shit? On bikes with no battery like XR600 you need supply off horn for GPS charger etc, as rest of system is AC.