whats up with M's and killing horns?

SonOfaTomP

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my father has owned 4 m's and i currently own an 88 Gran Fury. out of all M body cars i've come across all of them have dead horns! my car had a replacement horn from pep boys that the previous owner installed as two before died. it sounded awful but was very fun to toot.it worked for about a month until recently when it simply died. why do these cars kill their horns? is it the heat of the engines or a product of where they sit in the engine?

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AJ/FormS

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It's probably your location.
Out here on the mostly dry prairies, they work for many decades. I got a box of horns in the shed the oldest of which might be a '65, and the newest a '75, and I bet the majority of them still work, and if one doesn't, I'll make it work right quick.
With atmospheric moisture, the coils inside seize up in their cylinders and can no longer vibrate the diaphragm. If the coil still has continuity,I just back out the limiter screw and fill it with penetrating oil, and let it sit for a day. Then drain it and reinstall the screw. Finally, a few whacks on the table-top, with the coil powered up, to unstick the armature, and away it goes, Sometimes I have to fine-tune the limiter to ensure reliable operation.
But if the armature no longer has continuity, fogedaboudit.

Nice dippy..... Black interior?
 

Aspen500

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Here in Wisconsin, we replace horns on all makes, both then and now, all the time. Salt is an evil thing...……………….
 

BudW

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I’ve seen quite a few horns go out. It happens. I even have a few horns stashed away, just in case.

I think excess humidity (rust?) and/or salt (corrosion?) might be a factor but (shrugs) I don’t know (not taken one apart). I’ve even seen bugs make nests out of a couple.

Chrysler horns are the same from mid ‘60’s to mid ‘90’s (except for Road Runners). Also, you can get newer car horns to work, if you get the electrical plug-in and ground the second wire. Even different brand name horns will work, as well (Ford, etc.) - if you are in need.

I don’t use the horn, except for safety inspections – so it is a possible I might even have a bad one now.


On an (possibly) unrelated item, I firmly believe that some automotive items fail due to in-activity. ABS (antilock brakes) is one example. I believe (no facts to back this up) a person needs to exercise the ABS system every month or two (ie: get on sand or wet surface and lock up the brakes, so ABS engages) or the system dies. Same goes for the parking brake system. It helps to engage the parking brakes every so often, so things don’t rust tight (cables, or whatever). This is only my opinion, though.
BudW
 

SonOfaTomP

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as you can tell by the plate I'm from Maryland where it gets very humid in the summer and it seldom snows but when it does it SNOWS. somehow this car has been spared the rust problems we get. the car has been beating directly on the car. the other Dips we had alternated between sitting in direct sunlight and sitting in front of the house in relative shade. Perhaps the horns are overheating somehow. the two horns are mounted right behind the grille. i think we have a few horns in the shed but they might be dead. i tooted the horn relatively often mostly to say goodbye to someone. i'm somewhat ok not having a horn as i only had to use it once to wake someone up who wasn't moving at a green light but its still a good thing to have just in case. by the way @AJ/ForumS it has a red interior.
 

BudW

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All you need is a short piece of wire.
Hold the wire to the electrical connector, hold the horn ground (base) to the negative post on battery, then touch the wire to positive post. The wire will spark but nothing for you to worry about. The horn will either honk loudly, mumble softly (going out) or nothing (dead).
If it softly mumbles, I would think a bit of penetrating oil sprayed into the horn exit might fix things. Come back the next day and try it again.
BudW
 

AJ/FormS

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I don’t use the horn, except for safety inspections – so it is a possible I might even have a bad one now.
Me same; that horn used to get me into so much trouble. Kindof like a certain finger on my left hand; I couldn't understand why everybody just wanted to fight me all the time; am I not allowed an opinion? Anyways I outgrew that, a couple of decades ago.
Still , I took the horns out of my Barracuda.Along withe the radio. Even filled the antenna hole before the bodywork.
When I'm driving, I'm not doing anything but driving. Unlike my brother the Wizard, who used to go with his spirit-guide to foreign countries, while his demon-possessed body drove the truck. Well the jokes on him now, the demon finally claimed him Aug 28,2019, RIP. You shouldda stayed in the truck,bro.........
 
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