SuzukiSavage.com - Horn Replacement

Max_Morley

Serious Thumper

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LT650 Luxury Touring
& sidecar rig

Posts: 1490
Moses Lake. WA
Gender: male

Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!!
Reply #15 - 01/15/08 at 16:48:13

Does the horn work correctly when it supplied voltage directly from the battery? If so check the contacts in the horn switch for high resistance, or using DVOM see what the voltage is at the horn when you are trying to honk it. With the engine off it should remain above 12.0 volts and with the engine on about 13.5 V. Also make sure the ground is shiny clean and tight as voltage drop can occur there also.

FYI I've had air horn fitted and do like them for the attention the get when tooted. 1 st set was mounted inside a tool pouch with the ends cut out and sewed back up with mesh material, one horn outlet each way with the compressor mounted on the handlebars center and relay at the old horn location. 2nd version had the horn brackets hose clamped to the upper fork tubes between the triple trees. Lost this option when I went to the full fairing. Have a loud horn from one of the bike suppliers now in the stock location. Max

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Max at Thumper Acres. '96 Savage bagger, '03 Savage w/Cozy sidecar for wifeni.

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T Mack 1 - FSO

Serious Thumper
Alliance Member

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sold 2001 LS650 for
a 1986 XLH1100

Posts: 2919
Emmaus,Pa
Gender: male

Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!!
Reply #16 - 01/15/08 at 17:53:21

Since it's a '07, it may just be a loose connection which isn't giving you enough juice to power it.

So, here's a quick lesson on horns.

Unless it's a air horn or a motorized horn (aaahooga) , horns are basically vibrating plates that are moved by electro magnets. Energize it and the magnet pulls in the plate, which opens up an internal switch to remove the power, which make the plate move back, which then closes the internal switch which moves the plates.... repeat & repeat & repeat super fast to make noise. Not enough juice (amps) and not much noise out......

The wiring on bikes is a bit different then cars. On most bikes, including the LS650, the horn is not grounded to the frame. Power comes from the fuse, through the horn, then goes to the handle bar switch which, when pushed, closes the circuit to a "ground" (the bars).

To test the horn, disconnect it and put 12v across it. Warning, might be loud...... If it works, then you will need to check the wiring.

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Engineers design things, Technicians make them work.
---
30% of being mechanical is confidence/30% is knowing to go slow when needed/30% is looking repeatedly at what you have/10% is dumb luck Wink

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T Mack 1 - FSO Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline sold 2001 LS650 for a 1986 XLH1100 Posts: 2919 Emmaus,Pa Gender:	Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!! Reply #17 - 01/15/08 at 17:55:09 ohh I see Max answered too. Da.mn I type too slow.....
Back to top	Engineers design things, Technicians make them work. --- 30% of being mechanical is confidence/30% is knowing to go slow when needed/30% is looking repeatedly at what you have/10% is dumb luck IP Logged

strangeling

Senior Member

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Ex Savage Rider but
always a SAVAGE

Posts: 427
Salt Lake City UTAH
Gender: male

Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!!
Reply #18 - 01/15/08 at 18:41:29

Cool, thanks guys.

I'll eliminate one cause at a time. Tomorrow I'll hook the horn up to a 12v and see if that works. If it does I guess I'll check the wiring and for dirty connections. Hopefully its just one of these things. Normally it wouldn't be any urgancy to fix it but I need to get the horn working for my registration inspection. :'(

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07 S40 Brat BOBBER - Hard Krome drag pipe, header wrap, Cone filter, jetted , harley drag bars, solo seat, chain conversion, seeger forward controls, custom rear fender, fork gaiters.

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Trippah Serious Thumper Offline I ride, therefore I am. Posts: 2517 central Mass Gender:	Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!! Reply #19 - 01/15/08 at 18:45:14 Isn't that what the AFLAC goose is for, when you can't work?? Good luck tracking down the gremlin.
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Savage_Greg Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Don't go around your ass to reach your elbow... Posts: 7844 SW Washington State Gender:	Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!! Reply #20 - 01/15/08 at 18:46:33 I would like to take this opportunity to state that I have a perfectly good stock horn for sale
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thumperclone Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline PGR rider riding with respect Posts: 6050 Grand Junction Colorado Gender:	Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!! Reply #21 - 01/15/08 at 21:27:50 i got a couple also but id never mention it here
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Paladin. Serious Thumper Offline Hamster Posts: 4929 Sunny Southern California Gender:	Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!! Reply #22 - 01/16/08 at 04:12:39 strangeling wrote on 01/15/08 at 18:41:29: ....I need to get the horn working for my registration inspection. :'( Bicycle Horn!
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Savage_Greg Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Don't go around your ass to reach your elbow... Posts: 7844 SW Washington State Gender:	Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!! Reply #23 - 01/16/08 at 04:59:29 Paladin. wrote on 01/16/08 at 04:12:39: strangeling wrote on 01/15/08 at 18:41:29: ....I need to get the horn working for my registration inspection. :'( Bicycle Horn! Beep beep.....
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mpescatori

Serious Thumper

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Romanum Thumperium
Cavalco, yeaaah !!!

Posts: 3547
Rome, Italy
Gender: male

Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!!
Reply #24 - 01/17/08 at 04:51:36

If all you have is a little clicking, quite possibly the power across the horn switch isn't enough, i.e. the switch isn't powerful enough to feed the horn.
This is not unusual at all on old electrical systems.
Maybe the contacts are old and coated in oxide.
Maybe they're just fried.
maybe they're so old there's a hole burnt right through.
Happens.

May I suggest you renew the switch (open it, WD40 and itsy pliers to rebuild the contact area) and fit a relay, so that the switch feeds the relay, and the relay feeds the HOOORNS

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Maurizio Pescatori, Esq.
Gentleman Rider

Mikuni BST40, K&N filter, Stage2 cam, Verslagen tensioner, Sportster muff, 120 proof moonshine, Pirelli MT 66 tourers... and a chain conversion too !

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Savage_Greg Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Don't go around your ass to reach your elbow... Posts: 7844 SW Washington State Gender:	Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!! Reply #25 - 01/17/08 at 04:54:57 thumperclone wrote on 01/15/08 at 21:27:50: i got a couple also but id never mention it here I didn't know that you were a collector. Make me an offer
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Savage_Greg Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Don't go around your ass to reach your elbow... Posts: 7844 SW Washington State Gender:	Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!! Reply #26 - 01/17/08 at 04:55:56 Is it a horn, yet?
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strangeling

Senior Member

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Ex Savage Rider but
always a SAVAGE

Posts: 427
Salt Lake City UTAH
Gender: male

Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!!
Reply #27 - 01/17/08 at 17:25:56

Still no horn yet !

I checked and the horn itself is good, I have checked the wiring and cleaned the connections but still no sound.

Next I will try mpescatori's advice and see clean out the switch and with a bit of luck that will do it, but I'm not gonna get a chance to do that until next week. The bike registration will have to wait and I suppose its no big deal right now because its too cold and snowy to ride anyway. Angry

Oh yeah so whats involved in setting up a relay and what kind is needed ? If I do that I might as well go real big on the sound and get myself a super cool horn.

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07 S40 Brat BOBBER - Hard Krome drag pipe, header wrap, Cone filter, jetted , harley drag bars, solo seat, chain conversion, seeger forward controls, custom rear fender, fork gaiters.

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Paladin.

Serious Thumper

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Hamster

Posts: 4929
Sunny Southern California
Gender: male

Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!!
Reply #28 - 01/17/08 at 20:53:20

When you break considerable amperage you get nice toasty sparks. Eventually the switch gets coated with char and you stop making contact. A relay takes the current load off the switch and onto it's own beefier contacts.

You want something like this. Basically the leads that connect to the horn get relocated to the coil terminals of the relay; you then run a loop from the battery thru the make contacts of the relay, the horn, and back to the battery.

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Savage_Greg

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Don't go around your
ass to reach your
elbow...

Posts: 7844
SW Washington State
Gender: male

Re: Horn Replacement - MORE PROBLEMS !!!!
Reply #29 - 01/18/08 at 03:48:25

strangeling wrote on 01/17/08 at 17:25:56:

Oh yeah so whats involved in setting up a relay and what kind is needed ? If I do that I might as well go real big on the sound and get myself a super cool horn.

Remember the word, "KISS"? Buying a new horn won't fix the problem. You'll still have to figure out what's wrong. Do you have a meter?

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