TheSamba.com :: View topic - Is a 6 volt Original VW Horn Itself a Fixable Part?

Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:04 pm

Hello,

I searched the forums but didn’t find an answer for this.

Over the years the original horn in my 6volt 1965 VW Bug needed higher and higher revs (volts) in order to honk. It finally gave out and I replaced it with an aftermarket horn that beeps fine now.

I kept the old horn and took it apart and bench tested it and all connections/connectors on the horn tested good outside to inside with a meter, but with a voltage still no beep. It looks like it’s just a magnet and a metal bar that should vibrate when a current passes, so almost no moving parts in the horn.

I would like to put the original bug horn back on to keep the bug looking original.

Is there a way to fix the inside of the original 6Volt VW horn so it will work again? Like maybe a 6 volt horn rebuild kit, haha.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:29 pm

There should be a set of contact points you might clean up, adjust, and get workign again. But it seems most people who try fail and end up throwing it away.

Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:35 pm

i have fixed several by taking them apart and cleaning them. After cleaning I hook up to a battery and tweek the adjusting screw till they are nice and loud.

Wed Dec 16, 2009 7:01 am

The adjusting screw is often potted in some sort of epoxy, so you sort of have to look for it.

There was a post on here a long while back with a link to servicing them. Maybe try the search function and read through a million posts until you find it.

Wed Dec 16, 2009 8:58 am

Quote: Over the years the original horn in my 6volt 1965 VW Bug needed higher and higher revs (volts) in order to honk...

The voltage on your car should ideally stay the same, 7.2 volts +/- .2 volts or so, regardless of how fast the engine is spinning.

In the real world, as these cars age, there tends to be a little variation in voltage across the rpm range, but it should not be more than a couple of tenths of a volt.

Check around the fuse box and accessories for voltage drops. The current must be flowing for a drop to be present (ohm's law and all that). Voltage measurements made with no current flow will show the full battery voltage, regardless of how much resistance is present.

(I like to disconnect the hot lead to the points while I make my measurements to extend their life, but this may be overkill.)

In addition, every few years it helps to clean all the fuses and contacts in the fuse box, as well as all the spade terminals everywhere. This is one of the items most commonly overlooked not only by previous owners, but often by otherwise knowledgeable professionals.

The guy who did the cosmetic work on my Beetle, and also made some real improvements on the mechanical work I had done, offered to have the car inspected for me before I drove it home. He was only able to get the turn signals to work intermittently, and even then only by goosing the rpms.

A few days ago I finally found the problem; a dirty/loose connection at the headlight switch was forcing many devices to run off 4.5 volts! Fixing the connection immediately improved the functioning of every device down the line.

Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:05 am

Have you tried degaussing the the metal bar? It may have become magnitized itself?

Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:08 pm

Thanks for the suggestions, Ill give them all a try and see if I can get it working again and Ill see if I can find the previous thread on this.

Throw it away :shock: , haha, no. I have new running boards on the bug, but kept the original worn ones. Guess im a bit of an original parts pack rat. I am actually thinking of putting in a 6v to 12v converter in to run a GPS system and adding a nice loud 12v Ford horn, but it would all be concealed. Thats another topic.

What I was looking for was to see if anyone else has ever repaired an original horn to see if its possible, and it looks like thats a yes.

Thanks again, Ill post an update soon.

Thu Dec 17, 2009 8:19 am

sneazel wrote: and adding a nice loud 12v Ford horn,

That 6 volt VW horn would be plenty loud on 12 volts!

Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:36 pm

Trying to restore my vintage 55 horn I clean it up inside and out but I only get a clicking sound,any suggestions?

Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:15 pm

You need to adjust it till you get a horn sound.

Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:53 pm

I researched the posts on cleaning/repairing 6v horns, and did a meticulous job on mine to get it to work. Didnt work.

Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:57 pm

It's for the twin Ghia horns, but there's a good overview of refubishing a 6v part way down here.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4819237

Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:40 pm

JORGE ROBLES wrote: Trying to restore my vintage 55 horn I clean it up inside and out but I only get a clicking sound,any suggestions?

Are you testing it in the car or with a fully charged battery?
I've found that trying to test them with a battery charger doesn't work all the time... just in case.

Also, yes, you may have to "tune" the adjustment screw to get it to sound.

Wed May 28, 2014 6:24 pm

I have had the same problem with my 1965 bugs horn. I rarely need to use it. I too have to drive the car faster or rev the engine in order for the horn to work. When I drive with the lights on it won't work at all. I will ask my mechanic to check it out. I never told him about it because I had to get other more important things fixed first.

.65vw wrote: Hello,

I searched the forums but didn’t find an answer for this.

Over the years the original horn in my 6volt 1965 VW Bug needed higher and higher revs (volts) in order to honk. It finally gave out and I replaced it with an aftermarket horn that beeps fine now.

I kept the old horn and took it apart and bench tested it and all connections/connectors on the horn tested good outside to inside with a meter, but with a voltage still no beep. It looks like it’s just a magnet and a metal bar that should vibrate when a current passes, so almost no moving parts in the horn.

I would like to put the original bug horn back on to keep the bug looking original.

Is there a way to fix the inside of the original 6Volt VW horn so it will work again? Like maybe a 6 volt horn rebuild kit, haha.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Wed May 28, 2014 7:28 pm

When the horn on my all-original '66 quit working, I hit it with a hammer and it has been fine ever since. I am not making this up.

Wed May 28, 2014 8:03 pm

I've heard that before. When I see my mechanic I'll tell him to try that first. Thanks

iowegian wrote: When the horn on my all-original '66 quit working, I hit it with a hammer and it has been fine ever since. I am not making this up.

Wed May 28, 2014 10:25 pm

drscope wrote: The adjusting screw is often potted in some sort of epoxy, so you sort of have to look for it.

I thought it was wax.
Either way, I "resealed" it after adjustment with candle wax.

Thu May 29, 2014 12:01 pm

EverettB wrote: drscope wrote: The adjusting screw is often potted in some sort of epoxy, so you sort of have to look for it.

I thought it was wax.
Either way, I "resealed" it after adjustment with candle wax.

The last one I did the potting material was really hard. The best I was able to get through it was to heat up the screwdriver and sort of burn my way in until I got down to the screw head.

I also remember doing one years ago that was full of spiders. I didn't know how to mess with the rest of it back then, but after just cleaning them out i put it back together and it worked fine.

Thu May 29, 2014 5:20 pm

drscope wrote: EverettB wrote: drscope wrote: The adjusting screw is often potted in some sort of epoxy, so you sort of have to look for it.

I thought it was wax.
Either way, I "resealed" it after adjustment with candle wax.

The last one I did the potting material was really hard. The best I was able to get through it was to heat up the screwdriver and sort of burn my way in until I got down to the screw head.

I also remember doing one years ago that was full of spiders. I didn't know how to mess with the rest of it back then, but after just cleaning them out i put it back together and it worked fine.
You coulda just hit it with a hammer--------spiders hate it when you do that. :wink: