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6 volt horn conversion to a 12 volt system

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jbyers
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6 volt horn conversion to a 12 volt system

Post by jbyers » Fri Jul 22, 2016 5:51 pm

I just bought what was advertised as a 1958 Spartan boat horn for my 58 Cavalier. It's NOS and has never been installed. Pretty much in mint condition. Although it was advertised as a 12 volt horn, when I took the cover off to see how the wires connect, there was a small label that says 6 volts that fell out.

I've read a lot of posts online saying there is no problem connecting a 6 volt horn into a 12 volt system as long as you don't lay on the horn button and burn it out. They say the horn will be a little louder than it was meant to be.

I also read that you can buy a voltage reducer.

A few questions:

Should I just hook it up as is without the reducer?

If I use a reducer, I assume I wire it into the hot wire to the horn?

I don't know if the Cavaliers even had the horn on the outside of the bow as an option. If so, does anyone know where it would be installed?

Lastly, is there a positive and negative terminal on horns? The terminals on this one are not marked.

Thanks in advance,
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mbigpops
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Re: 6 volt horn conversion to a 12 volt system

Post by mbigpops » Sat Jul 23, 2016 8:21 pm

I originally sent my 6 volt horn out for conversion to 12 volts but the restorer sent it back to me still at 6 volts. He also sent me a 1 ohm 25 watt resistor to put in line with the positive wire from the horn relay. I tried this setup and the voltage drop across the resistor was too great and the horn would not blow. I added another identical resistor in parallel and got a good result and yes the horn is loud.

I may have more details in my archives somewhere if needed.

Mark
1953 CC Rocket Runabout "Rocket Man"


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DennyDowning
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Re: 6 volt horn conversion to a 12 volt system

Post by DennyDowning » Sat Jul 30, 2016 10:16 am

Don't forget the relay....
May be even more important going from 6V to 12V.

jbyers
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Re: 6 volt horn conversion to a 12 volt system

Post by jbyers » Sat Jul 30, 2016 9:32 pm

Do you have a source for the relay Denny?

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mbigpops
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Re: 6 volt horn conversion to a 12 volt system

Post by mbigpops » Sun Jul 31, 2016 8:38 am

Do you have no relay now or the original relay ?

The resistor solution allowed me to use the original 6v horn and relay.

Mark
1953 CC Rocket Runabout "Rocket Man"

jbyers
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Re: 6 volt horn conversion to a 12 volt system

Post by jbyers » Sun Jul 31, 2016 2:10 pm

It's always been a 12 volt system Mark, but the horn I bought on ebay turned out to be 6 volt. It's a really nice horn so I don't want to send it back........

Yes I have a relay, but it's a 12 volt relay.

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