Horn help ;)

[Bonne61]

Hehe, yes this is a serious post, and no - I don't need any Viagra 🤣

Now that's out off the way...

Can anyone tell me/show me/help me with what components I need to make my '61 Bonneville horn work? And if there are alternative parts available that will (if at all possible):-

1. Work

2. Be available this century

3. Not require me to mortgage the house to purchase them

I have the wheel, horn bar, 1x spring, retaining washer and nut. And that's it. The horn bar doesn't "tilt", as it's tightened down with the wheel itself (so I suspect more than one spring is required, or there is a tilt mechanism I may need?).

And if you have a recommendation for someone who can repair my steering wheel for less than $1000 AUD, that would be greatly appreciated also.

Thank you 🙏

 

 

 

[B52bombardier1]

Hello,

  What does the shop manual indicate that you are missing for steering column related horn parts? What happens when you apply 12 volt power directly to the horns up front? Or maybe in your case, ground a horn?  Do they make noise?

Sometimes the diaphragm in old horns gets rusty and sticky and won't make noise.

Is there a horn relay in this vehicle?

Have you traced power for the horn and the fuse?

I know you are in Australia and parts are difficult to find and ship.  Have you checked the Hollander Manual to see what might be in other Pontiac / GM vehicles of that era?

Lastly, I will hazard a guess that your parts are in a junk yard vehicle somewhere here in North America.

 

Rick

[Bonne61]

7 hours ago, B52bombardier1 said:

Hello,

  What does the shop manual indicate that you are missing for steering column related horn parts? What happens when you apply 12 volt power directly to the horns up front? Or maybe in your case, ground a horn?  Do they make noise?

Sometimes the diaphragm in old horns gets rusty and sticky and won't make noise.

Is there a horn relay in this vehicle?

Have you traced power for the horn and the fuse?

I know you are in Australia and parts are difficult to find and ship.  Have you checked the Hollander Manual to see what might be in other Pontiac / GM vehicles of that era?

Lastly, I will hazard a guess that your parts are in a junk yard vehicle somewhere here in North America.

 

Rick

Yeah hey Rick,

Thanks for your reply.

The only (online) copy of an original manual I have is barely legible, so this is my problem when trying to figure out what parts I need.

I haven't bothered either testing the horns or checking for a relay so far, because the steering wheel itself has no jewellery to make any of that operate. I know I can easily purchase either horns or a relay here in Australia, so it's the list of parts at the wheel end that I need - as far as I can see, all that is there is one contact ring that is screwed to the back of the wheel itself.

I wasn't aware of the Hollander Manual you refer to , so thanks for that reference.

And I'm hoping that Chevy will have something compatible, because that stuff here is easy to find and not that expensive.

[Fitzy]

I had the same problem Paul but could NOT be bothered making the original system work. There's a collection of screws, springs and little plastic bits that work together to make the horn ring springy but I figured life was too short to replicate it. I took the easy way out and hooked up air horns to a little button that sits discreetly under the dash. I mean really, how often do you intend blowing the horn? Since fitting mine, the only time I used it was to check for operation before getting a Roadworthy.

And Rick is right. Old horns go bad and I wonder if the cost to renovate them would be worth it.

[Bonne61]

1 hour ago, Fitzy said:

I had the same problem Paul but could NOT be bothered making the original system work. There's a collection of screws, springs and little plastic bits that work together to make the horn ring springy but I figured life was too short to replicate it. I took the easy way out and hooked up air horns to a little button that sits discreetly under the dash. I mean really, how often do you intend blowing the horn? Since fitting mine, the only time I used it was to check for operation before getting a Roadworthy.

And Rick is right. Old horns go bad and I wonder if the cost to renovate them would be worth it.

You're probably spot on, & I really should learn by now after all the troubles I've had trying to keep it original-ish to date.

However, if I could at least get the horn bar springy, there's a guy who makes a bluetooth kit that when activated, can blow any type of horn you like (well, almost any type 😬)

[64 kiwi boni]

36 minutes ago, Bonne61 said:

You're probably spot on, & I really should learn by now after all the troubles I've had trying to keep it original-ish to date.

However, if I could at least get the horn bar springy, there's a guy who makes a bluetooth kit that when activated, can blow any type of horn you like (well, almost any type 😬)

I recon you should be talking to our mate Dave the Ozzie Pontiac king ! Bet he’s. Got the parts you need Paul 

By the way !!!!!

how come your steering wheel is sooooo mint !!!!!!!!!

[B52bombardier1]

I have brought dead, rusty stuck diaphragm horns back to life two different ways and you have little to lose with either of these techniques:

1 - bang a dead horn really hard on the concrete to unstick the diaphragm.

2 - use a variable power supply that can get up to 16, 18, 20 volts DC at a few amps.  Whatever it takes to unstick things.  It either works or the magic smoke comes out and you throw it in the trash.

Rick

Edit:  Here's a Hollander set of manuals that would work for your era of GM vehicle.  Problems, you ask?  That is an insanely nutty "I don't really want to sell it price" on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/313505891207?fits=Year%3A1961|Make%3APontiac&_skw=1961+Pontiac+Hollander+Manual&itmmeta=01J8HNSBQEJ0JR1TPB09YZ3F9S&hash=item48fe684387:g:ggIAAOSwEW9aT6yH&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAABAHoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmVfG5rGW6W2Pgt6DK39Y2Yda1KLcp%2BjOQs84ZsDSijBdbxI2v%2FisDdQjSce4xbG3YBuTzRHpGYs%2BvN2yvTRLhe1%2BN6CQweiigyck9MN0O5IRLQLrMCHyuyaB2wy0txgQNVY7iyxA38MszWGo4FQS%2F5GVR%2BtMDw11LLZVNKgAs5%2FbXbEaAzG%2FDyZckU9e1ccF7%2F1q98WE1YSg2YtvaTTmzJuxlkVebAIK8oWfNEW9CEYSgyCaVCs%2B2xP9klPMGQEbb5xz9TLcrp086Wmo%2FPyRcOVV%2BCVn6LYisEA5esJ%2FC%2BfJKVQIQ0Y98%2FA4o7YsQcFLw%3D|tkp%3ABFBM9LvltcRk

 

Ebay item 276384573704 at about $60.00 USD is a much better choice for you.

[31pontiac]

Does this help?

[64 kiwi boni]

dave may have some parts that are chev you could try ..

https://pontiworld.com.au/usgmsp/

[Bonne61]

17 hours ago, 31pontiac said:

Does this help?

That is perfect-just like mine only legible 😆

 

[Bonne61]

On 9/25/2024 at 1:09 PM, 31pontiac said:

Does this help?

Just so you know my friend, with the assistance of the information you sent me above I was finally able to get my horn working, almost as it should 😃

I cleaned, checked and fiddled, and ended up making my own Connector Contact and Insulator.

Although it still needs some tweaking, it works.

Thanks again - see video below (short but very sweet) 🙏

 

[31pontiac]

Good to hear you made progress.  Glad I could help.