Need relay help

[johnny42]

I installed some Fiamm horns decades ago, tapping into a power source and adding a relay and of course, I kept no notes. I had to work on my headlights and disconnected the relay without taking GOOD notes.

Trying to put it back together. They worked so there HAS to be a way to wire the relay back up... here's where it gets weird.

Originally, I tapped into a live wire that's always live. That live wire connects to the relay with an in-line fuse. I have another wire that goes to the horns. I have another wire which I assume comes from the horn switch. And there is the ground.

Today, I tried to connected the "live" wire to the 30, the horns to 87, the "switch" to 86 and the ground to 85. No sound when pressing the horn button.

I think I have things backwards, but don't want to haphazardly connect wires.

Need help with this.

[gipsy42]

Your conections seems to be rigth, probably your horn switch isn't good.
Try to hook a lamp between +B and the horn switch (86) , and see if it ligths up, if it doesn't it's a defective or dirty switch. (no contact)
Mario

[flash2002]

Are you sure the relay is good ?

[CrystalPistol]

I installed some Fiamm horns decades ago, tapping into a power source and adding a relay and of course, I kept no notes. I had to work on my headlights and disconnected the relay without taking GOOD notes.

Trying to put it back together. They worked so there HAS to be a way to wire the relay back up... here's where it gets weird.

Originally, I tapped into a live wire that's always live. That live wire connects to the relay with an in-line fuse. I have another wire that goes to the horns. I have another wire which I assume comes from the horn switch. And there is the ground.

Today, I tried to connected the "live" wire to the 30, the horns to 87, the "switch" to 86 and the ground to 85. No sound when pressing the horn button.

I think I have things backwards, but don't want to haphazardly connect wires.

Need help with this.

You are correct. If not working, could be a bad ground at 85 or no current from switch at 86, blown fuse in feed to 30, bad horn, or bad relay.

If you temporarily jumper 30 to 87, does the horn sound?
With 30 & 87 unhooked at the relay, when ignition is on, push horn button, is there continuity between 30 & 87?
Is there any current at 30 with the wires all connected?

[johnny42]

I have no idea how the horns worked (how the wires were connected). I had a hot wire going into the relay, wires out going to the horns, an in-line fuse and the relay was grounded. The horns worked. I didn't use any other wires or connections. It might not seem possible, but they worked. But I can't recreate the actual connections. I'm stumped.

Doing research, apparently if I connect the horns to the existing horn feeds, (one lead that has power and the other lead to ground) and run power to the relay etc..... they work.

[Ed Brock]

Besides checking for power to your hot wire, confirm that you have a good ground, as suggested by others. Also hook up a temporary 12v directly on the horn, the other terminal to a temporary ground. Horn should make noise. If not, bad horn.
Good luck.
Ed

[DenverWinger]

A few weeks ago I had to troubleshoot my horns, a set of Fiamms installed two yrs ago. Push horn button and "nothing".

The relay and associated wiring all checked out, it was the Fiamms themselves which had quit. Both of them. A little tweak of the tone adjusting screw on the back of the horn housing got them both working again.

[johnny42]

Both horn blast loud and clear connected to a spare battery. The relay clicks nice when power is applied. I'll go over all the connections and grounds. I'm concurrently working on a headlight issue. The faring is off the bike. Once I get the headlights straightened out I'll tackle the remaining horn issue. I appreciate all the input I'm receiving here.

[Ed Brock]

Are you running air horns? If so, it would be a good idea to make sure you have not got some water inside the air canal. It will cause the "reeds" to stick sometimes. If you have electric horns make sure you have a good ground from the horn body to the bikes frame.
I have used both styles and water can be an issue inside the air canal. Electric horns, not much of a water issue, as they have no air canal.
Thanks for the update. What ya doing to the headlight? There is a VERY GOOD vide on how to get to the headlight on this site, it's by WingAdmin.
Ed

[johnny42]

I've posted several questions on this forum dealing with my headlights. They're easy to spot. One was "Can someone design a circuit for me". I have my schematic and parts. I just need to construct.

I have my diagram and parts for the horn re-install too. If either of my maladies are not solved once I re-wire, I'll be back!

[Ed Brock]

Good luck on reassemble.
Ed