MOT - horn

Sep 17, 2005 20 Replies

Does the horn have to be a certain loudness or is it enough that it makes a sound?



Reason: my Volvo's got two honkers but it sounds like there's a duck sitting on the bumper when I push the button.



Alternatively, can they be repaired? They have a rusty old Philips screw in the front - is it worth a fiddle or am I going to the breakers before the MOT on Monday?



Si


Some of them can be 'tuned' by adjusting a screw.

Rob Graham

unless it is very quiet then it will pass, often a dead horn can be revived, get an assistant to press the horn button and thump the dead horn sharply with something metal, if it makes a squeak keep hitting it till it sounds continually, then if necessary adjust the points with the screw.

mrcheerful

It's one of those tricky parts that's 'in the opinion of the tester' - my 155 got a fail for 'horn too quiet' at one testing station, but it was retested elsewhere, and passed.

Thanks chaps.

I'll give it a good thump/tweak with an appropriate tool later and see what happens.

Si

The message from "Mungo \"two sheds\" Toadfoot" contains these words:

If you tweak it, remember to lock the screw again afterwards, either with the locknut or a dab of sealant. They happily twiddle themselves if left unlocked.

my Volvo did that - i disconnected one and the other sounded louder and a solid/long blast. Maybe i was lucky in disconnecting the duff one first time, 440 g reg Volvo

As it happens I took my ancient 740 for MOT yesterday ( passed, yipee ), now I seldom use my horn so was surprised by the puny little squawk, however the tester made no comment about it.

That's interesting. Perhaps it's a common problem like the dodgy fuel gauges, sagging headlinings etc.?

Si

Yep - all my 740s had this. The horns are low down right in the line of fire from spray etc. Never bothered my MOT guy though.

The message from "Mungo \"two sheds\" Toadfoot" contains these words:

That sounds more like a Maestro!

Heh.

I fixed my headlining with some spare self-tapping screws and black plastic washers left over from building one of the two sheds. Worked a treat and gives the rear of the headlining an interesting medieval look.

Si

And leaves the roof looking like a hedgehog?

The message from "Mungo \"two sheds\" Toadfoot" contains these words:

Flaming torches in brackets instead of courtesy lights?

words:

Wattle and daub body panels?

Steve

Aha! I eschewed the inch an' arf eights for little tiny screws wot only go into the fibreboard stuff. I'm not silly, you know :)

Si

oooooOOOOOooooo! I *likes* the sound of that. Is a portcullis a viable swap for the radiator grille, would you say?

Si

The message from "shazzbat" contains these words:

So - it's /you/ I sold my Fiat 127 to back in 1981!

The message from "Mungo \"two sheds\" Toadfoot" contains these words:

A lightning conductor on a pole and cries of "More power, IGOR!" as you line up to overtake...

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "SimonJ" saying something like:

Won't be any roof-sitters, though.

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