The horn worked before I set the engine aside for a year… Then it didn’t. I followed a YouTube to take it apart and clean everything.. Back together, it was very weak. I tested with a 9v battery and it sounded great. The D cel is only 1.5v. Will running it with a 9v cause any issues? Should I try to set a couple o r 3 AA’s for less volts?, a pain to do ,but if it’s better for the engine, I’ll try that..
BTW… Been a while since I posted and having “spell check” is great. As always, I appreciate the excellent suggestions from the forum members.
Thanks. Richard M.
1 Like
Any corrosion in the electrical feed anywhere can drop enough voltage it won’t work.
W hen you operate the horn relay, can you test voltage to the actual horn?
Next is to adjust the horn. I had issues years ago on my 2343’s, adjusting worked.
Points on the relay need to be clean. How corroded are the D cell battery contacts?
I finally gave up and ripped the horns out.
1 Like
I didn’t check the points on the relay.. but direct connect horn to D cell, only produced the weak sound, I’ve cleaned the D cell contacts top and bottom on the engine, and checked all connections. all I got was the same weak sound.. . That’s when a friend and I tested the horn with direct connect to 9v.
It works with the 9v wired to the D cell place on the engine, on the track, when transformer whistle/horn button is pushed. Will the 9v harm the engine?
Not the engine. No connection. Did you try adjusting with a D cell?
It’ll probably damage the horn.
What will? 9v or adjusting?
The question was will it harm the engine. No. I’ve never tried 9v, so the HORN may get damaged…or not.
Just put a D in it and adjust it.
I’ve had to adjust 6v horns on old automobiles.
The 9 volts, not adjusting it. Every source I’ve read on the topic has said that prolonged usage (as in, normal operation) on higher voltages damages the horn. Sorry for being unclear.
1 Like
Thanks for all the advice…
I did not measure voltage when horn is activated… I may check that.
I did clean the contacts on the relay switch… I’ll use a fine grit to polish it.
I did adjust the horn’ s screw… I finally got some sound from direct contact with a D
I got a better sound from direct to C
However when using the D in the engine and transformer horn button, I only got a mild buzz.
So there must be something in the circuit, although it is not obvious.
I have the best sound from the transformer horn button with the 9volt
I may try to set up 3-5volt with AA, because of the horn damage thought, but that will take some time.
I appreciate all the info…and advice. Now I need to look for places where there is loss.
In the end, since the 9volt is easy, I may just take my chances… It sounds great.. clear and loud, but before I do that, I will clean/redo connections , then test and search each wire in the circuit… there are not that many.
I will get back to the forum in a week or two… More important things.. my O-gauge club will be at a library in Albany Oregon with our 16x28 3 track layout. I bring a wooden Thomas set and a battery G for kids to play with.. So 2032 will be on the back burner for a while…
Always Learning. Always TRAINing. Make a good day. Thanks. Richard M.
What exactly does this mean?
Have you actually tested your D battery for proper output?
I’d be tempted to have you convert the power to a USB-compliant 5V rechargeable battery rather than a 9V dry cell. With a full 9V there will be higher current flow which may soften the insulation on the coil and produce progressive thinning at random points, proceeding to a short. You will not ‘fix’ that without rewiring the coil, a tedious job. I might add that in my experience there have been several times that a nominal 15V device started to smoke on a 16 or 17V nominal supply… so ‘it’s just a couple of volts higher’ may not be wise thinking.
Even 5V is high enough that you should resist excessive horn blowing (or letting kids at the horn button when you aren’t watching). A dropping power resistor would be an alternative I’d recommend.
1 Like
5v is still too much in my opinion. Could you maybe post a picture of the horn and relay, in case there’s any visible issues?
1 Like
Wow.. I had not thought of that… It is certainly I will check out. I see the logic in not using the “easy” 9v."..I’m not too technical savvy, but several of my O-gauge members are better. We’ll be spending the weekend with our layout at a local library.
Thanks for getting me off the 9v track.
I’ve had one of our club members helping… and we couldn’t see any.. The horn is just a typical lionel horn.. nothing special..
Very strange. I haven’t had much experience with Lionel’s Postwar horns, so this is as far as I can go here.
1 Like
I meant simply grounding the horn to the neg bottom and wire to the top of the C, It gave me more sound than the same to the D
However, as you can see on subsequent replies… I’m “derailed” on using the 9v and will look into the usb rechargeable, as suggested… Thanks for confirming I should “switch tracks”
Thanks for all the great advice.. I have located a rechargeable 5v with two “leads”…my experience with rechargeables is that they rarely produce “full” power… I’ll wire one lead to the horn and leave a pigtail for recharging.
Again, Thanks to all of you for excellent suggestions and encouragement. Enjoy the holiday seasons with family and friends.
I’m always Learning and Always TRAINing.
Make a good day. Richard M. Corvallis Oregon
I hope that it works well!
1 Like