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MG TD TF 1500 - Horns; Who repairs them now?

A widow has a TD and the horns (Lucas 614) don't work at all. I offered to repair them. When I opened up the cover of the horns, I soon discovered they were way out of adjustment and I adjusted the contacts. They now work but not very well. They are not loud enough.
Lew Palmer previously worked on horns. I am not sure of his status. If not, is there is someone else who is doing them? I would appreciate their contact information.
Thanks.
Milton Babirak

Private email sent.

Cheers,
Lew
Lew Palmer

Milton,

Part of the problem could be not enough juice/power through the horn button to the horns. I had the same problem. When I installed a relay in the horn circuit they really came to life.

Jim
James Neel

Lew,

Part of the problem could be not enough juice/power through the horn button to the horns. I had the same problem. When I installed a relay in the horn circuit they really came to life.

Jim
James Neel

James
When I got the horns they were off of the car. I inspected and tested them on my workbench. There was no horn button. So, I think this was not a problem. I used a 12 volt battery charger as a power source.
I have mailed the horns off to Lew. I am interested to see what he finds.
Milton Babirak

Milton, horns require a very high current draw. Your charger is probably unable to supply the current. Try testing with jumper wires to a battery. Bud
Bud Krueger

You might try E. Lawrie Rhoads. info@british-car-part-restoration.com. He repaired my windshield wiper moror and did an excellent job on it. He also does horns.
g parker

Bud is correct. I tested my horns with a battery charger and they sounded like they were underwater. Hooked them up to my truck battery and they alerted the entire neighborhood.

Tim
TD12524
TW Burchfield

Well, that's good to know about the battery charger.
When I adjusted my own horns years ago, I used the same battery charger and I remember it being adequate.
I just spoke with Lawrie yesterday on another matter. He seems very knowledgeable. I thought I might be having capacitor problems with my distributor and he had Moss send me a new one. Very helpful.
I have used Lew in the past and I remember he did a very professional job.
Milt
Milton Babirak

A battery charger does not give a pure DC current. It is simply a rectified AC current, lacking the filtering necessary for smoothing the chopped AC.

Most battery chargers are capable of 10 Amps, so should produce enough current for the job - the horns needing around 6 Amps. But the charger will result in a very duck like sound instead of the pure musical tone provided by a car battery.
Lew Palmer

Lew
That's exactly what it sounded like. A duck. Thanks for setting me straight.
When you get the horns and test them, I'd be interested to know if I got close to properly adjusting them on my bench.
You'll see the horns also have some rust and need paint.
Kind regards,
Milton Babirak

This thread was discussed between 31/03/2017 and 01/04/2017

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