I have a FIAMM Serie TA horn installed.. Lately I've noticed that the usual two tone noise isnt the same... Now it's just the low tone, with a gurgling or buzzing noise... I've looked and made sure all te air lines were connected, and they were... Any tips on how to get the "Ferarri Honk" back?!?

 

Maybe disconnect the air lines and feel if pressure is coming from both lines prior to the actual trumpet. Could be a bug in the horn or the relay buzzing. (It is wired in with a relay from a 12v power source right, ie battery with fuse?)

 

having gone thru several sets of low cost air horns over the years I'm gonna bet that the metal reed is corroded and sticking. You can try shooting some wd-40 down the bell and see if that frees things up, but IME once this begins it is a very recurring problem. I got to a point where I need a test toot every outing just to ensure they are working.

 

I can look but idk bc the bell is sideways, behind the bottom grille

 

I'll try that... It weird because the low tone works fine... The high tone makes the buzzing

 

yep - I usually lost one ... then another

The ones I show on my Mini are fine for now, but only 2 years old; the problems I had were a while back when I had FIAMM's on a Miata. Problems began at around the 2 year point. I'd spent a couple of years in San Fran and all that moisture may have been a factor but the first failure happened when I lived in Miami. I ended up buying a second set just to replace the bad trumpet, but that wasn't exactly cost effective. I finally gave up on 'em and put in a Nautilus and that's worked fine for years. Horns like your's were (are) very popular for Miata. There's a guy that assembles the set, re-packages with instructions specific to Miata and a bracket to eliminate all guess work and fabrication...
http://www.crazyred.com/pages/best_sellers.html#HORNS

I show the set on the Mini to 'validate' my experience. These almost never see excess moisture cuz I just don't take this car out in the rain. I don't use these as my primary horn. The air's on the Miata seemed to work worst when needed the most. I have a set of matched Fiamm Hi/Lo electrics that are actually louder than the small air's were. These play a bar from Col' Bogey March - aka Bridge Over the River Kwai
http://www.stebel.it/stebel2009/prod...logia=musicale
when I get the big wave at a traffic light or from some kids I play the music. Both are wired to the horn button, and I have a selector toggle. I ride with the duals normally but can quickly switch to a musical toot when desired

 

Ok so basically the horns are going out..?

 

IMO one trumpet is . . .

in my experience, once they start to stick, you can un stick them for a time, but they stick again. problem is the sticking is due to rust and you can't get in there to clean and treat the rust. all the wd does is allow you to break the parts open ... until they stick again. the BEST solution is to give the horns a really good blast everyday and hit with the wd (or PB Blaster or 3 in one) as needed but that's just not real practical imo. Your compressor and hoses are probably fine, only a small metal part in the trumpet is bad, but you can't BUY just that part . . . buy a new set and replace the bad trumpet is an option . .

(you could remove the trumpet, seal things up, and fill with phosphoric acid solution [rust buster], high enuf to coat the reed, this will 'convert' the rust and may solve the problem for a time, you'd really need to apply a sealer over this .... but is it worth the effort vs the cost of a new set of horns?)

 

Yea I guess it could be rusting, as I rarely use my horn... Let alone a really good blast, last time I blared the horn was in the summer... I'll use some WD 40 and blast the horn as I apply it?

 

Also I noticed one horn is shorter. Is this the high pitch?

 

soak it ... toot it .... did it work?, if not, return to the top

there was actually a long discussion over in Miata land as to the best way to mount the horns to avoid this - horn up, horn down... I don't remember there being a define answer.

you said: the bell is sideways so the pen' oil is not going to hang very long . . . .

the best solution to this is possibly to mount the horns FAR from moisture - some have mounted them in the cowl area......

short term for u - if you get them freed up, try to blast 'em really good and long, like 10 seconds, every couple of weeks and shoot a lubricant every 3 months or so.....

 

not a music student are you?

have you ever noticed that a trumpet's size is much less than a tuba?

short is HIGH

long is LOW

btw I'm NOT a music student - this is also physics

 

Hmmm interesting but idk if I can move the entire setup, as these horns were dealer installed by the previous owner.. The horns are behind the lower grille on the radiator, with the pump near the fog light housing and hoses running inside the bumper carrier... I'll just go to a secure spot and blast the horn real good and spray it...

As for music student, lol I was never good with brass.. I played viola =p