New Horn off a Tank

[chutneypooper]

the horn off my bike has been a bit wonky since getting it a year ago, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt and often it sounds like a sick chicken being strangled

having a rummage thru my junk I found an old horn off a tank I must have souvenired during my years in the army so am going to have a go at fitting it to the bike

the thing is its a 24 volt horn and of course the bike is 12 volts. just wondering if it would still work on a 12 volt system, maybe just not as loud?

 

[beemerrich]

At 12 volts, it will draw twice the amperage...if the ampacity of the wire isn't up to task, it will work for a split second and then turn into a toaster coil. Conversely, you could get a 12/24 volt transformer and not only have a very loud horn, but a super bright headlight. Well worth adding about 20 lbs. to the machine.....

 

[chutneypooper]

so the thing to do is use heavy wire from the battery to the horn switch then to the horn itself otherwise the wires will melt?

 

[chutneypooper]

as my bike has an aux socket, so ran a temporary wire to a plug that's plugged into the socket and connected it to the tank horn. it hooted real well, nice and loud. I remember them being real loud years ago mounted to the tanks on the 24 volt circuit

gave a few seconds each blast and wires to socket didnt feel hot, so am going to replace the stock horn tomorrow with this beast

as far as the bike being being a lower voltage at 12v and the horn rated at 24v, I would have thought the amperage draw would be lower and talking to the sparkies at work they agreed

what sorta tank? Leopard tank, they were decommissioned from the Aussie Army about ten years when replaced with the Abrams

 

[kdharri]

I always found the road wheel howl on a Leopard removed the need for a horn, glad you found a good use.
73rd Armor '76-'79 - Germany

 

[beemerrich]

A 24 volt horn that draws, for instance, 2 amps in order to hoot is 24 x 2 = 48 watts of power draw. The power requirement is what you need to be wary of. So now hook it to a 12 volt source and it will draw 48 watts / 12 volts = 4 amps.

The supply wiring to the bike isn't the big issue, but rather the internal wiring within the horn itself. It might work fine. Then again, it might melt down at any given moment. Good luck!!

 

[chutneypooper]

aha, that all makes sense. thanx for a good explanation