Old Sparton Boat Horn

[Sport Lido]

I have a old Sparton trumphet style electric boat horn that came off a 1955 Glasspar Sport Lido. Not sure if it's original equipment or not, but it's been around a while. When I hot wire the horn directly to a 12 volt battery it works fine, but when hooked up to the push button on the dash, I just get a dull clicking sound. Does that indicate I need to install a relay??

 

[STARCRAFT16SS]

Re: Old Sparton Boat Horn

The real old horns seem to be 6 volt and the newer ones 12 volt....
I don't know when they changed over....
A friend of mine has a couple of Cadillacs...1957 and a 1959...I think he
said both of those cars were originally 6 volt systems and he changed them to
12 volt systems....replacing the generator with an alternator etc....
My old horn from about 1971 is 12 volt and does not need a relay...
My horn does not have an air pump built into it....I don't know if that
makes a difference whether you need a relay or not.

 

[Mikes402Jetboat]

Re: Old Sparton Boat Horn

I have a old Sparton trumphet style electric boat horn that came off a 1955 Glasspar Sport Lido. Not sure if it's original equipment or not, but it's been around a while. When I hot wire the horn directly to a 12 volt battery it works fine, but when hooked up to the push button on the dash, I just get a dull clicking sound. Does that indicate I need to install a relay??

Get an Ohm meter out and check all your wires for resistance/shorts, and test that push button too...might be getting a little corroded over the years on the contacts. My old 1966 Glastron uses old dual trumpet style horns, and has an electric air pump that powers the horns. This is also fused, and occaisionally the fuse gets a little corroded, so check your fuse and or fuse block for corrosion too. Check the leads going to the fuse panel if you use one to see if the connection is tight and corrosion free.

Good luck to you!

Mike