The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 6V Horns on a 12V System

I just received two 6v high/low sea shell style horns, complete with a 6V relay to install on my ‘52 1/2 ton, converted to 12V. I tested them on 12V momentarily and they both work, a bit loud but they do work.

The question I have is, what are my options for installing them.

Here is how/where they were installed in 1953, wheb they were an option/accessory.

The same style horn/horns were used in 54/55st - but, they were installed in front of the radiator, behind the grill.

Brad posted excellent illustrations years ago - but those links no longer work.

They will work fine on 12 volts unless you hold the horn button down for extended periods of time.

Thanks, I was hoping for that answer. Now, to get them cleaned and painted!

I recently converted my 53 to 12v. I didn't change anything related to the horn. They are LOUD.

I too am pushing 12 volts through 6 volt horns. As mentioned earlier don’t “lay on the horn”, and you will be alright.

My 6volt horns also love 12 volts. And loud is what a horn is for. Actually, i kinda keep my eye out for em at swapmeets etc., just because they work great.

I use my 6 volt horns on my 51 , that is converted to 12 volts. I replaced the relay with a 12 volt one. I would suggest that it is a good idea to change the relay.

Thanks for the suggestion. I previously added a relay to my present horn, so that’s not a problem.

Been running 6v horns on my 12v system for 10+ years and they have held up very well. They really get some attention when sounding off.

Phak 1 I guess you could wire them in series to create a single 12 volt load,mine are in paralell and here in deer country you need loud horns. Scared some off last week !!

I wired my horns in series when I switched to 12-v. I didn't want the first in the series to be grounded so I used several sheets of plastic (from a plastic milk jug) under its base and nylon bolts and nuts to hold it on the firewall. I don't know if this was necessary but it seems it couldn't hurt.

I had the Ah OOO gah! horn from my Dad's Model T (I guess the horn came from a Model A?) on my '70 Malibu for awhile. Worked fine but sounded awful on 12 volts. Instead of the cool Ah OOOOO Gah it just did a very loud BLAAAAAAAAAT! oh well.

Good Idea! I’ll wire them on the bench to see how they sound.


Another good Idea! I’ll have to persue this if I like the way they sound.

If you've got metter that is a VOM Witch is a Volt , Ohm Metter. Or will purchase one from a cheep sight. I can take you thru a equation that will allow you to purchase a or and resistor to do this a lot simpler.

What you'll do is to figure What The resistance is buy measuring the Hot to Neutral and blow the horn with the meter set to a r or ohm value .

Now you got the value of Ohms or the resistance of the circuit. At 12 volts

If you will multiply the Ohms by 2 you'" get a figure for resistance at 6 Volt.

Now go buy a resistor that droups the ohms but this much

This drops the 12 volt signal to a 6 volt with a resistor

Related question: I let ALL of the smoke out of my harness and had to perform a complete wiring delete (all the insulation was rotted). Can anyone share how the horns are wired? I have both the seashells on the firewall and the bell on the intake.

There will be a wire coming down from your steering wheel through the steering column and out again about 16~18 inches from the steering wheel. It will be held in place by metal clip and screw. This wire connects to another wire which leads to your horn relay...and generally your relay will have 3 connections. Don't know how yours is marked, but here's general convention: One will be marked H (here you'll connect a wire going off to your horns), B (here you'll connect a wire going to the + side of your battery...most folks do not run it through the ignition so that the horn could be honked without the key) and S (connect this to the horn button---the wire I mentioned first). And that's it. Good luck.

I used 12 gauge wire and fuse between the 12v supply and the “B” terminal (labeled 3 on the relay I bought from Classic Parts). You can take your 12v power from the lug on the starter that holds the positive battery terminal.

The horn button “S” is labeled 5 and the horn “H” is labeled 1.

Phak1 When I deer hunt at daybreak with my 51 6400 those 6v horns on 12v really help clear em out of the way !!

Hi....I think they'll work with 12V, however they will vibrate at a higher recurrence and accordingly solid unique, and have a significantly more limited life. I would utilize a voltage drop (accessible from Radio Shack or a car parts store) assuming you need to be mindful.