Rim Blow Test/Repair

[Brian Conway 264]

Could not find the old post dealing with this so... My 69 rim blow horn switch does not function. The horns do. The last comment in the other thread was ' possibly a cold joint ' so I got out my volt meter today and went testing for continuity. Checked every possible combination and showed a reading of .01 up to .03 or so everywhere. Voltmeter was set at OHM 200 and read #1 to start and showed .01 or so for the tests. Looks like continuity everywhere. One picture shows a small piece of paper coming out of the lower/left end of the switch. I put it back and carried on. At a loss now so open to any other tests or ideas. Thanks, Brian

Edited November 11, 2014 by Brian Conway

[barnett468 418]

hello;

 

 

if you are trying to make the horn work you must have 12v from one of the two contacts in the center

 

one is the constant power supply coming in to one end of the rubber and the other is power going out to the horns when the two contacts inside the rubber are connected.

 

disconnect the horn

 

jump the two ends coming up thru the wheel together

 

if the horns do not go on you have a wire or connection problem.

 

if they do go on, connect your horn and try it

 

if it does not work, it is bad . . they are always bad or top dried up to squeeze together.

 

i would buy a nos one not a repo.

.

Edited November 12, 2014 by barnett468

[Brian Conway 264]

Thanks for the suggestion. The horns are working fine. I seems I have a continuous loop. Hot everywhere all the time; Two terminal screws and eyelets are hot, top of copper strip and soldered wires are hot and the two screws above the terminal screws are hot as well. Disconnect the left screw @ eyelet, breaking the circuit, it is cold, the upper right screw is cold and the copper strip is cold. Reconnect the left eyelet to the hub terminal and everything goes hot. Couple of questions: what are those two upper screws for and it seems the copper strips are in contact somewhere ? Any thoughts are welcome. Brian

Edited November 13, 2014 by Brian Conway

[jagbucket 10]

Your first set of pics looks like u tested the harness not the wheel switch. Test for continuity between the switch leads with the switch disconnected. From your light test the switch is the most likely problem but with it connected to the harness the short could be anywhere . observe the difference when the rim is squeezed

[Brian Conway 264]

Thanks for taking a look and yes I did test the switch and it came up good as well. The squeeze test did show an anomaly. With the volt meter attached to the eyelet/leads it reads around .01-2 all the way around until 10-11 o'clock then it has a little hissy fit. Readings jump all over then settle back to .01-2. Because that is the only variance I suppose it is the switch. No pictures of that. The camera battery went dead. Still open to other ideas /opinions ? Thanks, Brian

[barnett468 418]

hello;

 

sorry but i have no idea what you are saying . . if you follow these instructions i posted earlier you will have your answer . . yiu don't even need the meter , . you did not connect the two terminals on the h and c screws on the wheel together yet.

 

 

if you are trying to make the horn work you must have 12v from one of the two contacts in the center

 

one is the constant power supply coming in to one end of the rubber and the other is power going out to the horns when the two contacts inside the rubber are connected.

 

disconnect the horn

 

jump the two ends coming up thru the wheel together

 

if the horns do not go on you have a wire or connection problem.

 

if they do go on, connect your horn and try it

 

if it does not work, it is bad . . they are always bad or top dried up to squeeze together.

 

i would buy a nos one not a repo.

.

Edited November 13, 2014 by barnett468

[jagbucket 10]

you are lucky that your switch looks like it will pull out easily mine had to be chiseled out 1/4" at a time. your meter is showing continuity are you pressing the rim in the pics ? 1. is open .000 is contact so .001 is resistance but still contact . i always have to play with open and closed contact to reaffirm what values im looking for no expert here with meters.

[Brian Conway 264]

Well it appears I have not made myself clear and I really was trying. So, Barnett, yes the contact screw to the right is the hot terminal and when jumped to the other screw terminal the circuit is complete and the horns honk. The switch seems to be in a state of constant contact because when the eyelets are connected to the contact/terminal screws the horns honk. So power everywhere, horns are honking constantly and everything functions correctly except the Rim Blow Switch and that is easy enough to remove and replace. To get a NOS switch a part/Eng. number would be handy. MU has one switch for $100. NPD has two; one for $100 and the other $160. What have you guys gotten and are you satisfied ? Thanks for the help. Brian

Edited November 17, 2014 by Brian Conway

[barnett468 418]

Well it appears I have not made myself clear and I really was trying. So, Barnett, yes the contact screw to the right is the hot terminal and when jumped to the other screw terminal the circuit is complete and the horns honk. The switch seems to be in a state of constant contact because when the eyelets are connected to the contact/terminal screws the horns honk. So power everywhere, horns are honking constantly and everything functions correctly except the Rim Blow Switch and that is easy enough to remove and replace. To get a NOS switch a part/Eng. number would be handy. MU has two switch's one $100 and the other $160. NPD has one for $100. What have you guys gotten and are you satisfied ? Thanks for the help. Brian

 

Ok, easy deal . . your rubber horn insert is bad . . it Is NOT repairable . . i would only buy an nos one not a repo.

.

Edited November 14, 2014 by barnett468

[miketyler 15]

I bought a Daniel Carpenter repo and fits and works great. Have heard a few bad accounts about Rimblow Buddy's repos. There are a couple of eBay dealers that I have seeen sell the DC repo for $80 shipped.

[Brian Conway 264]

Well Just to finish this thread with my experience. I was not successful and currently do not have the ability to ' toot ' my horns. I tried two of the Carpenter switch's and had no success with either. No need for ohm meters or installation. Putting the switch's eyelet's to the horn contacts at the center of steering wheel results in the horns honking right out of the box. I spoke with the vendors tech. rep. and he was not real confident in the switch's quality and allowed for a return twice. So naturally disappointed. Brian

[barnett468 418]

we have actually installed dozens of the carpenter ones and they work perfectly, however, some of them did have contact when they were removed from the package but this is easily foxed if you carefully open the back and find where the copper strips are contacting and fix the rubber lip around them so they no longer touch . . the contact problem occurs in handling and packaging after they are mfg . . because they are occasionally bent more than they should be which can force the copper strip out of its slot in some places.

.

[Brian Conway 264]

Thanks Barnett for sharing your experience. If I possessed the experience and know-how I could probably repair the original switch as well as the reproduction one. As I shared ' disappointed ' that a reputable manufacturer, at a $100 a pop, can't get this right ? Brian

[barnett468 418]

Thanks Barnett for sharing your experience. If I possessed the experience and know-how I could probably repair the original switch as well as the reproduction one. As I shared ' disappointed ' that a reputable manufacturer, at a $100 a pop, can't get this right ? Brian

 

once the orig rubber is dry not even god can repair it.

 

carpenter does have the manufacturing of the part "right" but unfortunately its what happens to it after it comes out of the mold that causes the problem . . notice that the boxes the orig ones come in are large and the rubber is carefully wrapped in a nice big coil . . ford did this because the knew that wrapping them too tight could cause problems even with a factory one . . this is why i mentioned not to buy the one i posted that was not wrapped in a nice coil.

 

i use chrome pin stripping tape for the outer strip.

 

if you want, just tell my friend to test the one he sends you AFTER he wraps it in a large 8" - 9" diameter coil, then send it in a heavy duty box . . unwrapping them from the coil does not cause any problems . . he can coil it on top of itself then put painters tape on it to hold it together.

.

Edited December 5, 2014 by barnett468

[Raven R code 281]

Anyone ever try a kapalini switch? eBay item 261440512048

[Brian Conway 264]

I saw their ad on ebay and wondered about their claims and NO RETURN policy. Brian

[barnett468 418]

If you are referring to kapalini, there is no kapalini mfg on the internet . . they say the part is from "The Kapalini Collection" . . WTF does that mean, lol? . . Is that similar to saying a painting is from "The Gugenheim Collection?

 

Carpenter is one of the biggest mfgs of aftermarket parts in the world and he doesn't make junk parts . . I would be hesitant to buy something from a company that doesn't even exist on the internet and that also refuses to allow people to return defective parts . . It seems to me they have absolutely no faith in the item they are selling.

 

I can almost guarantee you that part is NOT made in the USA, because if it was, it would say so in bold print.

.

Edited December 5, 2014 by barnett468

[Brian Conway 264]

Sent them an inquiry this afternoon and received a reply. Apparently for professional installers. Brian

[barnett468 418]

Sent them an inquiry this afternoon and received a reply. Apparently for professional installers. Brian

 

unfortunately i can't read it because the text is grainy but i would sure love to if you could somehow make it more clear etc . . i was doing ebay for years with big big dollar items so i know quite a bit about them and might be able to "interpret" the message for you.

 

i would tell them that you are interested in buying it but first want to know exactly who makes it and exactly where it is made.

Edited December 6, 2014 by barnett468

[1969_Mach1 333]

The text in the inquiry was clear and I was able to read it. Unfortunately, if their ad specified no refunds, I don't even know if EBay or PayPal (if that was your payment method) would be of assistance. I buy and occasionally sell used parts on EBay and I know its a bit of a gamble when the seller's ad says no refunds. Did the seller have a good feedback rating as a seller? Good Luck.

[barnett468 418]

The text in the inquiry was clear and I was able to read it. Unfortunately, if their ad specified no refunds, I don't even know if EBay or PayPal (if that was your payment method) would be of assistance. I buy and occasionally sell used parts on EBay and I know its a bit of a gamble when the seller's ad says no refunds. Did the seller have a good feedback rating as a seller? Good Luck.

 

they have only sold 6 of them.

 

They have 4 “neutral” responses out of 56 . . this is around an 8% dissatisfaction rating . . that’s pretty high . . two of the “neutral” comments are below and actually sound rather negative to me.

 

"Fitment is terrible but you get what you pay for."

 

'holes not drilled for mounting , and not enough material in area to mount, wavy"

Edited December 6, 2014 by barnett468

[barnett468 418]

ok . . i put it on internet explorer and can read it now . . their comment about it being better because they use cheap plastic instead of rubber is laughable . . it is a far cheaper material and it will make the horn harder to honk . . not a good idea in an emergency situation . . you only die once.

 

it will also make it more difficult to install, which is one of the reasons they emphatically stress that it should be installed by a "professional" . . ok, i did a search on google for "professional rim blow horn contact installer" and didn't find any so more than likely you will be the one installing it.

.

Edited December 6, 2014 by barnett468

[Raven R code 281]

even if the seller says no refunds....as long as it has the ebay guarantee, you will be covered for returns.

 

Sounds like i'll be looking at scott drake unless I can find a good NOS piece.

[barnett468 418]

Sounds like i'll be looking at scott drake unless I can find a good NOS piece.

 

i found you 2 good nos ones that i posted on your thread . . what is wrong with those?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/390979791615?item=390979791615&lgeo=1&vectorid=229466

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/331208753842?item=331208753842&lgeo=1&vectorid=229466

 

 

these may also be 1970 nos . . call for info.

 

http://www.rearcounter.com/D1AZ-13A875-A-parts59163.html

 

also try green sales and perogie enterprises.

.

Edited December 6, 2014 by barnett468

[mauleta 10]

I purchased one directly from Ford in the early 80's for my original 69 and it was packaged in an a tube like this listing:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-FOMOCO-1969-70-MUSTANG-RIMBLOW-WHEEL-SWITCH-BOSS-302-429-428CJ-MACH-1-390/390938456812?_trksid=p2054897.c100204.m3164&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140407115239%26meid%3D47c9ea7084484eb9ba82624007c818ad%26pid%3D100204%26prg%3D20140407115239%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D30%26sd%3D331208753842