Horn Switch rebuild

Electrical issues
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craig60pan
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Horn Switch rebuild

#1

Post by craig60pan »

After a few weeks of "other stuff to do" I am back to the 51 FL
I could not find a NOS horn button but found most of the parts to rebuild the one I have as a one wire (or all of the parts for a two wire).
My question is, how does the switch go together?
I assume the button and spring go as pictured and the 71815-26 or #10 hold everything in place but
do the 71813-26 4 prongs face toward the button or the handlebars.
I have attached pictures from the 54 parts book (prices a little out of date) for the one wire and
the 68 parts book for the two wire
Any advice would be helpful - since I have yet to find a 71815-26 it looks like I be rebuilding it as a two wire
Which based on advice from a previous post is probably the best option anyway
CJ
Attachments
68 parts book 2 wire
68 parts book 2 wire
Image2a.jpg (17.03 KiB) Viewed 750 times
54 parts book 1 wire
54 parts book 1 wire
horn button2.jpg (29.86 KiB) Viewed 750 times
horn button1.jpg
horn button1.jpg (14.71 KiB) Viewed 750 times
Perry Ruiter
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Re: Horn Switch rebuild

#2

Post by Perry Ruiter »

Yeah the parts book is wrong. At least in the first picture they corrected the orientation of the plate with the four fingers. Assembly is - housing, button, plate with four fingers (fingers away from button), spring, contact, retainer (in the two wire, these last two are the same part). The way it works is the fingers rub against the inside of the switch housing providing a path to ground. When you push the button in this touches the solder blob from the wire. I have some NOS -26A horn buttons but they're the tall style. You need the low style button for a 51 ... Perry
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Re: Horn Switch rebuild

#3

Post by FlatHeadSix »

CJ
Perry beat me to it. You can't always trust the parts books, in particular, you should not always trust the orientation of the parts in the drawings. And, as is often the case with H-D parts that spanned a number of production years, the MoCo made running changes to the parts and did NOT change the part number.

If you are rebuilding the original housing from a 1951 model it should be the shorter version with one wire. The internal parts are not very interchangeable between the two versions if you are trying to convert the OEM '51 housing to a 2-wire. You can interchange the entire switch but the guts are not mix and match.

The short housings measure about 3/16" between the horizontal surfaces of the base and the top of the tower and have a more pronounced radius where the base of the tower blends into the base. The sides of the tower on the shorter ones are also slightly tapered, narrower at the top. The tall housings are about 1/2" from base to the flat at the top of the tower and the tower walls are straight sided, same diameter top and bottom, and make almost a square departure from the base, little or no radius.

If you're going for a 100 point restoration you'll want the shorter switch housing. If you just want to honk your horn either one will do the job.

mike
craig60pan
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Re: Horn Switch rebuild

#4

Post by craig60pan »

Perry, Mike,
Thanks for the good info.
The switch that was on the motor was the two wire version and based on your previous posts I plan to stay with that one.
Not looking for 100 points, just want to have some noise when I push the button.
CJ
This is what came out of the switch, the wires on the terminal board end were trashed which is why it was taken apart in the first place.
Attachments
DSC_1199.jpg
DSC_1199.jpg (101.62 KiB) Viewed 703 times
craig60pan
Member
Posts: 184
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2004 2:37 pm
Bikes: 1960 FL
1951 FL
2005 custom built softail
2018 street glide special
Location: Atlanta

Re: Horn Switch rebuild

#5

Post by craig60pan »

Found this in a 59-64 HD Service manual (99482-64) I forgot I had
CJ
Attachments
hornswitchdiagram.jpg
hornswitchdiagram.jpg (77.8 KiB) Viewed 684 times
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