Hey Guys, I’ve had my set up since Oct of 08 and it has worked fine up until about a month ago. When i hit the momentary switch i can hear the air rushing out(from where i dont know), but no sound from the horns. I thought there might be a hole in the lines so i replaced the line, but same thing…I could hear the air coming out but no sound from the horns. I took the horns off and tested them using the compressor in the garage and they worked fine. So I asked some friends and was told it might be a bad solenoid. I bought a ball valve from Lowes and put that in place of the solenoid to test the horns back on the truck again. Horns worked fine using the ball valve so i bought a new solenoid. Hooked that up and now when i hit the switch i can hear air rush out till the tank is about 1/2 full and then the horns will sound, but not as loud as they used to. I’m at a loss. Any ideas of what could be wrong??
I dont know exactly what set up i have but it’s from Siege Engineering. 3gal tank, 225c (not exactly sure in the 225) Viair compressor, and 3 trumpet horn (unsure of which one).
bad ground to solenoid possibly? check voltage also… run a wire directly from batt to the solenoid power and just touch it to terminal to see if it works better…
If he hears air rushing out, the solenoid isn’t the problem… maybe the diaphram in the horns are bad?
I think you should ditch the “Other guys” horn setup, and get a hornblasters setup… the warranty is wonderful… and customer service is off the charts.
but they work when a ball valve are connected… sounds to me like a power / ground issue… ground can go bad over time with rust / corrosion … etc…
I will agree to ditch the siege stuff tho… i had siege’s horns and had many problems with tme… diaphragms being one
I hate to sound like i’m totally incompetent, but just to make sure i understand what your saying…
Run a wire directly from the positive terminal (+) on the battery to the red wire on the solenoid…
I agree with you both on getting a better horn. I’m might have a set of K3la’s lined up if the deal goes through, then i just need to replace the compressor and tank to support those horns, but for now and what i’m using it for (on board air mostly) it does the job. 
Thanks for your help guys. I’ll let ya know what happens… 
correct… that is mainly to check to see if the voltage is right for the solenoid or maybe its just getting half right now…
first tho you have to make sure the ground on the solenoid is grounded to the frame… The way i did it is put a crimped loop end on the wire and use a self drill screw and go into the frame… first cleaning off and rust or tar… you want clean metal / on metal contact… then you can spray it after to protect it…
Same results…
Got a good ground from the solenoid to the frame. Ran another wire from the battery to the + on the solenoid and same results. Nothing but air till it got down to half a tank and then it worked fine.
When i was under the truck i was able to tell the air is coming from the horns themselves. Almost like it’s blowing off too much pressure until it gets to 1/2 a tank and then works fine. So i can only assume that its the horns…??
but when u have a full tank of air and a ball valve, they blow fine?
Yeah. When i had the ball valve on it worked fine from full to empty.
So i guess it being the horns doesnt make sense… 
Too dark now, but i’m going to reconnect the ball valve tomorrow just to double check.
Wish i knew someone in the area i could swap out horns with just to see…
Thanks for all your help btw 
Im guessing the horn you have is the kong, anvil , or strategic seperates… Good chance its the diaphragm’s in the horns… i had the sieges in my truck and had many of prob with the diaphragms … You hace try taking off the back caps of the horns and cleaning the diaphragms, plus if thye are metal, try to straighten any creases out of them that has formed…
The ball valve might be limiting the flow. Too much flow * too much PSI might be the cause. Try using a 3/8 or 1/4 in valve… or just run 1/4 to 3/8 airline from the valve to the tank with your 1/2 in to limit it or use a restrictor.
The force from your air system is basically flow rate times pressure. Might be overloading your horns… just an idea. I’m not too familiar with Siege horns once they go bad
The original set up came all 3/8 = OD plastic tubing, fittings, and valve. I replaced the original valve with a 1/2, but used reducers cause everything on it is 3/8 ID now. Ball valve i tried was also a 1/2 with reducers (3/8).
I’ll try the original hose from the tank to the valve like you suggested, but dont understand how it would help because the problem started with all the original parts… 
Im guessing the horn you have is the kong, anvil , or strategic seperates… Good chance its the diaphragm’s in the horns… i had the sieges in my truck and had many of prob with the diaphragms … You hace try taking off the back caps of the horns and cleaning the diaphragms, plus if thye are metal, try to straighten any creases out of them that has formed…
I’m not sure what horns they are either. They look like the MKII on Sieges site. 3 horns on a triangle “L” angle base, opening for the air line is in the center of the triangle base.
I had the back covers off the horns to see if there was something blocking air flow, but there was a thin alu/tin like cover glued to the back of the horns and i didnt want to pleal that off cause i didnt have any adheasive to put them back on.
I also think it’s the diaphragms. when you use the solenoid, the air rushed quickly to the horns. when you use the ball valve, it opens gradually from 0 to max so air rushes more slowly. just an idea.
The original set up came all 3/8 = OD plastic tubing, fittings, and valve. I replaced the original valve with a 1/2, but used reducers cause everything on it is 3/8 ID now. Ball valve i tried was also a 1/2 with reducers (3/8).
I’ll try the original hose from the tank to the valve like you suggested, but dont understand how it would help because the problem started with all the original parts.…
I re-read what i wrote and with that…Tiernan - didn’t mean to come off sounding like a pr!ck with that statement. So i apologize if i did. I am by no mean an expert, and at this point will try anything to get it working again. I’m just frustrated… :D;)
I probably just need to scrap the whole set up and start from scratch…Gotta know when to cut your losses… haha
thanks again for everyones help!
Sounds like it wouldn’t matter much then. I’d say its still possible since valves do vary a lot by their interior orifice; but less likely the problem. I’ve heard of Chinese valves have as small as 4mm orifices inside (about the ID of a 1/4in line).
This seems to make sense. Abrupt air flow can be pretty harsh.
No worries man. I didn’t take any offense.