i have a k3 installed on my vehicle and I seem to be having some issues with the lowest horn - it seems to take a second or two to start honking after I hit the solenoid, if it ever honks. The other two horns honk fine. I’m honking at ~145 with a 3 gallon tank (i only use the horn for car alarm purposes so that’s all I really need). My solenoid is 1/2", my main supply line is 1/2" OD, and each horn has 3/8" OD going to it from a 4-way fitting. There doesn’t appear to be any air leaks and I just replaced the hose going to that horn to see if it would help - nothing.
Any thoughts? One thing I can do is blow that horn by itself and take a video, if that helps to figure out the problem.
Are all the hoses the same length out of Solinoied? If not may take a little longer for the air to reach that bell. Does it siund good when blown separate?
originally the lowest horn had the longest hose - I did some re-routing and now they’re all pretty much the same and it didn’t seem to help the problem at all.
I’ve never actually honked it on its own but it sounds like I should probably do that and take a video so you guys can help me.
It’s a new install. I’m not 100% sure if it every worked right or not.
How would you suggest I checked the diaphragm? Remove the rear of the horn?¿ Sorry, i’m a complete n00b here - if there’s a sticky for this i’m happy to read it but I couldn’t find one.
thanks!! I can’t wait to get my k3 fully functional. It has a really nice sound to it and I can’t resist honking it every now and then even though it’s mostly for the car alarm
Yes, remove the 6 bolts from the back cap. Don’t worry, it’s not complicated inside - just a cushion ring between 2 stainless steel discs. Make sure they’re not cracked or warped real bad.
Also, about your 4-way fitting… I assume you mean a “cross” fitting. The port directly inline with the input will have the best flow. Try switching the #1 bell to that port if it isn’t already.
that was my thought exactly. It didn’t seem to have any great effect. (And yes, you’re correct - I do use a “cross” fitting). Sounds like I should pull the horn off the vehicle and take some pictures of the inards.
alright, I pulled the lowest and mid horns of the vehicle today. I took the lowest apart and to be honest I didn’t really find anything glaring that stands out at me as being “wrong” - in fact the diaphragms and cushions look to be in great shape.
Does anyone see anything wrong there?
I also honked the low and mid separately in my basement with a compressor - it’s not the greatest setup and at maybe ~110 or 120 psi, but it works - both horns sounded fine to me this way:
So from your video, it will blow.
Diaphrams look flat and kinda new.
See the couple cracks in the casting - going towards the tapped holes? I wonder if air is escaping and causing the horn to be less efficient. You could try soapy water around the outside of the power chamber & look for bubbles while honking.
Another thing - I don’t know if the picture is exaggerating this, but it looks like some corrosion buildup right around the knozzle. The part that seals against the diaphram. It should be a smooth machined surface.
So clean that off with some fine steel wool or super fine sand paper. Flip that diaphram when you put it back together so a new / clean / shinny side seals against the nozzle.
thanks, I will try all that!! I did put this thing back together and honked it under an overpass tonite, and it sounded off like a freaking boss. Maybe I was just being paranoid before who knows.
Oh and just to be sure the cracks you’re talking about are on the first picture right? I was pretty curious about those myself but they actually seem more raised than flat - almost like leftovers from machining or something, I don’t really know because I don’t know how these things are made. I will do the soapy water leak test on it though and make sure it’s not loosing air.
One last thought - it could just be the way they are in my car, or the way I sit, or whatever, that causes me to hear the highest horn more than the other two. Definite possibility.
before, it seemed like their was either some delay, or some change in pitch, or something after I left the valve open for a second or two vs. a quick burst - if I left the valve open after the breif period I would suddenly hear a low pitch added to the chord, and that’s when it sounded like a full, rich k3.
Last night when I honked it under the overpass though everything sounded great right off the bat - after honking those two in my basement I knew what to listen for and I heard all three pitches right away. Apparently cleaning the diaphragms off and cleaning out the top of the bells helped something, because it sounded great last night!
I’m still going to pull the lowest bell off again and check for leaks like you suggested as well as flip the diaphragm around and sand off that slight corrosion build-up on the bell.
