Hi- any suggestions on how to replace the dual mini horns on a 228 next to the windshield wiper? I thought it was going to be pretty simple ( 2 screws, 2 wires) until I pulled the cover in the cabin and found just the wiper motor with no room to get access to the horn wires. Do I need to snake new wires, remove the wiper motor, etc? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Replacing horn on 2003 228
- Thread starter BlueFlu15
- Start date
I just removed the horn from outside and pulled out some wire to expose where the splice was. Of course that was on a different hull so I am not sure how your horn is bolted on.
Parthery
GreatGrady Captain
seasick said:
You can do this, but in order to get the splices back inside the hull, you will need to enlarge the hole.
Am in process of replacing the horn on my 226. Guess I am lucky as mine lasted sixteen years. Will be doing it in next couple of days. Hope I can make connections form outside and push through hole without making it larger. Will let you know how it goes. Replaced running lights last year and there was plenty of room to run wires without enlarging hole.
Before replacing, try squirting some WD40 into the horns and bang them with your fist or a rubber hammer. Worked for me twice.
Mine was toast. Part of it fell off when I was washing the boat, WD would be no help, but thanks for the tip.
Started to replace horn Thursday. Outside wire could not be pulled out to make it easier to connect wire from horn. Pulled cover in cabin from back of windshield wiper motor to get to the wiring from horn. No way to get to it from here. Was thinking of using a hole saw to cut in from the back next to the wiper motor cover. Decided against it as I could cut wiring in back that I could not see. Called Grady White for advice on best way to replace. No help. Told that dealers do it all the time. Talked to very good electronics shop owner doing an install at the GW shop. He said best way is to just attach from outside and kind of hide the exposed wire. Started to do that Sat morning. Guess my hands are to big as the pipe from the hard top leaves little room to make a connection. I went to Bass Masters and bought a hand held horn. There has got to be a way to replace the friggin horn.
Thanks everyone! I cut the wires as close to the old horn to give me more slack to connect the new wires (which I needed for the shrink tubes over the connections). To be honest, I was a little nervous but I was able to connect, feed the excess wire in the existing hole, and reseal). Poor design, but I was able to swap it out in less than an hour which wasn't too bad. Works great now!
Thanks for the help!
Thanks for the help!
Were you able to pull out the old butt connectors to the horn when you pulled the wire out before you replaced with the new horn? I have not been able to get the wire out of the hole.
Parthery
GreatGrady Captain
Make the hole bigger if necessary. Then put a clamshell over it and seal it up with silicone. That's what I did many years ago on a 2001 226 that I owned.
Ron's story on the horn is exactly like mine. Try as you might - it's a hopeless cause to replace these horns.
I am on my third Grady. All of them have those crap Ongaro (sp.) dual electric horns. All have failed. And frankly, the horn isn't all that loud either. I remember replacing one on my 265 way back when. In one season, it was toast.
So - I - like Ron - simply carry a hand held air horn to get me past a USCG inspection.
I thought about paying big bucks ( like $300-$500) for a really high quality, dual trumpet, SS air horn and mount it on the front starboard side of my hard top. Then I sat down and said forget it! The simple hand held air horn won out. In five plus years of use, I can't recall ever regretting this decision (I do my boating 99% in the open ocean).
Gradys are good boats, but those electric Ongaro air horns are crap.
I am on my third Grady. All of them have those crap Ongaro (sp.) dual electric horns. All have failed. And frankly, the horn isn't all that loud either. I remember replacing one on my 265 way back when. In one season, it was toast.
So - I - like Ron - simply carry a hand held air horn to get me past a USCG inspection.
I thought about paying big bucks ( like $300-$500) for a really high quality, dual trumpet, SS air horn and mount it on the front starboard side of my hard top. Then I sat down and said forget it! The simple hand held air horn won out. In five plus years of use, I can't recall ever regretting this decision (I do my boating 99% in the open ocean).
Gradys are good boats, but those electric Ongaro air horns are crap.
See your posts on Coastside. I'm Sidewinder. Well that does it then. Was going to try to widen the hole wires come through today. Now I will do as you did. Keep the handheld and send the new horn back to amazon.com. Maybe my horn lasted sixteen years because I keep the boat on a trailer.
I am getting ready to replace the mini horns on my 226. The new one arrived yesterday. I've already done the multi meter and determined that switch works and there is power from the switch. Therefore the existing wires should be okay. It would have been nice if the terminals on the old horn were plug and play to the new horn, no such luck, so I intend to snip the existing wires close to the terminals on the old horn, then butt connect to new wires, stuff all excess through the hole, and then caulk. Unless of course the existing wires are easy to retrieve, and there is enough slack to replace the old butt connectors.
Please send help if I am on a bad course.
Please send help if I am on a bad course.
SkunkBoat
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Doesn't matter how much $ you spend, ALL horns are made in the same Chinese factory as trailer lights.
Yes you are on the right track. One thing to check is how much wire you can pull out to add a new splice to. Ideally you want to cut the original splice out and re-splice but if the wire is short, you should cut the wires close to the horn itself and then add a second set of splices. Just make sure that the original splices are in good condition.
One thing I found out the last time I replaced the horn was that although the horn looked identical, the mounting holes on the bracket did not match the holes in the deck. The end of the mounting bracket that attached to the horn itself were the same so I took off the brackets and swapped the old one for the new one. That saved me from having to make new holes and having to fill the old ones.
And yes, these horns don't last long at all....
One thing I found out the last time I replaced the horn was that although the horn looked identical, the mounting holes on the bracket did not match the holes in the deck. The end of the mounting bracket that attached to the horn itself were the same so I took off the brackets and swapped the old one for the new one. That saved me from having to make new holes and having to fill the old ones.
And yes, these horns don't last long at all....
Replacement went fine. The old connectors were in good shape so I left them and added a second set using the old horn's wires snipped near the terminals. Staggering the position of the new butts helped so that I only had to feed one at a time through the hole. Before the final connections I hand twisted the connections and made sure that everything was going to work. All the holes lined up with the originals. The hardest part was scraping away the old caulk. The news horns look good and have plenty of volume.
Thank you all for your advice.
Thank you all for your advice.
Just a temporary connection to make sure that electrically everything was hook up correctly. Yes everything crimped. Thanks