horn relays

[Upchuck]

are they a nessesity when rewiring? I am going to start to try and do some wiring on my 49 f1 pretty much from scratch to bypass the gauges, old regulator and solenoid but am puzzled about the horn relay and what its good for in the big picture of things

[Stevie G]

The relay takes the current load away from the horn button. Depending on what horn you run, it can get kinda hot. Same for headlights and other auxiliary equip. The relay does the switching so you can run lighter gage wire in the car and not need huge switches in the dash.

[Upchuck]

thanks! looks like a good thing to retain then

[skipperman]

ALSO ..... The horn button GROUNDS the relay so it closes...DO NOT run the HOT wire thru the horn button or it'll send it RIGHT to ground--- ZAP !!

Jersey Skip

[TooMany2count]

here's a good site for wiring in relays & other electric tech articles.just read through them......joe

http://www.madelectrical.com/electrical-tech.shtml