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This morning I had to honk briefly at a driver about to cut in front of me.

Three blocks later, I needed to honk to get the operator to open the garage door to the underground parking lot in the building where I work and nothing but a faintly audible sputter came out of the horn.

I had read on other forums about Stebel failures, but heard nothing on MV so I went ahead with the purchase and the install.

Does anyone have any insight?

In total since the installation last week, I honked the horn maybe six times, twice because of need and 4 times to show off to family members Laughing emoticon

The instruction manual warns sternly to mount the horn within 5 degrees of vertical, which I endeavored to do within the confines of the leg shield. I think I succeeded, but if I was off and the horn was at 7 degrees could it be that sensitive to variations from the vertical plane?

The garage entrance slopes downward, so with the scoot angled down, that would throw off the vertical for the horn.

Any thoughts? Worst case I'll take the horn back and exchange it for a loud conventional horn. What a shame though, what a great horn it is (when it works).
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I spend way to much time here, and read most if not all Stebel threads. There haven't been a lot of failure threads that I can remember. They are quite a few of us, on the other hand, who've had them installed for a couple of years now without problems.

It may not be the horn....did you check wiring and connections?

If I did have a catastrophic failure I'd install the same horn again!
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The Stebel horn does not like water. Have you washed your scooter recently, or has it sat out where water could enter the horn cover?

From an earlier post ...
michael_h wrote:
Water entering a Stebel and causing failure is a known problem with that horn.

From Webbikeworld :
Quote:
Reports have indicated that any water that enters the horn can also cause it to fail.
I've seen recommendations that you should try and mount the horn more downwards to limit the water entering. I've assumed that the horncast cover provided much of the protection needed.

Hopefully, drying out the horn will cause it to work again. If not, then you may need to disassemble and replace.
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The only time I had my Stebel make a faintly audible sputter was during initial installation. I had attached the wires in reverse. Seeing as your horn did work properly, I don't see this as being a problem for you.

If you had blown the relay, or the in-line fuse, the horn would have stopped, and not sputtered.
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I would check the wiring, mine stopped working a month after I installed it. granted I didn't get a faint sputter but after inspection, 2 actually. I found the ground wasn't connected as well as it should have been.
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The sound it made may have been more of a whirring than a sputter. With the FF on, the motor idling, a car behind me, and the echo from the garage entrance, plus my 55+ hearing, it's hard to be more precise.

Water can't be an issue, unless condensation needed to be factored in. Haven't washed the Vespa, and there's been no rain. I did ride through a patch of wet pavement this morning but there was no actual water on the ground or spray. Besides it worked normally just a few minutes earlier.

I should be able to test the horn with my 12 volt car battery charger. I'd be very happy to find a faulty connection since that's easy to fix. My concern is that I installed the horn specifically for the safety aspect. If it turns out to be unreliable, it completely defeats the purpose.

The horn is wired as suggested on MV: direct positive and negative lines from the battery, fuse on the positive line at the battery, relay on the positive line to the horn (terminals 30 and 87) with the relay coil connected to the original Vespa horn terminal wires (i.e. those spade connectors were the ones directly connected to the OEM Vespa horn and they're now connected to terminals 85 and 86 of the horn relay).

I'll try again at lunch time and see what I get.

Otherwise I'll be looking for recommendations for other loud horns.
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The horn itself is probably okay. I've dealt with a lot of horn problems on a lot of motorcycles over the years. Usually, the symptom you described points to a connection that is not tight (worked loose or not crimped tight enough to hold a solid connection) or a weak battery. If your battery is okay, the first place to look is at the ground connection but check every connection for tightness.
Please let us know what you find.
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I've done a Stebel one-piece and a two-piece install and I believe the whirring sound is the spinning of the compressor tubine which generates the air (compressed) to drive to the horn. It sounds that there is a lack of compressed air going to the horn.

1. Did you install in two pieces (split) ; air compressor separated from horn with tubing connecting both? If yes, the tubing used could be disconnected or leaking.

2. If it was not a split install check the horn housing to insure there is not a crack / leak that is not allowing from compressed air to get to the horn.

Hope this helps!
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My vote is wiring as well. The Stebel Nautilus has such a large inrush current, I could easily believe that any potential fault in the wiring would be quickly exploited. What gauge wire did you use? What size fuse?
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davidmasse wrote:
The sound it made may have been more of a whirring than a sputter. With the FF on, the motor idling, a car behind me, and the echo from the garage entrance, plus my 55+ hearing, it's hard to be more precise.

Water can't be an issue, unless condensation needed to be factored in. Haven't washed the Vespa, and there's been no rain. I did ride through a patch of wet pavement this morning but there was no actual water on the ground or spray. Besides it worked normally just a few minutes earlier.

I should be able to test the horn with my 12 volt car battery charger. I'd be very happy to find a faulty connection since that's easy to fix. My concern is that I installed the horn specifically for the safety aspect. If it turns out to be unreliable, it completely defeats the purpose.

The horn is wired as suggested on MV: direct positive and negative lines from the battery, fuse on the positive line at the battery, relay on the positive line to the horn (terminals 30 and 87) with the relay coil connected to the original Vespa horn terminal wires (i.e. those spade connectors were the ones directly connected to the OEM Vespa horn and they're now connected to terminals 85 and 86 of the horn relay).

I'll try again at lunch time and see what I get.

Otherwise I'll be looking for recommendations for other loud horns.
You are getting a sound so power must be reaching the horn. If it was working fine before, then you must have installed it properly at the outset.

Some people had separated their Stebel and used aquarium tubing as an air line from the compressor to the horn. If something like that failed, I imagine that you could see a reduction in sound.

Testing the horn directly from a 12v source is a good way to see if the problem is in the wiring, or the horn itself. It could be both (unlikely, but possible), but at least you will know if the horn works.

It looks like this will be a process of elimination.

For what it is worth, comments about the Stebel horn failing comes up when you google search the topic. Keep in mind, that a lot of time, the horn is exposed to the elements. As louisq has pointed out, we don't see many reports of the Stebel failing after installation on a Vespa. I have always attributed that to the fact that they are well protected from the elements when placed in the legshield.

If you figure out what the problem is, please post it so that we can help others out in the future.
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jess wrote:
My vote is wiring as well. The Stebel Nautilus has such a large inrush current, I could easily believe that any potential fault in the wiring would be quickly exploited. What gauge wire did you use? What size fuse?
So you are thinking exposed wiring or a faulty connection that is not allowing enough current to reach the horn?
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michael_h wrote:
jess wrote:
My vote is wiring as well. The Stebel Nautilus has such a large inrush current, I could easily believe that any potential fault in the wiring would be quickly exploited. What gauge wire did you use? What size fuse?
So you are thinking exposed wiring or a faulty connection that is not allowing enough current to reach the horn?
Yeah, similar to the issue people are reporting with the connector in the engine compartment melting.

Or it could just be a defective Stebel unit. Not really sure.
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I vote for wiring. I experienced that when I installed on a BMW. I found that an old crimp in the MC wiring was corroded. I cut it off and replaced it and it was fine.

By the way I think you will need some tubing better than aquarium tube. There is already a small pause between the time you hit the horn button and when you hear the blast. That is the pressure building up from the compressor. The thin walls of the aquarium tubing will "balloon" absorbing some initial pressure and causing more lag. Also that tubing is really cheap and not intended to resist any real pressure. The only time I divided the horn I used some fuel line I had around, and kept it as short as possible.
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Tor2ga wrote:
By the way I think you will need some tubing better than aquarium tube. There is already a small pause between the time you hit the horn button and when you hear the blast. That is the pressure building up from the compressor. The thin walls of the aquarium tubing will "balloon" absorbing some initial pressure and causing more lag. Also that tubing is really cheap and not intended to resist any real pressure. The only time I divided the horn I used some fuel line I had around, and kept it as short as possible.
I'm not sure that the person who did the separated Stebel actually used aquarium tubing or not. I just remember that it was suggested. Good for the others to know if they are considering a similar project!
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davidmasse wrote:
I should be able to test the horn with my 12 volt car battery charger.
I doubt very much indeed that any normal car charger will work the horn. It has a very high starting current.
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To answer one question, the horn was installed as a single unit so there's no hose installation issue. I considered splitting the unit to make sure that the compressor could be installed perfectly vertically (not really possible behind the horn cover) but was satisfied that the horn looked to my naked eye to be pretty vertical, so I left it intact and never made an attempt to disassemble it. It's possible that there could be an internal air leakage issue, but it's extremely unlikely.

Read on, it's a little bit of a mystery. I'm beginning to think I imagined that it didn't honk this morning.

I took the bike for a ride at lunch.

I tested the horn in the garage after letting the Vespa idle for 20 seconds or so, and presto! (or WHAAAAAAAA!!!) it worked like a charm.

I thought it might be a loose connection as many of you have guessed so I went for a nice indulgent ride. Montreal has notoriously bad roads, and I went over a good number of ruts, bumps and holes and after each test the horn worked flawlessly. It may yet be a loose connection, but I won't know until I open things up and do some wiggling and tugging.

I thought it might be the angle issue, since the garage ramp has a good pitch to it. Montreal has a mountain in the middle and we have some very nice steep grades. I found the steepest places I could and tested, and it always worked well.

So the loose connection seems a good bet. The whole thing is electro-mechanical, so it's not as if there is a software bug in it.

I'll check my connections on the weekend and in the meantime I'll test often.
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Missed a point about the wiring.

The positive (red) wire is 12 gauge I believe, while the ground (black) wire I added is smaller, 18 gauge if I'm not mistaken. I purchased the wire at an automotive supply outlet (Canadian Tire) and in the electrical section there were no other choices. All the connections I made are either crimped to spade connectors or joined by marr connectors (I twisted until my fingers hurt and then put electrical tape on top for weather proofing), nothing was soldered.

If there is a loose connection it would have to be among the four spade connectors on the relay, or the two on the horn itself. The connections at the battery are crimped ring connectors directly on the battery posts, but those are really solid.

If I find that there is a little too much wiggle of the spade connector on the terminal post, any suggestions?
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If looking for different options take a look at this thread.

The 300 got a new horn today and it's not a Stebel !
⚠️ Last edited by VEZPA on UTC; edited 1 time
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Use a voltmeter on the horn terminals when energized to see if you're getting proper voltage when operating. You may have a defective electrical connection someplace.
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Inkstick wrote:
I would check the wiring, mine stopped working a month after I installed it. granted I didn't get a faint sputter but after inspection, 2 actually. I found the ground wasn't connected as well as it should have been.
+1, my relay connector vibrated loose.
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VEZPA wrote:
If looking for different options take a look at this thread.

The 300 got a new horn today and it's not a Stebel !
Vezpa is on the marketing payroll of Blazer Highway Blaster. He brings this link up in every Stebel Thread

Seriously though, it is probably a good horn and probably time Vezpa wrote a formal product review on it Razz emoticon
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davidmasse wrote:
Missed a point about the wiring.

The positive (red) wire is 12 gauge I believe, while the ground (black) wire I added is smaller, 18 gauge if I'm not mistaken.

If I find that there is a little too much wiggle of the spade connector on the terminal post, any suggestions?
*You need a very solid ground to make that horn work properly all the time. Sounds like you put a ground wire that is too small a gauge. I would change it to a much heavier wire.

*If there's too much wiggle on a spade connector, crimp it tighter so it has zero wiggle.
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Boulty wrote:
VEZPA wrote:
If looking for different options take a look at this thread.

The 300 got a new horn today and it's not a Stebel !
Vezpa is on the marketing payroll of Blazer Highway Blaster. He brings this link up in every Stebel Thread

Seriously though, it is probably a good horn and probably time Vezpa wrote a formal product review on it Razz emoticon
I wish I was on their payroll but I have nothing personal to gain from posting that link besides a possible good feeling I may have helped someone here on the MV forums.

When I find something that works this good, is cheap (1/2 the price of similar products) and can save MV members time and headache when doing an install I pretty much make it my job to help others out. Its what this forum was intended to do. This thing works so good and is so loud I installed the same horn in both or my parents 150S scoots and on MV member drkahn LxV 150. People can make their own decisions but I want them to know there ARE alternatives out there.
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My stebel will intermitantly sound only one tone initially. That is to say that the low tone takes a fraction of a second to kick in on occasion. Seems to be related to cold weather. My GFs' works flawlessly. If either was to fail I would reorder. I like it that much. Sometimes shit fails. Easy enough to test once you get at it.
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VEZPA wrote:
(1/2 the price of similar products)
and half the sound...but you can make up for it.... Razz emoticon
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VEZPA wrote:
Boulty wrote:
VEZPA wrote:
If looking for different options take a look at this thread.

The 300 got a new horn today and it's not a Stebel !
Vezpa is on the marketing payroll of Blazer Highway Blaster. He brings this link up in every Stebel Thread

Seriously though, it is probably a good horn and probably time Vezpa wrote a formal product review on it Razz emoticon
I wish I was on their payroll but I have nothing personal to gain from posting that link besides a possible good feeling I may have helped someone here on the MV forums.

When I find something that works this good, is cheap (1/2 the price of similar products) and can save MV members time and headache when doing an install I pretty much make it my job to help others out. Its what this forum was intended to do. This thing works so good and is so loud I installed the same horn in both or my parents 150S scoots and on MV member drkahn LxV 150. People can make their own decisions but I want them to know there ARE alternatives out there.
I did post with a wink and a smile.
Your promotion of the Blazer does just what you have said - offers an alternative and communicates your high level of satisfaction with the non-Stebel product.
Good stuff Vezpa and as you say it is one of many things this forum was intended for.
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Oh, by the way. The vertical mounting direction is somewhat of a red herring. They want it mounted vertically with the mouths of the horns downward to prevent water from running into the actual noise making part of the horn. I mounted a Nautilus in my wife's LX150 completely upside down. It works fine and we just avoid getting it wet.

I was a little suspicious of the ground to chassis so I ran a separate heavy wire back to the battery neg. A poor ground would reduce the function.

Here is a question for the installers: I wanted to put a Nautilus in my GTS250 behind the horn cast, but that damned little vestigial light protrudes back into the space I need. Can I remove that light and replace it with something? I know that a 300 horn cast will fit, but I don't like that solution.
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Tor2ga wrote:
Oh, by the way. The vertical mounting direction is somewhat of a red herring. They want it mounted vertically with the mouths of the horns downward to prevent water from running into the actual noise making part of the horn. I mounted a Nautilus in my wife's LX150 completely upside down. It works fine and we just avoid getting it wet.

I was a little suspicious of the ground to chassis so I ran a separate heavy wire back to the battery neg. A poor ground would reduce the function.

Here is a question for the installers: I wanted to put a Nautilus in my GTS250 behind the horn cast, but that damned little vestigial light protrudes back into the space I need. Can I remove that light and replace it with something? I know that a 300 horn cast will fit, but I don't like that solution.
I think you can just take the bulb out altogether or jam a tiny LED light in there that takes up no room behind the horncast. I wish I could help you out more but I've never had the chance to look at the back of a 250 horncast and my 300 Super is completely different.
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My Stebel failed in under a month, probably from water ingestion. It made only a pitiful duck whirr after failing.
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I think that if you were afraid of water intrusion you could pull a plastic bag over the horn. That shouldn't muffle the sound appreciably because the bag is thin.
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I can see how in a good downpour water would make it through the horn cover to the horn opening.

From there, assuming that the horn is vertically mounted, could the rush of incoming air force the water upstream into the horn?

I'm thinking that it couldn't because there's nowhere for the air to go inside the horn. The horn is like a nautilus shell that just gets smaller and smaller and ultimately is blocked entirely by the compressor.

I really don't think that rain water could make its way into the horn from the air intake on the other side of the compressor because a) the orifice points straight down, b) it's relatively small, and c) it's over to the left (if you're in the saddle, right if you're facing the scoot) of the horn cover opening, so not in the least exposed to a forceful airflow laden with water. It does suck though, of course.

As others have pointed out, maybe the shelter of the legshield explains why there may be fewer Stebel failures in scoots than motorcycles.

If rain ingestion remains a possibility, perhaps hanging a plastic flap (for instance cut from a vinyl report cover or a vinyl spiral notebook cover) in a way that would be normally closed by the force of air, for instance hinged from the horn cover, or hinged from the horn trumpet body, would solve the problem.
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2010 Vespa GTS 300, 2007 Vespa GTS 250, 2007 Vespa GTV, 2010 Stella 4T #3, and a bunch of broke down vintage scoots
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If the horn gets very wet, it could suck water in through the air intake when it's used, although I think it would need to be sitting in a puddle to suck in enough water to seriously damage it. I'm not sure how much it would take though, I haven't tried. I suspect the water would either damage the air pump or the reed in the horn, due to the resistance/force that would be involved with moving water instead of air. If you're really worried about water though, the horn does come with a plastic bit that can be inserted into the air intake, which has a nozzle that a tube can be connected to, which can then be routed to a somewhere else where it won't suck in water.
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UTC quote
davidmasse wrote:
Missed a point about the wiring.

The positive (red) wire is 12 gauge I believe, while the ground (black) wire I added is smaller, 18 gauge if I'm not mistaken. I purchased the wire at an automotive supply outlet (Canadian Tire) and in the electrical section there were no other choices. All the connections I made are either crimped to spade connectors or joined by marr connectors (I twisted until my fingers hurt and then put electrical tape on top for weather proofing), nothing was soldered.
Two major problems:
Both wires need to be 12 ga., you're going to melt down on a long beep
The Marr connectors need to go, that where your problem is.
OP
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StooterBoy wrote:
davidmasse wrote:
Missed a point about the wiring.

The positive (red) wire is 12 gauge I believe, while the ground (black) wire I added is smaller, 18 gauge if I'm not mistaken. I purchased the wire at an automotive supply outlet (Canadian Tire) and in the electrical section there were no other choices. All the connections I made are either crimped to spade connectors or joined by marr connectors (I twisted until my fingers hurt and then put electrical tape on top for weather proofing), nothing was soldered.
Two major problems:
Both wires need to be 12 ga., you're going to melt down on a long beep
The Marr connectors need to go, that where your problem is.
Thanks for that. I get the issue with the smaller gauge ground wire, but what's the problem with Marr connectors?

How should splices be done if not Marrs? Crimped butt connectors? Soldered splices?
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I used crimp connectors and then added solder to the ends of the wires to give an extra secure connection. I would agree that the thin ground wire is probably the main cause of your troubles, although the twisted wires under the Marr connectors also won't make as solid a contact as soldering or crimping the connectors would. My biggest concern with Marr connectors is that when the adhesive on the electrical tape gets old and peels off, the connectors could simply fall off, after bouncing around inside the frame for months or years. If the connection on the positive lead from the battery touches the frame, it'll quickly become one long heating element that will melt or burn anything it touches, which may just catch your entire bike on fire. Marr connectors might be acceptable for wiring inside a house that doesn't move, but you don't want to use them for any kind of automotive applications. Go to your local hardware store, get a wire crimping tool, 12 gauge crimp spade connectors, a soldering iron, some solder, and a length of 12 gauge wire to run a new ground. Sure, it'll be a pain to open the bike up and make the repairs, but that should get your horn working properly and could possibly save your bike from eventual self destruction!
OP
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bagel wrote:
I used crimp connectors and then added solder to the ends of the wires to give an extra secure connection. I would agree that the thin ground wire is probably the main cause of your troubles, although the twisted wires under the Marr connectors also won't make as solid a contact as soldering or crimping the connectors would. My biggest concern with Marr connectors is that when the adhesive on the electrical tape gets old and peels off, the connectors could simply fall off, after bouncing around inside the frame for months or years. If the connection on the positive lead from the battery touches the frame, it'll quickly become one long heating element that will melt or burn anything it touches, which may just catch your entire bike on fire. Marr connectors might be acceptable for wiring inside a house that doesn't move, but you don't want to use them for any kind of automotive applications. Go to your local hardware store, get a wire crimping tool, 12 gauge crimp spade connectors, a soldering iron, some solder, and a length of 12 gauge wire to run a new ground. Sure, it'll be a pain to open the bike up and make the repairs, but that should get your horn working properly and could possibly save your bike from eventual self destruction!
Allright, makes good sense. So it's back into the scoot I go to fix up the wiring job. A slight pain, but should be easy enough.

Besides, I'll be able to retrieve the screw I lost. On the weekend I installed a beeper for the turn signals, and when I was putting the last screw back on the headset (the one right under the headlamp) I managed to drop the screw. So of course it went right into the legshield like a token into a Vegas slot machine and down under the floorboard. That's the third time that has happened. What are the odds it'll be the last?
OP
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BTW, the horn has not failed since that one incident.
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Grievance Farmer
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michael_h wrote:
Hi. I was curious what you were referring to when you posted
louisq wrote:
OMFG!

Troll..... ROFL emoticon
in Stebel Nautilus failure
I posted that in the stebel thread intentionally. And with ROFLMAO! It's hysterical. The OP has a momentary failure of his horn. Refers to other forums where the horn has failed and declares "what a great horn it is (when it works)."

Vezpa, predictably rolls forward and takes his pot shot at Stebel. 6 of us jump forward to defend our sacred cow, and the OP ends up admitting it happened once and never again.

I found that hysterical and the funniest sort of unintentional troll.
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That was me
Thanks for the laugh
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Molto Verboso
Belvoir Wine Team RC (Buckfast Commando) ,Rusty Sheriff's Badge MCC, 07 ET4 ,07 Piaggio X8
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Molto Verboso
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UTC quote
michael_h wrote:
The Stebel horn does not like water. Have you washed your scooter recently, or has it sat out where water could enter the horn cover?

From an earlier post ...
michael_h wrote:
Water entering a Stebel and causing failure is a known problem with that horn.

From Webbikeworld :
Quote:
Reports have indicated that any water that enters the horn can also cause it to fail.
I've seen recommendations that you should try and mount the horn more downwards to limit the water entering. I've assumed that the horncast cover provided much of the protection needed.

Hopefully, drying out the horn will cause it to work again. If not, then you may need to disassemble and replace.
I have a rubber flap cut from an old inner tube fitted to both my air horn trumpets and this stops water or dew getting in take the top off the compressor and clean the mica vanes , then lightly oil them making sure to fit them the right way or it will take time to bed them in
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