Grover Stuttertone problem.

dynastar666

We have a set pair Grovers on our tanker that no longer work. For a while they were putting out a pathetic squeal and recently they all together stopped making any noise. I was told it is possibly the diaphragm but after looking them over today and problem shooting we realized you can hear the solenoid clicking but no air is coming out. I would assume if it's just the diaphragm you would be able to hear/feel air moving through the horns. Anybody have any experience with these? I know very little about them.

R. Dodd 10-75 E.L.

the horn is two pieces the front trumpet and the back part. Seperated by the rear mount piece. Loose the two parts and unscrew the back part then tighten the front trumpet part and then test. do this little by little. I just did this on my engine because it sounded like a dying goose

Rofocowboy84

Better yet, admit to the fact that they're dead, buy a new pair, and send the old ones to me, I'll even pay for shipping! Very Happy

dynastar666

R. Dodd 10-75 E.L.

if people played with them then thats the case because i did that when i way trying to figure out which way they were messed up

firecar96

dynastar666

firecar96

The lines that run to the horns , are plastic or metal?

wildwelder87

First thing to check would be the supply line going to the solenoid, then check if the solenoid is actually working. All our trucks here use a manual pull valve, we're old school! Twisted Evil

And you can adjust the tone of the horn(s) higher or lower by screwing the bell/trumpet of the horn in for a higher tone, or out for a lower tone.

dynastar666

The lines are plastic/rubber, the solenoid seems to be working. If the line is taken from the air brakes does it just tap into the compressor and tank for them?

firecar96

It sounds to me like you have a hole in one of the lines. The reason you are not hearing any leaking air is because the tank fills from the brakes which only fill when the engine is running. "I'm assuming. I don't know a ton about air brakes."

What you need to do is remove the air line that connects from the air brake junction box to the air tank and use a compressor to push air through it and listen for leaks, then if none are found, do the same with the line that runs from the air tank to the horn it self.

If you do locate a hole in the line, look around to see if there is somthing close to the line that produces a pretty good amount of heat.

The truck I worked on last week, had a similar problem. You could hear the solenoid click but no air. After a little bit of trouble shooting I found a large hole in the line between the compressor and air tank, right against one of the connections. The compressor was producing more heat than normal which was being transferred across the plastic air line, which eventually became weak and gave way. Being that the department didnt want to replace the compressor, I came up with the solution of installing a steal brake line in place of the plastic one, so it would act like a heat sink and transfer the heat instead of absorbing it. The compressor, steel line and air tank all act as a large heat sink now. I also took apart the compressor and cleaned the air intake which was plugged up with stuff. I figured that was what was producing the heat that weakened the air line but replaced the air line with a steel one just incase.

firecar96

So have you had any luck with the air horns?

wildwelder87

I just thought of something. If the horns do run off the truck's air brake system, and there was a leak, the parking brakes would automatically lock up due to low/no pressure in the system. If the truck's pressure gauge shows it holding then there's not an air leak, they most likely have their own air system or the solenoid could be bad.

911tech

dynastar666

I'm going to work on them today and I'll let you know, it's been a busy week and this is the first free day I've had.

Robert W.

The stutter tones have not been our best friends lately.

On one of the apparatus, with electronic solenoids, they solenoid would click, but it would get stuck closed, so you had to give it a squirt of WD-40 and step on the air horn pedal a couple of times and then it would work. Sometimes people would leave the station and continously step on the pedal until it started working about 1/4 mile down the road.

The other issue we had was with manually activated ones, you would pull the cord, get a small huff of air, but for the most part nothing. You could hold the chain, and you would just hear air moving, and for holding the chain for 10 seconds, you would get a split second of a semi audible horn sound. The problem we came up with for that was the diaphragm, which had become worn, and they only worked if someone had their hand on them and was twisting them.

Our newest apparatus has Hadley's new "emergency horn". They have stutter tones, but this new model produces a "unique noise". It his hard to describe but it is like a really really high pitched stutter tone and I am concerned it will make drivers crap their pants more than anything else. But so far no problems, and they are only about 10" long, so much shorter than the grovers

Hope those situations help.

T Niss

We just had those "new" Hadley''s removed and went back to the Grover Stuttertones because that is what a Fire engine should have (along with a "Q" and power call)!!!!!!

Dennis S

Glad to see that Hadley was tossed. They have always seemed like crappy air horns, cheaply made and sounding no better than a poor truck horn. Wolo has a so called "stutter" horn also, and like almost all Wolo stuff looks cheap, it is made in China, and it is almost as expensive as a real Grover. If you want a stuttertone horn, buy Grover, do not over tighten the bell, or you can damage the diaphragm, and forget the junk. I still believe, that the best air horn, for being both loud and very aggressive, is the Martin Horn 2297, but it costs about what a Q2 costs.

bisho1p

How do you "tune" the grover to get that stuttertone sound. My grover only sounds like the stuttertone if you give a real quick blast, but if you lay on it, it sounds more like a trombone... Shocked

CanonNinja

wildwelder87

Try running 3/8" tubing from the tank to the pull valve/solenoid, then 1/4" from the valve to the horn. That's all you should need, I set mine up that way and it's really loud. It's a model 1024 Grover which is the same size as a Stuttertone(24.5") but it just makes a regular truck horn sound.

bisho1p

dynastar666

After looking everything over and trying everyone's suggestions I think it is the protection valve, now all we need is a new one!

firechief24 · Member Joined: 30 May 2008 Posts: 42 Location: Sayre, PA

911tech

Here is a few:

Sealco

Midland

Midland

Midland

Just match up the one you currently have on the truck, or the part numbers in the cross reference at the bottom of each page. You can also contact the closest Heavy Duty Truck Shop, and they should be able to get one for you.

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