I am bringing a rough 1964 spaceliner deluxe back to life and need some help. the pics show what i have. It looks like the wiring is original but can someone tell me if there is a wiring diagram anywhere i can use to verify. is anything missing for the horn circuit? the rivet pulled through the panel, it and the horn button were in the tank when i removed it. where does the horn attach? what bulbs does the light take as they were missing with the lens (yeah i know good luck on the lens
). I would like to return it to original. Is there anywhere else on the web I could go to for help. THANKS FOR ANY HELP
Just a few general notes to add: the headlight bulbs are 2.47 volt (or 2.5 volt nominally), 0.3 amp Miniature Edison Screw base incandescent bulbs, industry interchange #14. They're not too hard to find on-line (one example is
here), but read any listing for them carefully to be sure the specs are correct. (I was browsing for them in Amazon just now, and the number of completely-wrong listings for them was staggering: wrong photo, wrong specs, wrong bulb type, you name it.)
They usually have a 10mm round glass globe, although I see that 1000bulbs.com has a #14 bulb with a slightly larger globe: 13.5mm instead (
here). While that looks good for a vintage headlight, I notice its filament support is taller as well, which would change the focal length of the reflector in the headlight, and the overall bulb height in the socket is taller, too, so you'd want to watch out for any clearance problems behind the lens when assembling.
Vintage versions of the #14 bulb that you find in older bike accessories (
e.g. the Schwinn ball headlights or their dual-bulb Sting-Ray taillight) can be identified by a blue insulator on the filament support inside. Swan was one major supplier back in the day, so you may see their name ink-stamped on the side of the bulb base.
The electric horn may still work, but you will need to thoroughly clean every wiring connection along the way to be sure that it gets full voltage, as those little things are power hogs. If you've done all that and it will click but not honk properly, try the diaphragm adjustment screw, which is that rusty slotted screw on the left edge, with a locknut on the base to keep it in position. Back off the locknut, then turn the screw no more than 1/4 turn at a time in either direction to see if the horn will honk a little better. If you find a sweet spot, re-secure the locknut to keep it that way.
You'll need strong batteries for this, Alkaline at minimum, as (besides the horn) this design of headlight has the two bulbs burning in parallel, but once it's all cleaned up, you should be able to get it going again. Good luck.
