Horn Installation Walk Through

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Feb 04, 2003 1:32 pm

UPDATE:Do to recurring problems with image hosting, the online version of the walkthrough is being removed, and is currently being converted to a PDF document. I will post a link to the PDF version here when available.Thanks for your understanding and patience.PDF document link below:http://genvibe.ragingfish.com/horn-install.pdf

DopeVibeGT · Post by **DopeVibeGT** » Tue Feb 04, 2003 9:25 pm

Great instructions and pics! Thanks.

LocDog · Post by **LocDog** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 3:08 am

I noticed that you used a regular nut to attach one of the horns... you're gonna loose it.. it might end up vibrating off. The original bolt that was used with the factory horn has "lock-tight" (I think that what its called) on it so it wont get loose.You should replace the nut with a nylon lock nut.

KSNeptune · Post by **KSNeptune** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 4:07 am

Or he could use lock washers, although I think he did.My suggestion would be to paint the shiny bolt head black. I like seeing the red horns through the grill, but the bolt head stands out glaringly.Great How-To, though. Thanks.How do the horns sound? (.mpg file, perhaps?)Who makes them, and where did you get them?How much did they cost?KSNeptune.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 6:12 am

quote:Or he could use lock washers, although I think he did.My suggestion would be to paint the shiny bolt head black. I like seeing the red horns through the grill, but the bolt head stands out glaringly.Great How-To, though. Thanks.How do the horns sound? (.mpg file, perhaps?)Who makes them, and where did you get them?How much did they cost?KSNeptune.I did use a locking washer, it seems to have held very well! I wasn't able to find a locking nut that would fit this size bolt.The horns are made by Hella. They're called Supertone horns. They're built very sturdy, and are very reliable. I paid $55 with free shipping on ebay...a STEAL! I think they retail around $80...This is the best sound file I was able to obtain...it was really hard, because these horns are SO loud, they kept just blowing out the mic, and all you heard was loud noise...I couldn't do a long test either, didn't wanna freak the neighbors...but this is a test from about 10-15 feet away...I'll get a longer, better sounding one, tomorrow.

Attached files hellas.wav (15.7 KB)

KSNeptune · Post by **KSNeptune** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 12:29 pm

quote:This is the best sound file I was able to obtain...it was really hard, because these horns are SO loud, they kept just blowing out the mic, and all you heard was loud noise...I couldn't do a long test either, didn't wanna freak the neighbors...but this is a test from about 10-15 feet away...Thanks. It's loud enough to hear the pitches and tone impact.I'm looking for some more musical horns, but not in a rush to find them. Not having a working horn in my last vehicle, I've nearly learned to completely ignore any urge to use a car horn. But for the rare occasion when a horn NEEDS to be sounded to avert an accident, I want horms that won't be ignored or lost in the sea of other sounds around. You know... a sound that pierces all material between my car and the offending persons ears. That they hear even if they are deaf. A sounds that moves the very core of their fear impulse center. Perhaps that of a striking snake, only 100 times as loud.KSNeptune

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 1:46 pm

ROFL!Well, sounds like you really need the airhorn off a semi truck. Those things scare the CRAP out of me, even from a mile away.The Hellas I installed are WICKED LOUD!!! Honestly, even outside, they are so loud, it sounds like they're echoing...But here is a good selection of various car horns: Click for horns I would recommend Hella...these are the most solidly built horns I've seen... I PERSONALLY would avoid FIAMM...other users have said good things about them, but I PERSONALLY was very unsatisfied with their horns that I originally tried. I emphasize these as personal experiences and opinons.If you're interested in the Hella Supertones I have myself, check ebay...do a search for hella supertone...I've seen them on there several times...It's manufactuer #85315 or #85115Also, the following net retailers have them: California Car Cover Company Susquehanna MotorSports autosupermart.com Off Road Warehouse 4x4 Connection Griot's Garage

Geo · Post by **Geo** » Mon Mar 31, 2003 7:04 am

Sorry to bring up an old topic, but I am seriously considering this mod for my Vibe (have a spare set of these horns lying around in the garage, was gonna be put on another car, but they wouldn't fit!) but all the pictures are gone!!! ragingfish - anyway you can put them back up? Or does anyone else have the pics? Just wondering ...Thanks

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Mon Mar 31, 2003 12:51 pm

Thanks for bringing that to my attention Geo! I changed web hosts, and forgot I used the prior as the host for those pics. Give me a day or two, I'll get them back up!

Triton · Post by **Triton** » Mon Mar 31, 2003 11:24 pm

I look forward to seeing the pics. I am going to be installing these horns soon as well. From what I understand, they sound awesome.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Mon Mar 31, 2003 11:47 pm

The Hellas? THEY ROCK MAN!

Geo · Post by **Geo** » Tue Apr 01, 2003 12:11 am

Woohoo! Thanks a lot, ragingfish! :DI can't wait to start doin' stuff to my Vibe

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Apr 02, 2003 1:52 am

Ok, my computer is acting up...can anyone tell me if the images are loading? I know one of them only half-loads. But that's cause the file is corrupt. Unfortunately, I lost that pic, so you'll have to imagine what I mean.

Geo · Post by **Geo** » Wed Apr 02, 2003 2:04 am

Everything is looking good on this end!!!Thanks

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Apr 02, 2003 5:59 am

Frosty has just notified me the pics are gone again. I SWEAR they were there an hour ago! ROFL! Please bear with me, I'm working hard to get this thread up and running again.

Geo · Post by **Geo** » Tue Apr 15, 2003 11:16 am

Ragingfish:I just installed my horns tonight and (removed) they are so awesome!!!!!!!!!It took a while (actual doing stuff was like an hour, but then there was searching for tools, talking, other distractions going on....) but the effort was well worth it. The sound is so LOUD and nice, the car has so much more attitude now. Your pictures and everything helped a lot, only differences I had from it was I used shrink-tubing in some areas, and I might go back eventually and make it look OEM with the wiring for everything. I also used gloss black rustoleum paint to paint the bolts and the horn brackets (mine were silver) so all you see is the red horns floating there in the grill - so excellent!Thanks for the write up, raginfish! I (and I am sure others!) really appreciate it!:D

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Apr 15, 2003 1:50 pm

Yeah, painting the bolt heads and brackets are still on my to-do list...where did you use heat-shrink tubing>

Geo · Post by **Geo** » Tue Apr 15, 2003 4:22 pm

I used the heat shrink where you used the electrical tape. Well, half of where you used electrical tape - didn't have any tubing large enough to go around the whole thing, but when I end up going back and cleaning up the wiring, I am gonna cut off that little connector box wholly, and join the two ends with crimp on male/female connectors. I will then cover that in shrink tubing. I only do that because over time, electrical tape breaks down and this tubing won't, so it's just an extra little safety thing that I wanna keep in there.Painting the bolt heads was easy, just sprayed spraypaint into a box and took an ol brush and put on a couple of layers, took 5 minutes max and the finished look is nice

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Apr 15, 2003 8:57 pm

Good point about the tape...I might have to do that improvement myself!

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sun Jun 01, 2003 7:54 am

quote:I was not able to download the Word Version to install the Hella's.....Raging, could you see what is wrong here?Yeah, this all stems back to when I dropped my web hosting service...gimme a couple hours to sift through the bowels of my pooter and I'll get it back up there for ya!

Triton · Post by **Triton** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 9:29 pm

Horns are installed and sound great! Louder and a lot better sounding than stock. Thanks ragingfish for the awesome instructions!

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 9:30 pm

No problem, glad to help!

Triton · Post by **Triton** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 12:02 pm

Here are a couple of pics of my hors after the install. I used red wire instead of black. I thought it went well with the horns. A nice little accent. From the top.

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Triton · Post by **Triton** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 12:03 pm

From the front.

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Triton · Post by **Triton** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 12:06 pm

From the front at night. The flash makes them show up really well and it also shows off my bright red reflective Pontiac arrow.

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rasermon · Post by **rasermon** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 12:09 pm

Good job Aaron.

Triton · Post by **Triton** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 12:10 pm

But during the day, they are not as easy to see. Overall, this is an easy mod that is well worth the time and money. They sound awesome and put the stock horn to shame.

Attached files

Geo · Post by **Geo** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 12:13 pm

Looks just like mine! :DI'll have to get pics of mine when I get my car back. The only things I did differently was black wire, and I actually painted the mounting brackets and bolts black so they would be invisible when the car is looked at, and no silver would come through in pictures.I love the red circles through the grill, it really looks nice

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:34 am

Turns out I'm going to have to do this install one more time for myself.Was telling silverawd26 my low tone died after I removed the grille of the horn to paint it...not sure what happened.They had also started to rust -- the black inner surface of the horn (where it says hella) and the black part the grill screws to all were rusting...as well as the screws that held them all together.So I'm making a big trip to Boston yesterday, go to use my horn, and only having a high tone, it sounds worse than the stock. Avidly watchin ebay to get me a new set of hellas ASAP.Any thought on something I might be able to put on them to inhibit rust?

Triton · Post by **Triton** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:43 am

That sucks! I hope that doesn't happen.I am either going to get some shrink tubing or electrical tape to cover the contacts.

Triton · Post by **Triton** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 4:13 am

I forgot about the grease Rob. Thanks for the reminder.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 7:14 am

And the worst just got WORSE!!! MY OTHER HORN DIED!!! Went to beep at some a-hole who cut me off today...pushed the horn...silence...nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Not even a peep.Took it to some local delaer in the hopes it would just be a fried relay and I'd still have SOMETHING...but they wouldn't even look at anything because of the aftermarket horns. So essentially, I'm screwed until I can get home, put the stock horn back in, and then track me down some replacement hellas. Could my luck get any worse???

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 7:19 am

I thought it might be the relay that is already on the system...it's located in the fuse box in the engine bay...there's ablack one, a brown one, and another black one...I tried swapping it when I got back to the hoetl with another relay to see if it mattered...it didn't...so either my wiring fried (unlikely) or the horns died (likely).As to whether or not removing the grilles to paint them could've messed smething up, I don't know.Maybe not.I mean, removing the grilles essentially disassembles the entire horn...but there weren't any real parts to it, so I didn't think it could do any damage...but maybe it did???Anyway, when I get the new ones, I'm not touching them...OR, if I paint them, i'm finding a way to do it without removing ANYTHING...zOh, I forgot to mention, this dealer said they'd take out everything htat wasn't stock and gimme a regular horn back...but they couldn't quote me a price, other than "at least $100."I said "SEE YA."

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 7:33 am

quote:Also.. Do you have a test light?The wire harness you broke might or broke off at an connection or something.. Check into it.You mean a continuity tester? That's a negative captain.quote:Hook the horn up to another car or see if a shop can test them...No other cars available (my parents sure as hell won't let me near theirs), no shops I know of. More trouble than it's worth, quite frankly.quote: painted mine without taking the grilles off. It turned out really good too. I'll have to try that next time around.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 7:37 am

quote:I painted the face of them and the mounting brackets.. You can not tell they are red unless you hold them right up to your face and look into them on an angle.. Also, they do go to sleep right?Try it on their car when they are sleeping. Yes, a test light. If you have not done that, you need to.As previously mentioned...more trouble than it's worth. I'll just get new ones...Like I said, these are rusting, so what the hell, get new ones. I've already spent more money on my car than I should've right? Why stop now.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 7:40 am

quote:Well, I hope you find out the horns are the problem. Because if you go to put the new ones on and use the old wiring and they do not work... You will get pretty mad.True. But it won't be a big deal. I'll just sell them to someone else.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 7:46 am

quote: Horns that are used and rusted.. ? OkNo no. If I find out it's the wiring, not the horns, I'll just resell the new horns to someone else, before they ever even get used.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 11:46 am

Trust me, I'm watching ebay like a hawk...I had a shot at a pair tonite, but the subway was really slow, and i missed the end of the auction by 4 minutes! ARGH!Boston was supposed to be a vaction, it's turning out into a major car headache.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 11:53 am

Dude, they're wicked expensive!If I settle for that price, I'd go to Griot's Garage, rumor is he gives you all the wire harnesses, so you don't have to make them...

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:12 pm

I checked with a post from ullbergm, griot's gives you the harnesses.but anyway, i'm gonna try to get them for under 50 still if i can...though having no horn is not preferable, so i can't sit too long...

Triton · Post by **Triton** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 10:33 pm

I put shrink tubing on all of the connections yesterday and put dielectic grease on them as well. Turned out nice. I will try to get some pics this evening.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Thu Jun 19, 2003 2:29 pm

Make sure you made the ground wire that runs from one horn terminal to the mounting crossbar...that is the ground...Also, try swapping the terminals...

Triton · Post by **Triton** » Thu Jun 19, 2003 9:36 pm

Do you maybe have a bum set? I grounded mine to the mounting bolt. It sits right against the crossbar. Here is a pic of the shrink tubing I put on including the stock relay (in blue).

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Geo · Post by **Geo** » Fri Jun 20, 2003 1:12 am

You mentioned that you had the stock relay in blue. I don't think that's right. I think it was just a mounting bracket holder thing for the plug of the original horn.The actual horn relay is in the fuse box (you can see one of those little black boxes actually says "Horn relay" on it. I didn't use the relay that Hella gave with the horns, curious as to if any if you did.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Fri Jun 20, 2003 6:13 am

Just got home...Swapped out the hllas for the stock (never thought I'd have to say that), and all is well. I have a horn again! Quite nerve-wracking driving around boston and having to drive home with no horn...plus, I'm turning around to go to NYC tonite, so I NEED to have a horn in NY!Anyway, will investigate wiring and such perhaps tomorrow or sunday...in the interim, i got something at least...

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 8:41 am

Would you believe it? My replacement hellas came today, and, you guessed it...ONE OF THEM IS DEAD!!!!I can't believe this...I'm never gonna get good horns again if my karma doesn't change damn soon...Just bought, yet a third set, from Griot's Garage. Paying almost $83...but they have a LIFETIME REPLACEMENT policy. If I ever have problems, I can exchange them or return them for credit. Based on my track record with horns, the extra $23 is worth it...

DavidPIL · Post by **DavidPIL** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 4:17 pm

Hello everyone...Ok, I bought a new horn kit (not Hella's, don't hate me). My problem is that I'm not seeing any links to any installation walk-through. I swear I had seen it before but I don't see any links at all now. Maybe I'm imagining things...Anywho... My only problem is in installing the 2nd horn on the left side. I'm sure the walk-through talks about this but will I have to drill a hole through that support beam to attach it or is there some way to bend the attaching bar so that they can be screwed in on top where the 2 empty screw holes reside? Please repost the link so I can follow through your steps.Dave

DavidPIL · Post by **DavidPIL** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 4:39 pm

DavidPIL on MSN

DavidPIL · Post by **DavidPIL** » Wed Jul 02, 2003 9:05 am

Well, I decided to get the FIAMM horns (mainly due to cost and availability). I didn't want to drill into the brace where the Radiator was attached so I decided to mount them on the beam directly behind the bumper. They're secure and the horns are still 10x better and at least 2x louder than the dinky Toyota disk horn. Dave

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DavidPIL · Post by **DavidPIL** » Wed Jul 02, 2003 9:07 am

Here is another look...Dave

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