Air Horns Installed ...

[cknight725]

Took me a while to getting down to taking photos, but here they are. I installed a set of dual-note air horns in the Vibe a few months ago. The worthless motorcycle horn that Toyota spec'd for this car was absolutely a disgrace and had to go as quickly as was possible.I read a number of threads here about replacement FIAMM and Hella electric horns, but I simply didn't like the tone of them, so I went with air horns. The install was pretty simple -- I was able to use the stock mount off the original horn to mount the compressor, and used a couple of 8mm threaded holes in the core support to mount the horns themselves. Summary ShotRight Side DetailLeft Side DetailI used the stock wiring for the (+) side, though the stock horn grounded through its chassis mounted to the radiator core, so I had to make a short wire to ground the compressor to the radiator core. I don't have photos of that stuff, but it should be pretty self-explanatory. The only other mod required was that the fusebox needed a 15A fuse instead of the 10A for the horn. I dispensed with a separate relay with no other problems whatsoever. Keep in mind this install has been in place since June too!

[ragingfish]

I personally don't find it wise to change a 10A fuse to a 15A fuse without upgrading the wiring...

[4X4CHICHI]

I was able to install mine right to the center cross member between the grill and the radiator. you got to love 135dbl.

[BOZACK]

I need to change mine. But to be honest, I haven't actually used mine yet. Well, I did. But that was only a test.

[cknight725]

The stock wiring is more than ample for carrying 12V at 15A. The 10A fuse was used originally because the stock horn had a very low amperage requirement so in order to protect it from a surge that could affect the rest of the system a low amp fuse was used in the horn circuit. Fuses are there to protect the components, not the wiring.

[binary]

Quote, originally posted by cknight725 »The stock wiring is more than ample for carrying 12V at 15A. The 10A fuse was used originally because the stock horn had a very low amperage requirement so in order to protect it from a surge that could affect the rest of the system a low amp fuse was used in the horn circuit. Fuses are there to protect the components, not the wiring.I wouldn't agree - fuses are there to interupt an overload condition before it does further damage. AKA melts/overheats existing wiring, connections,Higher amperage circuits require heavier guage wire, however... the horn circuit is off 99.99% of it's life time. So I wouldn't say cknight's choice to upgrade to a 15amp fuse was a bad one.On topic comment - how does it look from outside the grills? It looks like the red plastic horns would show through.