Two horns on my new Sport

[erik]

Some of you may already know this, but while installing my Wolo Bad Boy, I discovered that there are two horns on the Fit. There is a dedicated horn for the alarm and another that only sounds when pressing the horn button. I halted the process until I could get some input form you guys. I'm considering running both positive horn leads to the Bad Boy. Is there anything inherently wrong or dangerous with this idea? I guess I'm concerned that energizing the alarm horn circuit when sound the regular horn will somehow damage the alarm circuit. Anyone have any thoughts?

[manxman]

Erik,
I don't think there is anything wrong or dangerous with the idea as long as you use the Wolo-supplied relay to send full battery power to the horn. However, since the alarm horn is annoying enough to get attention in an alarm situation, and is quiet enough not to be an irritant to neighbors (and crackpots who HATE ALL car alarm signals, everywhere), those are the reasons that I didn't do it.

Also, as often as you will use the alarm-set signal, and as short a burst as the sound is, you will probably put unnecessary wear on the big horn's compressor if you use it for the alarm signal tone.

[erik]

Thanks Dave, I knew you'd have some good input. After thinking about it, I will leave both horns wired in and only use the Wolo for normal horn duties. As it sits right now, I didn't use the relay, but it's not because I didn't want to. The wiring schematic for the horn shows using the relay with a separate switch and specifies that the switch complete the circuit using the negative (or ground) pole of the horn unit.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/erikivy/Fit/Wolo419.jpg

Not being an electrician, I'm not sure how to wire up the relay because the wire I WANT to use to activate the horn is positive (the one originally attached to the stock horn.) Am I missing something obvious? Should I just connect the power line, the one labeled "20 Amp Fuse", to the negative battery post instead of the positive? I doubt it's that simple. :)

[manxman]

Erik,

The switch is your horn button on the steering wheel. Run a length of 12 gauge wire from your pos. post on the battery (use a crimp type ring terminal for this wire, remove the nut on the batt. pos. cable clamp, put on the ring terminal and replace the nut). Splice the 20 A. fuse into the 12 ga. wire, and run enough of the 12 ga. wire to reach your relay (I put my relay zip tied near the right corner of the radiator, tied onto the neg. battery cable, with the fuse easily within reach in case I have to change it out if it blows). Hang the relay with the terminals facing down, and use electrical tape to insulate the terminals that you attach to the relay tabs.

Unplug the single wire that is now attached to your stock horn, and use a RED colored clamp-on in-line splice terminal, and use 18 gauge wire as the extension to attach the now longer "hot" lead from the stock horn wire to the terminal #85 on the horn relay. Do not reattach this wire to your stock horn. It now should run only the Wolo horn.

Then run some 18 or 16 gauge wire from terminal #87 on the relay to the positive tab on the bottom of the Wolo horn. Use the mounting bolt of the Wolo horn as the attachment point for the ground wire coming from the ground tab on the bottom of the horn, and use a crimp-on ring terminal for this ground. They show terminal #86 being connected as a jumper to terminal #30 wich is insane. That would fry the relay. In the text, they explain correctly that term. #86 is connected to ground. I ran a wire from #86 to the battery ground cable which is screwed to the radiator support at the right corner of the radiator. I unscrewed the neg. cable, and used a ring terminal on my relay ground wire to attach it with the same screw.

ALSO, I left my stock horn where it was. I used BOTH of the sheet metal Wolo mounting brackets and attached them to the back of the Wolo horn. I loosened the lower mounting screw that holds the hood latch mechanism to the radiator support, removed the screw (it is a long Torx head screw) and mounted the Wolo horn sheet metala brackets to the front of the latch mechanism housing, using the stock screw. This position aims the horn right out through the upper grille.

If you do not run full battery voltage through the relay to the Wolo horn, the compressor will burn out very quickly. If you use the stock horn "hot" wire to run the Wolo horn, the little 18 gauge stock horn wire will burn out from overload.

This sounds more complicated than it actually is. Automotive wiring is always just heavy enough to do the bare minimum job in each circuit. If you put any more demand on a circuit than the stock design was meant to handle, you will have problems. The Wolo compressor wants more amps than the stock horn would ever use, hence the light gauge stock wiring, and hence the Wolo supplied relay to send full battery power to the horn. You horn button used to send power directly to the stock horn. Now it merely opens the relay (an electrical switch) to send battery power to the bigger Wolo horn.

I hope that you are not completely confused- once you actually DO all of this, it will be clear to you how simple it actually is. The only real PITA for you is having to go out and buy the necessary wires, terminals, and crimping tool if you don't already have them. Buy good tools- you will use them the rest of your life.

[erik]

Dave, what you've said makes perfect sense and I probably should have been able to figure it out on my own. :) With a little luck and daylight, I'll hopefully e able to get it right after work tonight.

Thanks!

[manxman]

Dave, what you've said makes perfect sense and I probably should have been able to figure it out on my own. :) With a little luck and daylight, I'll hopefully e able to get it right after work tonight.

Thanks!
You're welcome. I don't know what your experience level is, so I hope that my elaborate explanation didn't seem to be a superior attitude. Another tip- run your 12 ga. lead from the batt. pos. cable clamp by bending the ring terminal backward, as close to the vertical side of the positive post as you can, so that the wire runs underneath the closed red plastic post cover, and runs across the top of the battery diagonally to the front hold-down rod. Zip tie the wire at several places down the hold-down rod so that absolutely no slack wire is flopping around the engine bay. If that wire ever gets snagged and cut by anything under the hood, sparks, fire, and other disasters are bound to happen. All of the amperage in the battery is just waiting to fry something if it gets the chance.

[lion18938]

Hi guys ~

I'm considering replacing the "meep, meep" stock horn with a more substantial one from the Accord or Civic. I have a P/N 38100-STK-A02 which should do the trick.

My concern is the stock "meep, meep" horn is rated at 3.5 amps, the replacement horn is 4.0 amps. Looking at the fuse configuration, the fuses for the horns in the Fit are rated at 10 amps and 20 amps. I believe that there shouldn't be any problem at all supporting the additional 1/2 amp that the replacement horn will draw but I wanted to run it by you guys before I did it.

Appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Lion

[manxman]

You won't have any problem at all. In mounting higher power horns, those of us who use after-market air horns just installed a 30 amp fuse sired direct to the battery. Your 1/2 amp in crease in power demand with the Accord horn won't make any difference AT ALL with stock wiring and fuse.

[lion18938]

Hi manxman,

Thanks very much for the reply. I didn't think I'd have a problem supporting a 1/2 amp higher draw horn but my experience in life has taught me to always ask questions especially when it comes to electrical items.

Have a great weekend!

Best regards,

Lion

[claymore]

Yep a lot of people use the Accord horn with no problems.