Dinky Toyota Horns and What to do About IT!

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Anyone out there tired of their dinky sounding Toyota horn?

Here in crazy SO. CA. the right horn can save your life!:smilies27


~Any Idea's on what to use?

~Has anyone installed a more powerful horn?

~What did you use and how did you do it?



I've read somewhere that Toyota wires up their horns funny and it's not just a simple plug in and go.

Personally I don't like the dinky air horns either because there always seems to be a delay with them. What about a Buick Roadmaster 4 Note Horn?!!

 

[Nullifier]

you mean the horn has to work LOL! Mine hasn't worked since I got the truck. Although I have been thinking about hooking up a viar horn kit. Mainly so I can start submitting to the hornblasters web site LOL!

 

[Scott Brady]

I have heard good things about the Hella units.

I think Pangaea can get them

 

[edgear]

My buddy rigged up a loud air horn on his '85 Toyota pickup, but he kept the stock horn as well. I'm not sure exactly how he has it set up, but I know he can switch back & forth between the two, depending on the traffic situation. Kinda nice having options.


on a side note, I saw a video on the web where some guys switched some wires in their friend's car so that the horn was activated by the brake pedal. I guess they filmed him driving for the first time without him knowing about the "mod." He (and the traffic around him) didn't seem to happy about it. Good 'ol college pranks....

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

I have the Hella, um, not sure which model, but they're the non-air-horn (no plastic trumpets), metal disk style horn, on the FJ40. Much louder than the factory horn, and very durable, but still sort of a beepbeep tone. Originally I had a set of triple Hella air horns, and let me tell you, those things were evil. No one ignored that sound. They finally oxidized and disintegrated, but it took ten years or more. I'd like to go back to them, and I'm planning to install a set on Roseann's Tacoma.

I found it made a big difference in effect to make sure the trumpets actually pointed out at traffic, rather than in toward the engine.

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

I found this note written by Scott Wilson who used to have a 4Runner like mine. Well....mine is NOT like his AT ALL!....hehe

Anyway.....this talks about the funny wire up I tried to mention above.

So will a Hella.....or any horn other than a Toyota Horn, be hard to wire up like the chevy horn noted below?





http://www.barneymc.com/toy_root/techtalk/electric/horn.htm

Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:30:37 -0800
From: Scott Wilson
Subject: HORN WIRING

I AM HAVING TROUBLE WIRING IT INTO MY TRUCK.CAN
> ANYONE OUT THERE TELL ME HOW ONE WOULD GO ABOUT THIS? KEEP ON TRUCKIN'
> JEFF K. EDMONTON .

First off, WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT US?

I also have a Chevy horn in my 4Runner (1988). That is until tomorrow.
I ordered the Hella twin air horn set. Commuting will never be the
same.

Anyway...The reason your having trouble wiring it up is this. The
toyota horns use two connectors (one + and one - ). The + is always hot
(it always has 12volts). When you hit the horn button, the horn is
grounded and makes noise.

The Chevy horn has only one connector. It is for the + (positive). The
negative connection is made when you mount the horn. The case grounds
itself when it touches metal.

So, you'll have to use your imagination to mount this...here are some
steps to follow.
1) Your going to need to connect the Positive wire from the truck to
the connector on the Chevy horn.
2) The negative wire from the truck you'll need to connect to the case
of the horn.
3) This is the last, and hardest part. You need to mount the horn so
that no part of the case (of the horn) touches any metal part of the
truck. To mount mine I used a very short plastic sleve around the
bolt of the horn, along with some plastic washers. That way when
you attatch horn (using the bolt) The case is not actually
touching the metal on the truck. This is easier done that described.
You may decide this is just too much work and go get a horn with a
case that is not the ground (or negative).

To make my installation trickier, once I got my horn mounted and working
properly I tried to reinstall the grill. I have an SR5, so my grill has
the chrome plating on the plastic grill. You guesses it! It conducts
electricity really well. So I tried to put the grill on, and the horn
went off. I ended up using some plastic tape on the grill to insulate
it from the case of the horn. Overall a pretty lame way to put in a
horn. Plus it doesn't sound all that much better than what Toyota had
in there. I'm sure my Hella air horns will be a significant
improvement.

Scott
- --
Scott A. Wilson

 

[BajaXplorer]

I'm using the hella horns. They're very loud and basically plug and play.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

BajaXplorer: Yup, those are the ones I have too.

Scenic WonderRunner: I believe all the Hella horns have a ground wire, so hookup should be easy. Otherwise you just have to mount the horn to metal to ground it - also easy.

 

[Steve Curren]

I have a Jeep and the horn is as the Toyota. I found an air horn that's a compact until that I was able to fit under the hood, it is at Girot's Garage . com, product # 77839 and runs $39.99, beats the stock one and it was easy to hook up.

 

[IggyB]

I kept drowning the stock Nissan horn.

Replaced it with 2 horns out of a wrecked Caddillac for 5 bucks.

Nice and loud. Plug and play

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

IggyB, you know, those of us who research for weeks to find a sophisticated solution to a problem really find it annoying when someone like yourself accomplishes the same thing for five dollars.

 

[IggyB]

Thank you

They have that old GM authoritative sound. Just be careful with the stock fuse size, 2 horns are drawing more juice. I can lay into the horns for 10 to 15 seconds before the 10 amp fuse goes.

 

[+ d]

I can lay into the horns for 10 to 15 seconds before the 10 amp fuse goes.

sounds like you need a relay!

 

[IggyB]

But it also keeps me from going berzerk with the horn :ar15:

 

[91xlt]

Anyone out there tired of their dinky sounding Toyota horn?

Here in crazy SO. CA. the right horn can save your life!:smilies27


~Any Idea's on what to use?

~Has anyone installed a more powerful horn?

~What did you use and how did you do it?



I've read somewhere that Toyota wires up their horns funny and it's not just a simple plug in and go.

Personally I don't like the dinky air horns either because there always seems to be a delay with them. What about a Buick Roadmaster 4 Note Horn?!!

Buy a FORD!!!....:hehe: :hehe: :hehe: