My horn has been out since I bought in 4 months ago. My nearest stealer to get it repaired is 1hr away and I will have to waste a Saturday to get out there. I want to just order an air horn and install it myself to fix the problem.

Anyone done an installation of an air horn before? Seems pretty easy..

this is what Im looking at purchasing...
http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?&SKU=77839

TIA!

 

I have installed air horns before and they are really easy. Get WOLO horns.
Read the Customer Reviews on JC Whitney...very informitive.
I had these and DAMN are they loud...

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/P...967218/c-10101

Just make sure you have a $10.00 Pepboys test light to make sure you have the power or ground correct before you hook them up. Since your are not working at all. The instructions are very easy to follow. Also make sure you have spare fuses handy if you cross the wires or short one out while working on your car. Trust me it happens, And I do mean a couple.

In most cases you do not even need the relay included. Your installation paperwork will tell you for sure. (Neg. trigger Vs Pos.trigger)
I for get which one requires the relay to be wired. LOL

 

Thw whole list of good air horns: http://www.jcwhitney.com/Wolo-Air-Ho...-600002553.jcw

PS Do NOT BUY Plastic horns the should like cazos.

 

what test light to make sure I have power??? Where does it hook up?? And I have spare fuses..I already tried replacing the horn fuse thinking that was the problem..still no horn..

 

Harley Davidson has a nice small air horn. Sounds like a cruise ship horn. We have a PhillyMINI member that works for a HD dealer and hers sounds pretty cool. A definite head turner.

 

A test light is a screwdriver with sharp point on one end and a wire with an alligator clip on the other. To test with it you just clip it on to the NEG side of your battary or any bare metel ground ad probe wire to see if they are "HOT" 12v. A little light in the handle will light up if you have power.

Now since your horn does not have PWR all the time you disconnect the horn wire and push the sharp point into the connector that attaches to the horn. Place this in an easy viewing point and set it down unless you have really looooong arms and can reach the stearing wheel and hit your horn.
If the circuit is good the test light will "Light" up. Replace horn. wah la
If it does not light up double check your connections or it could be the horn relay in the car somewhere.

Also to test your horn, dissconnect just the wire (Not the horn) make a test wire and jump a conneection from the horn connection to the POS post on your battery. The metel of the car is the horns electrical ground (-) and when you hit your **** you complete the circuit making you car honk, beep beep.
Try not to jump the horn will be loud.

Remember No sound = bad horn.

 

R U sure the horn is bad? .... aren't there 2? If you replaced the fuse and still no joy sounds like you still have a problem. If you wire the new horn to the existing wires and the wires are not working you still gots no horn....

You need to pull a wire off the existing horn and put a test light or a meter in there and push ye ol horn button and see if juice flows. That is unless you plan to wire a new button in the cockpit with that new horn. {I see someone has provided this in more detail!}

BTW - I had air horns twice on another car - two sets that is...both crapped out after about a year. The cheap reed in the horns would corode and one day when I when to toot I got a weak squeak.....both times it was not a good time to discover I had no horns. I quit the air's and got a nice big set of hi/lo Italians which are still going after years of use. I too saw these new small single unit air horns. The Steable Nautilus being the first that was popular and now copied by WoLo (which you can pick up at Harbor Freight and save shipping btw) - which became very popular with the Miata crowd...but I just saw a poster over there say his crapped out after a year....

So buyer beware - some I know had horns similar to mine that worked for years ... mine didn't. But come to think of it the ones that worked for a long time were usually mounted in the engine compartment and mine were right behind the grill. Exposure to moisture was the problem maybe????

I've got big electrics in the wheel well of my classic - they get soaked when I get caught in the rain but have never fail to toot when they were needed to toot!

 

I have been looking for some air horns. I wonder what those will sound like...

 

I have been wondering if there is enough room for an air horn in these MINI coopers.

I want to get a train horn!!!!
small car BIG SOUND!

 

Go big or go home!!!
http://www.hornblasters.com/products/category.php?id=8

 

Indeed!

but where can you find room to mount it plus a compressor? The smallest tank I see on that link ^^^ is 1.5 gallons... keep it in the trunk lol?

 

Don't get the big boy air horn. If your looking for something loud.
This is not the horn for you. My Buddy bought this thinking it would be really load its not. My OEM MINI horn is louder than it was.

 

has anyone installed before ? - seriously try a search

 

PureCo, Ihave installed a simular air horn in my 04 MCS. Mounted it in area next to ABS pump. Fairly easy to install and wire up. do a search on this, I beleave there is a detailed explanation with pictures. And YES it is NICE AND LOUD!!!! Good luck on your install.

 

Just a quick question ; Does the factory alarm use the oem horns or does it use the " ALTERNATIVE POWER SIREN " . Does the airhorn go off when you lock your car or is it the siren ?

Sorry for the noob question but thanks in advance.

 

problem is finding a place for the air horn. I mounted three small air horns under the hood infront of the passenger side firewall under the hood which has a segregated compartment from the engine. I wired them directly into the battery connection next to the cold air intake and then put a relay from the horn power to a switch on the center console.

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...light=air+horn

 

I have air horns on 3 cars now, including the '06 Mini. A few tips:

1. Use a relay, wire it up so the power and ground that would otherwise go to the OE horns instead trips the relay. Install a 20-30amp fused power lead (tap) off the fuse block or battery, run to relay and on to compressor. Compressors draw too much power on startup to just use the OE wiring straight.

2. I have my compressor mounted in the same compartment as the ABS pump. Plenty of room there, drilled a small hole in the plastic "firewall" and used a stainless bolt/nylock nut. I ran the air hose from that compartment down to the OE horn location. I don't have current pics but will take some. I originally had the horns mounted in that compartment - and it worked - but the sound is nearer the object I'm honking at when the horns are in the front bumper. I was considering mounting the horns just outside that compartment, but that gets pretty hot (exhaust side of the engine).

3. Mount the air horns themselves in the space left when removing the OE horn on the passenger side. Pull the bumper cover (it isn't that hard, and makes the horn install easy). Remove the OE horns and wire the leads back to the relay (I mounted mine back up near the compressor). Wedge the air horns in there and Ziptie in place, use good zipties. It's pretty weather-protected in there.

4. I used Hella triple-tone air horns, they're pretty loud but melodic, not as dissonant as my wife's Hella two-tones. The two-tones have the short and medium horns, mine are short, medium, long. I recommend the short-medium 2 tones - they're high pitched but Deer run scared. Sounds like a Ferrari horn. Yes, you can fit 3 air horns in there, but you have to be careful so you don't interfere with future access to the marker light bulb.

5. With practice, you can hit the horn button briefly enough to blow one, two, or all three tones. It's cool.

I'll shoot some pics when I can...

There used to be a kit available that mounted the horns facing forward on the PS of the engine on the '02-04's, but the revised engine mount and Xenons occupy that space in the '05-06s.

 

I installed my wifes little airhorns next to the passenger side strut mount,just under the strut bar.The compressor is back in by the ABS box,with the relay/wires.A MINI friend spliced the wiring into the stock horns,so everything goes when the horn button is pushed.I installed my Euro-Police horns in the front,inside the bumper.I have seperate switches for my horns,which are very loud,and the noise is for the traffic,not up by the cockpit!

 

Took a few pictures...

Note air compressor in well near ABS pump, air hose routed securely to OE horn location, and triple Hella air horns in there!


Air horn location in bumper (OE location - OK but could be louder, wish I had the doubles not triples):


Another view of compressor:


PS: Yeah, it's been raining and snowing and stuff, it's not shiny right now :(

 

why not just put a Stebel compact Nautilus on either side? seems simpler than running the tubing.

 

I already owned the Hellas, and they do have a unique sound. If I had to do it again, it'd be either Fiamme compact horns (similar higher-pitched euro sound) or the Stebel. Either way you've got to put a relay in there (higher current draw), and running the tubing was no big deal.

 

cool. thanks for the info. I had a pair of full size Nautilus in my last car....loud!! short clip (pre-relay....I blew the fuse in this video )

 

are the air horns connected to your alarm system also? when you activate/deactivate the alarm does the air horn sound off too?

 

My alarm is not OE, so no issue...