'Looking to hear of others experience in replacing the horns on my '06 JCW cabriolet. About a year ago I hit some huge water puddles and my horns filled with water. I had to pull them out and drain the water from the spiral internals. They finally dried out and started working more or less as before. Then they got raspy. Then 3 days ago, one stopped working entirely. Then yesterday the other stopped working because the fuse blew (found that out this morning).


I now feel emasculated, vulnerable, and deprived of my means of communicating with other drivers. I MUST have some good loud horns.


Finding replacements is no big deal, though I'd like to hear what others have installed in the stock location. And I have an old pair of FIAMM's from my motorcycle that I can install. However, they won't just plug into the stock Mini wiring harness. I do NOT want to cut the plug off the end of the harness. Ideally, I'd like to find the mating half that works properly with the harness and work from there. To me, that's the neater and better way to do it. I can cobble something up by removing the connector from the old horns, but if someone knows where to get a stand alone connector, that would be even better.


So, what are your horn recommendations and does anyone know of a source for connectors that'll plug directly into the stock harness connector.


Thanks!

 

Hella Supertones are awesome. I have a set. Good info in this NAM thread here with a comparison video. Or you can get the high tone horn 61-33-7-193-997.

 

You still have your old horns, right? See if you can pull the electrical connectors off of them, and make an adapter harness that goes from the stock plug to the plug for your new horn.

 

I'd like to find the mating half that works properly with the harness and work from there. To me, that's the neater and better way to do it.

nope ... don't waste your time. Snip the wires and crimp on some simple connectors ... remembering to add some shrink tube to seal everything nice and tight.

 

I concur, I have a set on my truck and boy are they loud. Not train horn loud, but for a system that can literally be wired right up to the stock wiring, unbeatable.






Agreed.

 

I was going to try that, but since the connector is fairly common in other places in the car, I was hoping the connector itself would be fairly easy to find other than clipping one out of an old harness.


I like the idea of the big Hellas, but I'm cramped for space. Certainly, if I use the stock mounting bracket, I have no room for the added diameter. I have the aero kit and where the horns fit, it's tight. And I really don't want to mount them elsewhere.


So.....'still hoping someone has a lead on the connectors.


Thanks!

 

I cut a piece of cardboard the same diameter as the Twin Tones and tried fitting it where the stock horns are located. No way. So, I rummaged around in the garage and found an old pair of Fiamms that I used to have installed on another vehicle and replaced the one stock horn that wasn't working. I pulled the connector off the stock horn and cut it down to make a connector with a short harness to adapt to the older Fiamm.


Now I have the original low tone (made by Fiamm) and one high tone that is vintage Fiamm in that the horn is made entirely of metal and you can actually disassemble the horn. The new ones are plastic and not designed to be taken apart. It sounds good, but I'm going to install the older low tone as I believe it will be louder. And I may try cutting the connector down even more.


At least I have full horn power back and now I can communicate with all the incompetent and sleepy drivers out there.

 

I finally installed my new/old Fiamms. I was hoping to find some stock connectors to use but ended up modifying the connectors that were on the original horns. I cut them down and ended up with connectors that aren't bad at all. The Fiamms I put on were some old ones I'd had since the late 80's. They still sound great and because the horns are screwed together instead of glued together, I was able to rotate the spiral horn thing on the horn mechanism and position the electrical connections where I wanted them. They sound similar to the original horns but are a bit louder and more strident. Now I can again let folks know they're being idiots.


They look like this but without the red plastic covers:

 

I put the 118db Hellas on my Clubman and love them, people actually move out the way now.



http://www.waymotorworks.com/hella-horn-kit-118db.html

 

dem's not horns
these are horns





on my 79

they play a bar of the Colonel Bogey March

aka Bridge Over The River Kwai movie theme