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Ok, has anyone changed out the wimpy horn?

28K views 24 replies 11 participants last post by  11 Silverado 
#1 ·
I feel like I am driving a Hyundai Accent the horn is so wimpy... Please tell me there is an easy upgrade.
 
#9 ·
I have the Stebel horn sitting on my workbench. Have even made a custom bracket to mount it in front of the radiator. I found the stock horns buried in the drivers side corner. Just have not had the time or ambition to try to get to the wiring to connect the Stebel yet. Another project for another day. Is there any easy way to find the horn wires to tap into without tearing a bunch of stuff apart?
 
#13 ·
I had the Stebel on my previous truck, and removed it when I traded it. My new truck is a 2011 Silverado, and the factory horns on this truck are buried behind the drivers side bumper below the headlights. If there is an easy way to get to the horn wire, please let me know. It looks like I would have to remove the tank for the washers and some other things to even get to the horns. Thanks for your help.

Never mind, I just found this.....Looks like the best way to get to the horns is from underneath the truck.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4485099_replace ... z13zU9wnQP
 
#16 ·
nicks93hotrod said:
im rolling a train horn...i bought the kit for 349$ theres cheaper ones out there.....08 max wheres your compressor? i see your lil tanks next to horn those look nice
nick, actually those are not tanks, they are little "compressors." In reality, they are little motors that turn an impeller, which blows air thru those tubes and into the trumpets. I wanted to do the whole onboard air thing with a real compressor and a tank and train horns, but this was way easier, and hundreds cheaper. Everything is very simply hooked up to the existing horn button in the steering wheel. They are not load as train horns, but way louder than stock!
 
#17 ·
ohh i was confused i thought they were little tanks i saw hoses comin out off them...yeah i agree i had too find a place for the 3 gallon tank and a place where the compressor would keep quiet...and ill get a sticky switch every once in a while...takes up trucks toolbox room...their funn..where did you get those at?
 
#18 ·
Nick, ill try and help the best i can... that whole setup is kinda home made. I used to have a setup from an italian company called "alpex." It consisted of a dual trumpet horn supplied by only one compressor. Then somewhere along the line i found a dual trumpet horn with INDIVIDUAL air ports to each trumpet, so i figured if one compressor could power each trumpet, it would be louder. So i ordered 2 new compressors, and now i got this current setup with each compressor supplying air to its own trumpet. Youll just have to do some searching on the web. The mount is home made, lots of tweaking and adjusting to get the trumpets to aim forward between the core support and radiator tank. Wiring was easy, and youll need a relay. Hope that helps.....
 
#19 ·
For all of you that have already added louder horns, where did you tap into the existing horn wiring for the relay? I can see the horns buried behind the bumper under the washer tank filler. I read on this forum where someone said that it is easier to get to the horns/wiring from under the truck. I crawled under the truck today, and cannot even see the horns or wiring from there. All I need to do is tap into one of the hot wires going to either horn to energize the relay. I just can't seem to find a simple way to access the existing horn wires without dissasembling part of the front of the truck. This is the first vehicle that I have ever owned where the horns were not behind the grill and easy to access. (My truck is a 2011 Silverado.) I appreciate any helpful information that you can provide, maybe I am just missing something. I am just trying to add a Stebel air horn to wake up these idiots that are doing everything but paying attention to the road.
 
#20 ·
the live factory horn wire i tapped into was accessed right below the filler for the washer fluid. i think i just cut the wires and added new terminals. the other factory horn is between the right headlights and air filter box. When i replaced my stock air box with a cai, the horn was exposed and i simply unplugged it. Pain in the ass? yes.
 
#21 ·
I guess that they changed the horns a bit on the 2011. Both of mine are on the drivers side, below the headlights. I crawled under the truck yesterday, and there are no wires to be seen anywhere. Just the tube coming off of the washer bottle. I think that I am going to have to remove the extra battery tray in the drivers side front corner, and maybe remove the washer bottle to get to the horns and wiring. I'll take the battery tray out first, and see if I can get to the wires from there first. Thanks for the response. Just trying to find a simple solution, but I guess there is none.
 
#22 ·
Hi SHNool,

There is, but the sounds of horns can be subjective... I also had a whimpy horn. The passenger side horn (high pitch was out). I replaced it with a stock one. I didn't like it. So I went to Stebel. Used it for about 6 months. The sound was too "tinny" to me. I guess coming from Italy, I should have expected the European sound. I also tried the Wolo Big Blast. Again, it sounded tinny to me... I wanted a lower, manly sound. I'm now using these Hawk electric Train horns. They do have a lower tone, so I've left them in for now...

Link: Train Horns

On the web page, hit the play button. It sounds very close to what you'll get... And they are not too expensive. If you want to go the Compressor/tank option, this site has those as well...

Also, as for dB ratings... Higher pitched horns are going to "sound" louder to a dB meter. It's because of the sound wave lengths... I wanted a lower, truck sound! These Hawk horns are only dB rated at 115dB. However, when it comes to waking up knuckleheads (drivers or pedestrians), they do a great job. One last thing... High pitch tones are also the first sound waves that the human ear loses the ability to hear... That's why train horns and Big Rig truck horns "seem" so loud.... Plus with thier huge compressors and air tanks, they can move a lot of air (which translates to sound waves)!

I hope this helped, :)
 
#25 ·
11 Silverado said:
I guess that they changed the horns a bit on the 2011. Both of mine are on the drivers side, below the headlights. I crawled under the truck yesterday, and there are no wires to be seen anywhere. Just the tube coming off of the washer bottle. I think that I am going to have to remove the extra battery tray in the drivers side front corner, and maybe remove the washer bottle to get to the horns and wiring. I'll take the battery tray out first, and see if I can get to the wires from there first. Thanks for the response. Just trying to find a simple solution, but I guess there is none.
I looked a little closer yesterday at my hidden horn location. I was wrong, there is a horn on either side of the truck, did not see the one on the passenger side originally. I removed the spare battery tray on the drivers side, and could see the horn buried under the headlights, and in front of the washer bottle. I could not get my hand down there to disconnect the horn wire to tap into it. The horn wire only has about a 5" pigtail on it that comes out of a larger wiring harness, and that is so buried that I can't get to it either. The washer bottle would have to come out to access the horn, and I just don't see a simple way to do that either. It would have to come out through the bottom, which means means partially removing the fender liner. And that has a ton of fasteners attached to it for wiring harnesses and other stuff. So, maybe the passenger side. It looks like if I remove the intake box, I "may" be able to get to that horns wiring to tap into it. As a last resort, I may end up running a separate circuit into the cab, and putting another horn button where is would be convenient to access. This is crazy how difficult it is to get to the stock horns without tearing things apart.
 
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