Topic: Wolo 619 "Big Bad Max" Air Horn

[Nocte Malum]

Always thought the single AC Delco low tone (405 Hz) horn was insufficient.  Didn't help that the car was so small, and black.  Finally got around to adding a louder horn.  I've had air horns before, but was disappointed.  Mostly because they were even higher in pitch than stock, so it didn't have the low "truck" like resonant tone.  Finally found a nice loud one with a low tone.

Forgot to add, since the compressor in the air horn takes a brief moment longer to spin up than the OE diaphragm horn, when the horn honks with the keyless, it's only the OE horn you hear, the compressor just really spurts to life briefly without really making a noise.  So you really only hear the air horn when you press the panic button or use the horn on the steering wheel, and not with the keyless.  I've run into this before, and it's part of the reason why I like adding air horns, instead of louder diaphragm horns like Hella Supertones.  Again, just my personal preference.

First 2 beeps, stock horn, 2nd 2 beeps, both borns.  The Wolo 619 plays a 320 Hz tone.

DSCN3269

I used a typical 4 terminal automotive 12V 30A relay.  I use the stock horn wiring to trigger the relay.  The air horn gets it's own dedicated power line instead of tapping power from the existing horn wiring.

Parts List
1) Ring terminal: To get 12V power
2) In-line Fuse holder: <img>http://i.imgur.com/XDFMfpy.jpg</img>
3) The horn installation instructions suggest a 20A fuse.
4) 14  and 16 gauge automotive grade wiring: will depend on where you want to mount your air horn.  I mounted mine on the driver side below and behind the headlights, past the end of the metal bumper.  The recommended minimum was 16 gauge for the power line.  I used 16 gauge for the trigger line, which had a recommended 18 gauge minimum.  Just my preference when doing electrical.
5) 12V Automotive Relay: I suggest using a minimum 30A relay since the fuse is a 20A fuse.
Female spade terminals: <img>http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/361731849/Brand-New-Red-22-16AWG-Insulated-Female-Spade-Terminal-Connectors-Wholesale-EP144-.jpg</img>
You'll need them for all the connections to the horn and the relay.
6) Air horn: I used the Wolo 619 due to its low frequency.

[Sly Bob]

Nicely done!   

[Nocte Malum]

Thanks!

And forgot to add, I used 14-16 heat shrink butt connectors like these:



The way the 4 terminal relay works, you will need to tap both wires to the horn.  I basically used the butt connectors with 1 wire coming out 1 end, and 2 coming out the other.  Since they were only trigger wires, the 16 gauge was fine.  Since the butt connectors accept 14-16 gauge, it easily accepted the quite thin stock wiring, and the single 16 trigger wires to the relay.

I also used the same blue butt connectors to connect the fuse holder (it comes prewired with a few inches of wire in a loop) to the 14 gauge power line I ran.  I'm not 100% sure but I think the fuse holder was a 12 gauge, or a very thick 14.  And if not obvious it's a mini ATM fuse.  I figure might as well keep everything the same (as the rest of the car's fuses for the most part).

Oh and little incidentals like electrical tape and zipties to keep the wires neat and tidy.  I basically used existing wiring bundles to piggy back off of.  They were mostly large ~1" diameter sections.  But the way I did it, you don't need to do any soldering.  But I did use a small "jet torch" lighter to heat shrink the butt connectors.  Something like this:



I usually use a heat gun, but due to the short length of wire, and not want to remove the hood to do the work, I was worried about the heat from the heat gun being not focused enough and either hitting the hood, or the plastic ducting for the radiator (the stock intake area).  So I used the torch and just held it a distance away from the heat shrink.

You can also disable it at any time by pulling the fuse in the fuse holder.  And it's right back to stock.

[Sly Bob]

Great post Nocte Malum. Where in Canada are you, out west somewhere I would assume?

[Graywolf]

Good sounding horn and agree good post

[Nocte Malum]

Thanks again guys.  And not sure if this further information will help or not as it's a lot of personal preference, but I used an existing ground that was already being used as a ground on the driver side near the bumper mount to ground the horn.  It meant the ground wire was about 8" long.  I used an existing bolt near the stock horn, just to the passenger side of the stock horn about 3" over.  I widened the hole on the mounting tab of the relay slightly, and used an identical nut as the one underneath it to secure the relay (have an extra from the stereo upgrade).  It gave me just enough space to mount the relay with the preferred tabs down orientation, while giving just enough space for the female spade terminals and the wires they are crimped too before the bumper impact beam got in the way.

[Sly Bob]

Ontario?