Bob A (SD)

Given that the FAQs the old timers posted are no longer accessible, I figured I'd share some information on installing these 118dB electric horns as replacements for the factory dual 110dB horns. Hope this is of some help for those looking at doing this modification. And yeah, they ARE satisfyingly LOUD -

The Hella instructions have 4 different diagrams. 2b is the diagram to use on the S2K for swapping out the factory horns for the Hellas.

Other threads have the following information but I'm including it here for consolidation:
--use heavy gauge wire (14 is what I choose)
--use the supplied relay
--use a separate fuse and wiring
--the copper colored spade connector on the horns is +; the silver is -
--do not simply swap these horns out for the factory as the factory wiring and the fuse (with other components in the circuit) is not up to handling the two Hellas

This first picture shows the basic wiring. The battery's positive terminal is tapped with an inline fuse holder and feeds the Hella relay (connection 30). The relay is grounded (relay connection 85). I used a crimp splice block to tap into the factory horn trigger which was the factory wire going to the AP1 plug and original horn. This is routed to relay connection 86. The horns are fed in parallel from relay connection 87. I used a crimp splice to take the single wire from the relay and convert it to two... one for each horn. Note that the relay is mounted on the 10mm threaded hole already available next to the shock tower. Also note that I mounted the Hella horn to the back of the car's horn mounting bracket unlike the factory horn which was mounted to the front.



Here's a closeup of the crimp splice block I used to tap into the factory horn activation wire. I peeled back a bit of the electrical tape between the spiral cable protector and the female AP1 plug that was connected to the factory horn mounted in the engine bay. That allowed the crimp splice block to be used. It allows wires to be laid side by side and when closed cuts the wire insulation with a conductive bridge. It is the blue block in the center of this picture. To ground each horn and the relay I simply used the individual mounting bolts to anchor the ground wires. Checked it with a VTVM and found this configuration was good to go so I ran with it instead of running longer wires to the main chassis ground located in the engine bay just behind the passenger headlight assembly.



Here are pictures of the completed installation (which also shows the modified airbox, mini-radmat, and Greddy PCV valve oil catch tank I previously installed). The bumper (with Coastal Metals grill) and Coastal Metals engine bay accessory (air director) have not been re-installed in these pictures. I placed the 500Hz horn in the engine bay and the 375Hz horn in front of the radiator.





--Bob

Asura

These horns are also known as Hella Supertones.

Bob A (SD)

Asura,

Unfortunately I can't edit the subject line to either clean up the dropped character or to add Supertones. Good catch though -

--Bob

Asura

Nice 'how-to' thread. I have these and boy are they loud.

Bob A (SD)

Thanks! and I definately agree. They are a BIG step up from the factory fodder. BTW I've PMed XViper to ask that he edit the subject line to correct my typo and add Supertones. Should help with folks doing searches. I know I spent quite a bit of time looking to ensure I had all the right skinny before I did my install. Figured I could pay back a bit with this consolidated post -

Bob

PS Update... our illustrious moderator has come to my rescue correcting the subject line! Good deal! Thanks XViper!

xviper

Bob, would you honor us by putting a link to this thread in our stickied "Commonly Asked Questions .......................... " thread?
Here:
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=108435

Bob A (SD)

Dave,

Done! And thanks for the invitation to do so

--Bob

RedY2KS2k

Excellent writeup. You can probably imagine what an improvement the Supertones were on my '00, which came from the factory with only one wimpy 3 amp horn.

It may not be any easier, but I accessed the front horn from the top, removing the clips that hold the plastic cover and dropping the cover down between the radiator and the bumper cover. There's plenty of room to work on the horn, but the two outside trim clips that hold this cover to the bumper cover are hard to reach. (I first removed the little domed cover under the hood latch.)

Bob A (SD)

RedY2kS2k,

In fact I did consider this approach but after looking closely I concluded that my hands just wouldn't have enough room. The bumper removal wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. That tug to pull it away from the little edge clips under the light fixtures once all the bolts and screws have been removed is a bit disconcerting but overall the bumper removal isn't all that big a deal.

I've also added some protective wire looming to finish up the installation. I really don't think heat would be a problem for the particular wire I choose given the quality of the insulation, but a little extra protection never hurts plus it dresses things up a bit too -

Best!

--Bob

tukluc

Exactly what I was looking for!! Too bad I had to go out and Google it since our search engine sucks.

Thank you