How to Make a Car Air Horn
Factory-installed horns in cars are never as loud or as strong as you would like them to be. That is why car lovers install air horns, which sound much better than the standard horn in your car. An air horn consists of two or three horns, as well as a quality compressor, which directs air through your horns to produce sound. If you are thinking about putting in a stronger horn for your car, you need to build a compressor that will push air through a plastic or aluminum tube to a horn positioned under your hood.
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Things You'll Need
- Drill
- Screwdriver
- Multimeter
- Nylon wire ties
- 12-volt test light
- Electrical wire
- Electrical tape
- Butt connector
- Scotch lock connector
- Inline fuse holder
- Fuse
Instructions
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1
Open your vehicle's hood and look for the horn. You can typically find it by the front of your engine area. If you can't find it, have someone honk the horn so you can see where it is.
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2
Use a wrench to disconnect the terminal cable from the negative battery terminal.
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3
Use a 12-volt test light to check the horns live wires that link the light's grounding clip to the car's metal frame. Touch the probe to the wire. The horn will then activate and the lights turn on when you touch the live wire.
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4
Attach your vehicle's horn wire to the battery with a scotch-lock connector. To use the connector, place one wire end into a groove in your scotch-lock connector, and the other end of the car's electrical wire. Close the latch. Once the connector closes, metal is forced into the wire creating a connection.
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5
Use mounting bolts to mount a lightweight air compressor onto the fender, and tighten the bolts with a wrench. You might have to drill one or more holes through the reinforcement groove.
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Thread the live wire through the chassis to the air horn's compressor. With a tiny butt connector, strip and join the inline fuse. Use pliers to put the two stripped wires at the end of the butt connector, and then press down on the connector using pliers. Pull the wires to check if they are securely connected.
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Link the hot wire from the initial horn to the air compressor with a solderless connector. Put the ground wire into the air compressor next to the hot wire. Place the ground wire into the air compressor next to the hot wire.
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8
Join the other side of the fuse to the air compressor's positive terminal.
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9
Place a section of electrical wire to the car horn's neutral wire; use a scotch-lock connector to do this. You also have to link the neutral wire to the compressor's ground connection.
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Put the right-sized fuse into the fuse holder. The size depends on the fuse indicated in the instructions provided by the compressor manufacturer.
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11
Use cable ties to secure any loose wires to the chassis. Protect these wires by wrapping them in electrical tape.
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12
Place the air horns outside the engine compartment. Make sure each are pointed downward and angler so the engine won't muffle sound. After you remove the original horn, bolt the slotted bracket into the place where the horn was located.
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Link the air compressor to the fender, then run the plastic tubing from the compressor to the horns. Using plastic ties, fasten the tubing to the wiring harness. Take out the original 10-amp horn fuse and put in a 15-amp fuse. Make sure that you test the entire assembly to make sure that it is functioning. Otherwise, review your steps and check the fuse and the wiring.
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References
Resources
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