Re: Re: Air horns (was: Daktoberfest 2006 Summary)

From: Kurt Cypher (kcypher42@earthlink.net)
Date: Fri Nov 03 2006 - 23:29:42 EST


Thanks. This gives me some ideas for approaching it, when I get a
chance to play with adding another horn.

Kurt

On Nov 2, 2006, at 17:34, Don Rey wrote:

>
>> Nice pics, looked like fun.
>
> Hell yes.
>
>> Makes me want to swap my 2WD '97 for a 4WD
>
> Do it! :) Living in CT (where snow is a significant factor) I don't
> understand why they make 2WD pickups.
>
>> In one picture <http://www.pbase.com/radon220/image/69574269>,
>> that's a
>> serious horn attached to the underside of the hood.
>
> Hehehe yes it is.... just ask the guys who experienced it!
>
>> I've been
>> contemplating putting a more truck-sounding horn into my '97, any
>> special tips on swapping out a stock horn for a monster like that,
>> or is
>> it pretty straight-forward?
>
> There's several options. For a REAL horn, you need on-board air
> (compressor, tank, air lines, and a switch - whether it's electrical
> like mine or a mechanical foot-pedal or pull-chain). If you're willing
> to lose 15-30 decibels and raise the tone a bit, you can get one of
> the horn/compressor combos. Basically, the compressor fires up fast
> and blows directly through the horn... no tank involved, no need for
> on-board air. Personally I think these sound sissy... but at ~115db
> they're better than stock!
>
>> Or did you install that in addition to the
>> stock horn, and have a special switch for it, saving it for
>> drivers who
>> can't hear the stock horn, or deserve a bigger blast for whatever
>> reason?
>
> Precisely. Plus, if I get pulled over for being too loud, I can play
> dumb and say "no ociffer, my stock horn works just fine, see??"
>
> Here's the text flowchart of my air/horn setup. VIAIR 200 series
> Compressor mounted to underside of bed (behind diver's seat), switched
> by an adjustable 100psi pressure switch (pressure drops 5psi,
> compressor turns on). Compressor pumps directly into 2gal air tank,
> mounted to frame rail underneath driver door (2gal is not enough for
> real air tools... I'll add more soon). 3/8" flexible air line runs
> from tank to underside of hood connecting to my electric air switch.
> The air switch is plummed with hard lines directly to the horn (you
> get the fastest horn response this way). I have a cab switch for the
> compressor, but it runs directly from the battery (~25amp draw when
> running), and a nice little somewhat hidden horn switch mounted behind
> the steering wheel. I never looked into what kind of draw the
> electrical switch takes versus what the stock horn buttons can
> handle... but I bet it would work, and you could just snip the wire
> below the steering column (or in the engine compartment) and hook your
> electric air switch to it. That's the easy part... getting the
> on-board air setup with all the fittings the way you want them and
> mounting everything nice and solidly is what's time-consuming. I'll
> post more pictures of mine when I get some time.
>
> The other half of the reason I installed the on-board air is for beach
> driving (and off-roading). It's nice to have fully inflated tires in a
> fraction of the time those cig-lighter pumps manage.
>
> :)
>
> Don in CT
> 89 Dakota Convertible 318 NV3500 4x4, deafening bad drivers since 9/06
> 74 Dart Sport 340
> pbase.com/radon220/mopars/
>



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