I have a pair of Hella Supertones installed. No complaints.
Aftermarket horn?
- Thread starter JLH911
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Late 90's full size Cadillac horns from a junk yard were the loudest stock horns, I think there were four together, I've ever heard.
If you want to stay Toyota, try the 100 or 200 series horns or the JDM horns from Akella.
If you want to stay Toyota, try the 100 or 200 series horns or the JDM horns from Akella.
Train Horns are the only way to go for an 80 
Have a set on my beater box 
Hell, I also have a set on all of my golf carts lol
Hell, I also have a set on all of my golf carts lol
You must not be doing it right. People complain about mine all the time. The ones that aren't panicked into sudden acceleration will often flip me off or scream obscenities. Of course, they are then awarded the additional penalty blast
Alright, I tried to wire the horns yesterday and I am not having any luck. There was a green wire that comes out by the upper radiator and that had two little electrical fittings that attached to the old horns, one wire per horn. I accidentally broke the old wire when I was removing the old horns, but it broke right at the connector for the first horn that then had another wire going to the second horn.
The new horns have two wire tabs per horn, but we only have the one feed wire on our trucks, so I am not sure how this is supposed to work. I connected the new horns in the same way as the old ones, but I had to use new clips as the Toyota ones were broken and they didn't look like they would fit. I did that and I get nothing. The new horns instructions call for running a relay in between the new horns and the wire coming from the truck, but again, we only have the one wire. Do you need to ground the second tab on the new horns or something? Did cutting the wire activate something in the old security system that I thought was disconnected?
This should be simple, but as I said, I am not a good electrical guy.
Any thoughts?
One tab is for the ground wire, the other is the positive. The ground can be wired to the radiator bracket.
Nathan Air Chimes are the best air horns, I have on my F350 SD Dually. The first time I hit them I watched a guy "throw " his cup of coffee all over himself! Nathan's are OE horns for actual trains!
Alright, I will give that whirl when I get home. Thanks!
@Red Merle if you are facing the horns, and they are facing out at you
the tab at the 5 o'clock position is the +
the tab at the 7 o'clock position is the -
I simply used a jumper wire from the - of one to the - of the other, spliced them together and put a ring eye connection to the end. I then attached this to the radiator support by removing one of the factory bolts, setting it over the hole, then re installing the bolt.
the tab at the 5 o'clock position is the +
the tab at the 7 o'clock position is the -
I simply used a jumper wire from the - of one to the - of the other, spliced them together and put a ring eye connection to the end. I then attached this to the radiator support by removing one of the factory bolts, setting it over the hole, then re installing the bolt.
Did you just have to splice into the original horn wiring? Interested in how you did this as I originally looked into the setup.
Thank you! These are the type of instructions that I need. I had a heck of a time finding the right size ring connector last night, I had to go to 4 stores before I found them. I am going to assume that's because all of you guys are rushing out to get new horns now.
I will hopefully get it rigged up tonight and let you know how it went.
Thanks again!
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I tried the Hella horns and they were loud but the tone was still euro subcompact sounding. Now I have junkyard Infiniti horns and they sound great. I've heard Lexus has good ones too.
Lexus LS400 horns from a junk yard have the same wiring connectors and bolt onto the stock bracket after cutting one small metal tab way from the mounting arm.
Thank you! These are the type of instructions that I need. I had a heck of a time finding the right size ring connector last night, I had to go to 4 stores before I found them. I assume that's because all of you guys are rushing out to get new horns now.
I will hopefully get it rigged up tonight and let you know how it went.
Thanks again!
A lot of times I will use a step-up bit to open the ring terminal. You just have to hold onto it with a good pair of pliers.
I use the signal from the factory setup to activate the relays ..
A 'proper' horn is a Nathan or Leslie airhorn off a locomotive mounted above the cabin area or someone around chassis level, but down low makes it a lot more likely to get damaged. Hardest issue with any sort of actual airhorn (except for the Stebel's which have a small 'compressor' motor as part of the design) is supplying enough air. Loco's have a main reservior air pressure of a nominal 700 to 800 KPa, and getting enough of that isn't easy. Not too many places to mount a properly rated compressed air tank with enough volume but it's doable.
I know a guy here with an old Nissan patrol GQ that has an 81 class (australian SD40 equivalent loco) EMD air horn mounted on top. It's difficult to miss.
A while back I fitted a Stebel 'truck horn' in behind the front grill of my 80. I worked out a way to mod a simple hardware store bracket to mount to the body crossmember to the right of where the bonnet latch and catch are situated. Will get a pic later.
I know a guy here with an old Nissan patrol GQ that has an 81 class (australian SD40 equivalent loco) EMD air horn mounted on top. It's difficult to miss.
A while back I fitted a Stebel 'truck horn' in behind the front grill of my 80. I worked out a way to mod a simple hardware store bracket to mount to the body crossmember to the right of where the bonnet latch and catch are situated. Will get a pic later.
Woohoo! Your instructions worked perfectly!
These things are obnoxious. Awesome
Thread revival.
I opted for a set of the 4 note Cadillac horns. While not as loud as Snake Eater's setup, it is easliy much louder than the OEM ones, and the Supertones which I had for the last 10+ years. I installed a relay which is triggered by the factory wiring, and ran 12 ga wires down to the horns with a WeatherPak connector. Placement was not easy, as the Safari intercooler precluded the normal mounting in front of the radiator. Ended up modifying the small belly pan below the crank pulleys, using stand-offs so they mount flat. Worked out well, as they are not hit directly with the water driving down the road, yet still enough air gaps to get the sound out.
The sound is like a freight train.
I opted for a set of the 4 note Cadillac horns. While not as loud as Snake Eater's setup, it is easliy much louder than the OEM ones, and the Supertones which I had for the last 10+ years. I installed a relay which is triggered by the factory wiring, and ran 12 ga wires down to the horns with a WeatherPak connector. Placement was not easy, as the Safari intercooler precluded the normal mounting in front of the radiator. Ended up modifying the small belly pan below the crank pulleys, using stand-offs so they mount flat. Worked out well, as they are not hit directly with the water driving down the road, yet still enough air gaps to get the sound out.
The sound is like a freight train.