New Fiamm Horn Install

[poolzer]

/has manly moment

Well that was easy. No cutting duct tape, just pop pins out, unscrew, throw out horns, put new horns on, screw, pop pins on the grown to release them and popped them and the top on. Done in 10 minutes and that was with drinking a diet coke.

Couldn't have done it that easy without the guides from you guys, so thanks!

Have to admit, it doesn't sound 'el grande' but it does sound better than peep peep.

 

[jgedmond]

Just installed my Fiamms this morning. Pretty much followed Titanpat57's instructions (thanks for a great writeup) except I used some coarse sandpaper around the mounting hole in addition to the the rat tail file to assure a good ground. I also used some "liquid electrical tape" that I picked up at Home Depot to waterproof the connections to the horns and the ground point. A few wire ties to keep everything in place and I'm good to go.

Now my truck sounds like a man-mobile instead of a Yugo.

 

[McGruder]

It's all on the first page, although without the pretty pictures. But at least you went back and looked

The tabs have a center button which spreads out the sides underneath the cowling, pinning it in place. If you take a very thin screwdriver blade or small knife blade and insert it underneath the edge of that center pin, you can wedge it up and then pull the whole thing out. Try the ones closest the the engine first, as you can reach under and push the center pin up with your finger and see how it works.

Those tabs are pretty cool - I like their design and function. I was a little confused when reinstalling them. When reinstalling, you must push the center pin back out from the botton of the pin - then re-insert the tab in the holes, and press the center button flush with the outer edge of the tab.

The hardest part of this install is creating the harness with the correct lengths of wire. Just get mail and female crimp on connectors, and the entire install is a snap. A male connector slides into the stock relay perfectly.

Nice big horn sound, no more meep meep.

 

[westwind77]

Just did the install, so much better!!! Mounted them on the center brace, one on either side. All I had to do was create a small 3" 'jumper'. The original wire/connector was plenty long enough to connect to the 1st horn with the double spade, then my jumper over to the 2nd horn and done.

WATCH OUT for those little push locking 'pins' I released a few and gentle lifted on a side and 2 of them shot up like a spring! 1 landed on the battery the other played 'plinko' on the way down below the engine. I had to get the 5' fiber optic camera out to find it hiding on below on one of the skid plates, at least i found it

 

[ralphpolo88]

help with horn

So I got the El Grande's and tried to install them today. I didn't have everything I needed (ie. wire to make a jumper) so I just connected one of the horns (it was all I had time for today). It worked fine, but as I was driving, it quit working. I put the old horn back on and it still doesn't work. I'm not really sure what happened here, anyone have any ideas?

I checked the fuse and it's still good. I was thinking that maybe a wire came loose from the female connector but I'm not sure. As of now, the female connector has one green wire connected to it - is that how it is supposed to be or is there supposed to be another wire there too?

Geez, I feel like an idiot...

 

[SeattleMike]

So I got the El Grande's and tried to install them today. I didn't have everything I needed (ie. wire to make a jumper) so I just connected one of the horns (it was all I had time for today). It worked fine, but as I was driving, it quit working. I put the old horn back on and it still doesn't work. I'm not really sure what happened here, anyone have any ideas?

I checked the fuse and it's still good. I was thinking that maybe a wire came loose from the female connector but I'm not sure. As of now, the female connector has one green wire connected to it - is that how it is supposed to be or is there supposed to be another wire there too?

Geez, I feel like an idiot...

Either clean the paint off the threads or scrape some of the paint off where it bolts to the vehicle. The most common error on this mod is not getting a good ground.

 

[VonMussa]

Other than Fiamm

Has anyone tried or looked into any other brands? Was this chosen because of the ease of wiring, or do most horns wire up like this?

 

[ralphpolo88]

grounding

Either clean the paint off the threads or scrape some of the paint off where it bolts to the vehicle. The most common error on this mod is not getting a good ground.

This is probably a stupid question, so I apologize for my ignorance in advance. Does grounding occur through the mount and through the bolt attaching the horn to the frame of the car, or is there a wire used to ground? The reason I ask is because I can't even get the original horn to work with the original setup.

Thanks

 

[Titanpat57]

This is probably a stupid question, so I apologize for my ignorance in advance. Does grounding occur through the mount and through the bolt attaching the horn to the frame of the car, or is there a wire used to ground? The reason I ask is because I can't even get the original horn to work with the original setup.

Thanks

Yes

That's why in the write up it says to take a file or sandpaper to expose bare, shiney metal where it contacts the horn bolt, in order for the ground to work properly.

 

[ralphpolo88]

Yes

That's why in the write up it says to take a file or sandpaper to expose bare, shiney metal where it contacts the horn bolt, in order for the ground to work properly.

Makes sense. I dropped the original mounting bolt, after being so cautious as to prevent that from happening. Now it's somewhere at the bottom, probably on top of the skid plate. I won't have time to attempt the horns again till this weekend, but I'm sure I can get it to work with Pat's and everyone else's help.

Thanks a bunch!

 

[poolzer]

I had no problem installing them in my LE. I most likely aimed them so there was slack though, dont remember.

 

[mpaquette]

Great post, I'll definitely be trying this mod myself. I beeped at a green light sleeper yesterday and was basically embarrassed by the stock horn. I bet Yugo's came with a manlier sounding horn.

 

[kingpin748]

I own a Limited and attempted to install the Fiamm El Grande horns today but was unable to because there was not enough slack on the electrical wiring to connect to the left horn. Any options? It looked like my Fiamm horns were a little different that the ones posted here. Did Limited owners have the same problem? Can you tell me how you got around this/provide pics? I didn't want to get into messing with the wiring. If the Fiamm horns just had their connectors on the same side (the left), I'd be in business! Other than that, it really was plug 'n play and they worked (although better than the stock horns, I was expecting a deeper sound).

No pictures but I just cut off some of the electrical tape around the area where the wire loom ends and the wire splits apart. That allowed me to pull out some more wire which gave me a few extra inches of slack. With a little bit of new electrical tape it's good as new.

It took me about 20 minutes to install the new horns on my Limited. I just used the stock bolts and location with the new brackets from the Grande horns as per the instructions here.

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

Thanks for the great write up and everyones comments. I just placed an order from Amazon for the horns, should have in a couple days. I have never used the horn in my 4Runner other than the beep from the key less entry, little embarrassed using it out in public, lol. I have been behind some people at intersections, Light turns green and they not move, I'll just wait it out, afraid that if I hit the horn the driver will just start laughing.

:thanks: again,
Nathan

 

[adio3x]

Can anyone get a few pictures of what the SR5 wiring looks like? Wiring is my biggest confusion while working on anything lol. Also what exactly do I need to buy to get this thing wired up? Thanks.

 

[doodman]

Can anyone get a few pictures of what the SR5 wiring looks like? Wiring is my biggest confusion while working on anything lol. Also what exactly do I need to buy to get this thing wired up? Thanks.

same here... that's why i haven't even considered this project...

 

[I AM SAM]

SR5 write-up for me too please! Someone actually called my horn Gay the other day, damn it! So Gay

 

[adio3x]

SR5 write-up for me too please! Someone actually called my horn Gay the other day, damn it! So Gay

LOL, same here, this eclipse wasn't going when the light was green, I thought should I just wait and save myself from embarrassment or honk, I honked and this dude yelled out the window "nice queer toot". You drive an eclipse.......

 

[I AM SAM]

That is too funny! Boo gay horn! :dammit:

 

[SeattleMike]

All three of you can do it without a wiring diagram.

Just pop off the cover as shown in the first post and locate your horn. It will look like a black plastic bagel with a single wire going to it. It will be attached to the frame with a flat piece of metal and a bolt.

Undo the bolt, unplug the old horn, plug in the new horn, and bolt it down *tight*. If your horn kit comes with two horns (my Wolo only used one), AND your 4Runner only has one horn, then you have to worry about a jumper wire (or "wiring harness") if... IF... you choose to install them both. If your 4Runner has two horns, then it's just as simple as swapping them out and making sure they both have a clean ground.

I know it seems intimidating, but this is honestly *slightly* more difficult than replacing a lightbulb. The part that most people have a problem with is getting a clean grounding connection, which has been addressed in other posts.