Horn Upgrade

19008 Views 69 Replies 16 Participants Last post by Dammit, 2 mo ago

j2bhrv

Discussion Starter · Sep 15, 2017 (Edited)

Did a few searches but did not find anything on this subject so I thought I would start a thread to see if anyone has upgraded the OEM chipmunk fart horns. The OEM horns have a odd one pin waterproof connector and the only plug and play solution I found is the aftermarket "sport" horn kit sold by College Hills Honda, they have the correct connectors built in and are only $15 on their website, but I wanted something louder. They also sell a wiring adapter kit that allows use of aftermarket horns with the more common spade connectors. The real limitation is in the stock wiring is that it is very thin gauge and the 10 amp horn circuit capacity. Most twin horn kits draw more than the stock circuit can handle and require a relay and higher amperage fused circuit from the battery. You can access the drivers side (left) horn from above but the passenger side (right) horn is mounted low and may require removal of the inner wheel well. I decided to use the wiring adapter lead that plugs into the OEM connector to trigger a relay for new 20 amp horn circuit using 12 gauge wire and 20A fuse holder directly to the battery. I used the accessible left side horn wire for the relay trigger and installed a Stebel Nautilus compact air horn at the left horn location. The right side horn was not touched because it was too hard to get to, and on my LX it is the horn that "chirps" when I double press my keyfob lock button. The results? Well, distracted half awake commuters will no longer ignore the polite "meep" from the stock horns as they drift into my lane, this thing will get anyone's attention, even with windows up and radio on! The pic below shows the main components but not the 12 gauge connecting wire.

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CalgaryHRV

· #21 · Nov 19, 2019

Goobers said:
I did the swap using PIAA sports horns a few weeks ago... I bought the same horns I bought previously for a Nissan Patherfinder, but later moved to split between a Honda Fit and Honda Ruckus. Sure, I could've taken the horns off the Fit and Ruckus... but I still intend to use the Fit and Ruckus, plus I cut the splash "shield" from the horn when I installed it on the Ruckus.

It came with ground wires which were quite lengthy, so I just twirled it around the back where the bracket mounts. I also ordered some adapter wires from Amazon... you can find the same thing from College Hills Honda (both adapter plus ground wires)...

The driver side was a bit of narrow reach, but easier than the passenger side. I took out one pin and one screw along the fender, then two more pins holding the fender to the underside. At that point, I pulled the fender away and reached in through there. Now that was a tight squeeze since I didn't jack it up and only turned the front wheels to the other side... and annoying as hell trying to ratchet the old one out and then new one in.

I guess my time blindly doing PC parts repair influenced this... I mean literally, there are times I had to plug in things in the PC where I couldn't see a thing and had to rely on "this thing feels about right." >.<

I'm sure that your PIAA horns are way better than the used Accord horns I used but US$3.75 is my preferred price range!

The drivers side horn is easy to swap. For the passenger side, I accessed it from underneath.
3 push pins, pulled the plastic flap down and it was easy.
As I mentioned, these push pins were unique and all 3 broke which I had to replace.

These minor upgrades are trivial, but once you start addressing all the weak points of a vehicle, it becomes a much better overall vehicle.
Some call it getting the "cheapness" out of a vehicle.

Goobers

· #22 · Nov 19, 2019

Uh, okay.

DONINAUSTIN

· #23 · Dec 6, 2019

oetbyg said:
Has anyone done this on a 2019?

College Hills Honda said their upgrade horns would fit the 2019 although they haven't changed the description to show that.

I ordered horns for both our 2017 CR-V and 2019 HR-V. CR-V was easy, then I read up on the HR-V install which looks more challenging. However, all the posts I found here were done on years prior to 2019.

Thanks...

Horns are pretty universal. Most any 12V horn can be made to work.

oetbyg

· #24 · Dec 9, 2019

DONINAUSTIN said:
Horns are pretty universal. Most any 12V horn can be made to work.

I had asked because College Hills didn't list them for the 2019 at the time, and I had upgraded horns on our '17 CR-V for which horn size and fit were important. In comparison the HR-V has much more room where the horns are, once I got into it.

tatzz65

· #25 · Jan 5, 2020

j2bhrv said:
Here a link to the Collegehills wiring adapter kit I used (page 3) and the horn kit (page 1) for anyone interested in a plug and play set up.

2016-2018 Honda HR-V Aftermarket Accessories

And the Stebel air horn, they make a compact truck air hon too but it was too big to fit in the HRV's left horn location.

Amazon.com: Stebel 11690019 - Nautilus Compact Mini Air Horn Black: Automotive

Hey thanks I been looking myself for something a little more beefy sound you mentioned about getting wire adapter for the new ones were can I get that cause yr right the horn wires are like floss string lol I appreciate were to get them are they from college hill to I never delt with them yet I got 18 hrv exl ,hey I got another question since you know alot more then me i had a completely different question i saw aftermarket lights the round driving lights on lower front the ones iam interested in are the same frame around that light has led n fog bulbs in frame with plug my question is were do you plug new lights in do you know if they have these extra plugs tucked away somewhere they say fit exactly but there no mention were these plug into I really like but didn't want to buy them and there has to plug into factory plug cause how change from white to fog idk I would greatly appreciate any help from you since you are so knowledgeable about Hrv's ,David

Dammit

· #26 · Jun 9, 2021

I'm VERY tempted to do this... but where to mount it?!? 150db truck train horn

Goobers

· #27 · Jun 9, 2021

Zip tie it to the grille?

Or go to Home Depot/Lowes/etc and buy some flat slotted steel/aluminum rods, bend them into shape them so the top mounts to where the radiator mounts and the horn sits behind the grille...?

Dammit

· #28 · Jun 10, 2021

I took a hard look yesterday. I think there is enough room above the radiator on the cross member at the front of the car. Other than that, I can't see a space to wedge an 18" long, 4" high, horn into the engine bay. The horn comes with some mounting hardware, just not sure if it would provide enough metal to hold it in place.

Xperiance

· #29 · Jan 8, 2022

CalgaryHRV said:
Mostly my wife drives our HRV but I ran an errand in it the other day and I needed the horn... siiiighhh...

I was working on our Acura TSX and noticed the horns on it. Took one off and plugged it into the HRV with a ground jumper wire.
The connector is identical, the horn is just much larger and much louder.
A quick cross-reference of Honda p/ns and found that the 2006 TSX horns are also used in the 2000-07 Honda Accords.

Off to a self-serve auto-wrecker, tons of Accords, picked up 2 horns off an '07 Accord, pass and drivers side, high and low frequency.
They look identical to the pics in this thread.

Back home, tested both horns with a 12V test power supply, took about an hour to install both in the HRV, plug and play.
Broke all 3 plastic pin retainers on the passenger side underbody front access panel.
The pin retainers are different than the other underbody pins.
I have tons of various Honda pins, clips, etc. You always need those on hand when working on a Honda.
Replaced those pins and installed both horns. Low frequency on the drivers side and high freq on the pass side.
It likely doesn't matter which side is which anyway.
And now our HRV has real horns for a total of CDN$5/ US$3.75 and a couple hours of quality time in the garage!

Thanks to everyone for the info in this thread...

Hi, so will this fit my 2016 HR-V? Wanted to confirm before I buy it: USA OEM 2PCS Tone Horn For Honda Accord 38150SDBA02 38100SDBA02 For Acura RL/TSX | eBay

CalgaryHRV

· #30 · Jan 8, 2022

Xperiance said:
Hi, so will this fit my 2016 HR-V? Wanted to confirm before I buy it: USA OEM 2PCS Tone Horn For Honda Accord 38150SDBA02 38100SDBA02 For Acura RL/TSX | eBay

Those horns look identical to the Accord horns I installed 2 years ago including the electrical connector.
They also match the model year of our Acura TSX and the Honda Accord where I took the used horns from.

They should work fine!

No issues at all with our HRV horn upgrade. I had forgotten all about it.

Reactions: 2

Xperiance

· #31 · Jan 8, 2022

CalgaryHRV said:
Those horns look identical to the Accord horns I installed 2 years ago including the electrical connector.
They also match the model year of our Acura TSX and the Honda Accord where I took the used horns from.

They should work fine!

No issues at all with our HRV horn upgrade. I had forgotten all about it.

Thank you very much for confirming with me; I'll buy them right now!👍

Reactions: 2

Dr. Toboggan

· #32 · Jan 13, 2022

Xperiance said:
Thank you very much for confirming with me; I'll buy them right now!👍

Me too (thanks!), but it will probably be a while before they get installed. I still want to change my LX grill to the Sport and will do the horns at the same time.

Reactions: 1

Xperiance

· #33 · Jan 13, 2022

Dr. Toboggan said:
Me too (thanks!), but it will probably be a while before they get installed. I still want to change my LX grill to the Sport and will do the horns at the same time.

Sounds like a plan! My horns should arrive by tomorrow, but will install them in February since I'll get yellow LEDs for the foglights!

Dr. Toboggan

· #34 · Jan 13, 2022

I want to upgrade my LX to fog lights also, another thing to do when the front is off and considering everything, I most likely will let the dealership do it because I’d have to remove the steering wheel to install the switch.

Xperiance

· #35 · Jan 13, 2022

Dr. Toboggan said:
I want to upgrade my LX to fog lights also, another thing to do when the front is off and considering everything, I most likely will let the dealership do it because I’d have to remove the steering wheel to install the switch.

Yea that seems to be a lot of work. Looking forward to seeing it!

Xperiance

· #36 · Feb 5, 2022

CalgaryHRV said:
Those horns look identical to the Accord horns I installed 2 years ago including the electrical connector.
They also match the model year of our Acura TSX and the Honda Accord where I took the used horns from.

They should work fine!

No issues at all with our HRV horn upgrade. I had forgotten all about it.

Hey buddy, I'm getting service done today and I thought I can kill two birds with one stone, but Honda quoted me $500+ for labor just to install the horns. No thanks! I'll just do it myself. Is there anything I should be aware of to help me install them? Thanks

CalgaryHRV

· #37 · Feb 5, 2022

US$500 to install the 2 HRV horns?!! I might be in the wrong line of work!

Lol, I would suggest that the Honda dealer didn't want to do the job so they just gave you a ridiculous price.

There are my posts and other posts in this thread including a video that detail the horn install.

I don't recommend removing the front bumper to install the horns but I'll let you make that decision.

Reactions: 1

suparoo

· #38 · Feb 6, 2022

I have a brand new Stebel Nautilus compact air horn in the garage that was supposed to been fitted to my 2016 CRV. I am not electrical savvy and don't want to screw anything up or burn anything out to void my warranty by playing around with the electrics.

Ein

· #39 · Feb 6, 2022

It is simple plug-and-play. The most difficult parts are locating the horns and removing them. No more difficult than changing a light bulb

suparoo

· #40 · Feb 6, 2022

Ein said:
It is simple plug-and-play. The most difficult parts are locating the horns and removing them. No more difficult than changing a light bulb

You haven't seen my DIY skills. 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

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