Posted by Brian Albert | tagged: horn, car, mh-2, audio, Brian, kids

My co-hosts and crew have sometimes compared me to a human cartoon... so what better way to customize my car than with an old-timey "ooga horn"? These horns are way louder and cooler than the puny little factory horns in most cars, and are not that expensive -- you can pick one up online for under 40 bucks.

MATERIALS:

• Ooga horn
• Drill and drill bits
• Socket wrench
• Metal strip (about 2' long and 1" wide)
• Wire cutters/strippers
• Extra wire (about 5')
• Female-to-female crimp-on connector
• Somebody to ask you, "Are you sure this is a good idea?!"
• A car that deserves to be heard!

STEP 1: Find suitable spot for new horn

"Under the hood" is a good place to start. The rear right section under my hood looked pretty roomy.

STEP 2: Locate and remove old horn

My puny old factory horn was mounted up near the grill. Use a socket wrench and remove it without mercy! Unhook the wires -- some wiggling may be required, depending on the age and condition of your car.

My puny old factory horn was mounted up near the grill.

Use a socket wrench and remove it without mercy!

Unhook the wires -- some wiggling may be required, depending on the age and condition of your car.

STEP 3: Splice into existing horn wire

The wire that we unplugged from the old horn is the exact same wire that we splice into. All I did was cut off the connector and pull it through the front. Then I stripped the wire back about 1/4" and used the extra wire that was able to reach all the way around to the other side -- approximately 5'. (I joined the old horn wire to my new 5' extension wire using a female-to-female crimp-on connection.)

STEP 4: Make bracket for new horn

Hey, I bet that 2'x1" piece of metal you've got there would work great!

STEP 5: Mount new horn to car with bracket

STEP 6: Attach wires for new horn

Make sure you connect the positive wire to the switch, and the negative wire to ground (basically any piece of your existing frame is ground).

Note: we are allowed to skip a step here because most cars have a relay for the horn. If for some reason your car does not have a relay, or you believe a relay is something that involves two or more people running around a dirt track handing off a baton, then please refer to your car's manual and look in the fuse section -- there will be a fuse for your horn that should be hooked up to a relay. Also, the horn I used requires a 30-amp fuse -- please make sure that you rewire if appropriate!!! Don't try and get away with 10-amp wire for a 30-amp horn or you may see some fireworks a little earlier then expected.

STEP 7: AH-OOO-GA!

Once everything is mounted, give it a try.

If it does not work, first look and make sure that positive goes to positive and negative goes to negative.

If it still doesn't work, look at the fuse and make sure it is not blown.

If it STILL still doesn't work, get a voltage meter and check to make sure you're getting 12 volts.

If it still even STILL doesn't work, get your handy neighbor to come over and look at it and let him tell you that you shouldn't mess with your car unless you know what you're doing. Or call a mechanic!!!