Air Horn Problems
Wayne
Horns on the car! The first two sets came from the Crazy Red Italian and the
last set I bought from my local Trak Auto. These are the same Horns as Crazy
Red uses (FIAMM - made in Italy). The first two sets died a slow death and
finaly ended up just blowing air and nothing else - in other words - no damned
horn! My question is: has anyone else experienced this problem with there
Horns. It's not like I ride through the streets blasting them everwhere I go.
The Horns get no more use than any other horns on any other car I've owned.
What's up?
WayneR
99 Emerald Mica
Somewhere in N.VA
Richard Hopkins
horns. In fact, the same thing happened to me several months ago.
Two possibilities: the trumpets themselves might have failed, or
(my theory) the "easy" wiring instructions from CRI are to blame.
The compressor overloads the stock horn wiring and burns itself
out. You are also sharing the brake light circuit, not a good
idea. I ordered another set (from PBC) and wired them with 12
gauge wire from the underhood fuse box, using the empty (on my
car) ABS fuse prongs. Using a 20 amp inline fuse and a relay, I
was all set. The horns are *loud*. I still don't know if I've
increased the longivity -- time will tell. But, the horns are
getting plenty of power, and I don't have to worry about blowing
my brakelights. Instructions on wiring air horns through the
fusebox are in the Miata.Net garage section under "electrical".
Rick Hopkins
'96 base
San Francisco
----------
In article <7d09oj$h2v$2...@winter.news.rcn.net>,
Lanny Chambers
<rkho...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>I ordered another set (from PBC) and wired them with 12
>gauge wire from the underhood fuse box, using the empty (on my
>car) ABS fuse prongs. Using a 20 amp inline fuse and a relay, I
>was all set. The horns are *loud*.
This is exactly how I installed my CRI (FIAMM) horns nearly two years ago,
and they're doing fine. It might also help that I "test" them at least
weekly, which may keep the compressor in good shape.
---
Lanny Chambers, St. Louis, USA
'94C
Got Red?
--
---
Lanny Chambers (la...@derived.com) St. Louis, USA
Visit the Hummingbird Page: <http://www.derived.net/hummers/>
Bates
work fine.
Ray
Lanny Chambers wrote in message ...
Sonny
months, ~25,000 miles and they worked fine until recently. It
was on my last ski trip to Vermont where the temperature was ~0 F
that caused one of the trumpets to terminally fail. Looking into
installing one of those airhorns used in Peterbilt trucks. My
GF's friend is a mechanic for those big-rigs and thinks we can
get one of those things - compressor, airtank and all - into the
engine bay. We'll see...
--
Later...
Sonny & "Bonnie" (STO #679)
Team E.R. (http://www.quicklink.com/~sonny/)
(son...@email.com)
Barry W. Behrmann II
the cold Cincinnati winters. This is the second year in a row that my Crazy
Red air horns have failed during the winter season. Last year it slowly
died, until complete failure. I contacted CR and they replaced it at no
charge. The new unit worked fine all spring, summer, and fall, but come
winter it slowly died again! My guess is that the cool air is affecting the
compressor in some way, but I'm not sure if it will fix itself when the
warmer weather comes along. I guess I'll find out in about a month.
Please let me know if there is something I can do to correct this.
Thanks,
-Barry
ba...@behrmann.com
Wayne <jdc...@erols.com.nospam> wrote in message
news:7d09oj$h2v$2...@winter.news.rcn.net...
Lanny Chambers
<ba...@behrmann.com> wrote:
>My guess is that the cool air is affecting the
>compressor in some way, but I'm not sure if it will fix itself when the
>warmer weather comes along. I guess I'll find out in about a month.
>
>Please let me know if there is something I can do to correct this.
1. Install the relay that came with the CRI kit, but was not in the
instructions. The voltage across the OEM wiring is not sufficient to
overcome compressor lubricant that stiffens in cold weather. Search the
list archive or DejaNews for relay details. Might be on miata.net, too.
2. Exercise the compressor at least weekly to keep the it lubricated. Same
thing with air conditioning: 5 minutes per week to circulate lubricants
and dry the refrigerant, year-round, and it could last forever.
I did/do the above, and my CRI horns are fine after two years. And the A/C
on my 1985/142k Accord has never needed service of any sort.
PB84
>> I bought my 99 Miata in April of last year and now have my third set of
>Air
>> Horns on the car! The first two sets came from the Crazy Red Italian and
>the
>> last set I bought from my local Trak Auto. These are the same Horns as
>Crazy
>> Red uses (FIAMM - made in Italy). The first two sets died a slow death
>and
>> finaly ended up just blowing air and nothing else - in other words - no
>damned
>> horn! My question is: has anyone else experienced this problem with
>there
>> Horns. It's not like I ride through the streets blasting them everwhere I
>go.
>> The Horns get no more use than any other horns on any other car I've
>owned.
>> What's up?
>>
My air horns also slowly died. I thought it was a bad mini compressor so I
hooked up a new one and had the same problem! I blew some compressed air
(50-60 psi) down the line and the horns worked 4.0. I then squirted a little
silicone down the line followed by some more compressed air. Turns out the
diaphragms in the horns apparently got "stiff." I hooked the original horn
compressor back up and the horns haven't failed me since. Good luck. Pat
'91 BRG
Blue Moon
tested my horns weekly and have gone through 2 set of CRI horns. One lasted 7
months (died slowly), the next last 15 months (died suddenly). Both time the
trumpets failed.
In article <lanny-24039...@iits02198.inlink.com>,
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Blue Moon
Jay
suck. The compressor uses too much juice and the reeds in the horns wear
out or get jammed. Sometimes the compressor makes more noise then the
horns. I went through two sets of these as well. Now I have the Hella
horns. (red) The compressor is made of metal and doesn't pull too much
current. NO NEED FOR A RELAY. Just plug them in and ground the other end.
Hella's are louder and most importantly there is no BLATTTTT!! delay when
you hit the horn button. Good for rapid fire tooting.
J
Blue Moon wrote in message <7f2fsj$g07$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
Bennet K. Langlotz
>Lots of people use the FIAMM air horns in their kits. Problem is, they
>suck. The compressor uses too much juice and the reeds in the horns wear
>out or get jammed. Sometimes the compressor makes more noise then the
>horns. I went through two sets of these as well. Now I have the Hella
>horns. (red) The compressor is made of metal and doesn't pull too much
>current. NO NEED FOR A RELAY. Just plug them in and ground the other end.
>Hella's are louder and most importantly there is no BLATTTTT!! delay when
>you hit the horn button. Good for rapid fire tooting.
Where is a good spot to order Hellas at a good price?
--
Bennet K. Langlotz
ne...@langlotz.com
Jay
dual horns, $45.95 for three. I'm not sure if they ship? If not, you
should be able to find them at NAPA or what ever local auto parts store.
They cost a little bit more then the FIAMM kit, but they work. I wish I had
bought them first. I've got two pair of busted blue FIAMM kaka's sitting in
my garage.
J
Bennet K. Langlotz wrote in message
<3718f75c....@news.teleport.com>...
PB84
with a heavy dose of compressed air. Worked to "fix" mine. Pat
Ephar Smith
horns have a deeper tone than the amplified "Meep" of the Fiamms?
On Wed, 14 Apr 1999 14:52:57 -0700, "Jay" <boch...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
Jay
Ephar Smith wrote in message <37161df8...@news1.lig.bellsouth.net>...
>I got the Fiamms in a hurry to be heard when needed, do the Hella
>horns have a deeper tone than the amplified "Meep" of the Fiamms?
>
I've got the 2 horn kit. It's not a deep tone at all. It's a very high
pitched, out of phase, PHFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!! Most definitely in the
realm of obnoxious, but you do get heard.
J