Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Installing a PIAA 400hz/500hz Sports Horn on Jeep JK Wrangler Unlimited

Living in Chicago I find it necessary to use my horn more than I'd like.  Cars pull out in front of me, people walk in the middle of the street like it's their back yard, etc.  Sadly, when I honk at them they either ignore me or laugh at my big bad Jeep that sounds like a Scooter.  I have been emasculated for the last time.  I'm installing a real horn!

When researching horns I found that there's not as much out there as I expected.  There are a ton of air horns and cheap after market horns, but most won't fit in the tight space under the hood or aren't attention getting.  I decided to go with a PIAA Sports Horn.  They have two different versions.  The lower pitched 400hz/500hz and the high pitched 500hz/600hz.  I listened to as many sound clips as I could find online and decided to go with the low pitched horn.  It has a deep full note that sounds more masculine.  The high pitched horn seems to be more appropriate for a Porsche or sports car.

The stock horn is located on the drivers side just behind the headlight.  It is held on with one torx screw.



After dismounting the horn you'll find two wires connected to it.  The black one is negative and the yellow/brown is positive.

NOTE: the OEM and PIAA horns are not polarity specific.  You can wire them either way and it will work fine.  However, Air Horns and some other after market horns may be.  Read the directions! 



Since the PIAA horn is a set of two, I had to create a jumper wire to accommodate the connections to the second horn.  The easiest way to do this is with wire-tap connectors that are available at Radio Shack



The next step is to crimp insulated spade connectors on the other end of the wire that are also available at Radio Shack.  The horns will be mounted somewhat close, so the wire only needs to be about 8" in length.



Space is limited in a Jeep.  It is especially difficult to mount anything under the hood that will be off-road worthy and maintain the stock look. Fortunately I found a lower bolt that holds a probe of some-sort.  I used that location to mount the 500Hz horn.  The install is simple.  Remove the bolt, connect the original wires to the horn, and put it back together. 



The 400Hz horn will not re-mount in the OEM location.  The horn is a bit too big.  I was able to use the bolt that mounts the remote start hood safety switch.



Pictures don't do this install justice.  I created this YouTube video that has sound clips of the original Jeep JK Wrangler horn and the PIAA horn.  Can you hear me now? ;-)

























13 comments:

  1. I experienced the same disappointment with the OEM horn and coincidentally purchased the same PIAAs. These dual horns make a world of difference. Did a Google search and came across your blog. Thanks for the great installation advice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jim: Thanks for the great write-up and youtube sound clip. Can you post a better photo of the installation area of the second horn? I have a 2011 Wrangler, and can install the new PIAA in the stock Jeep location, but can't find a suitable place or bolt for the second horn.

    Thanks again,

    Mabar

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Jim. Great write up. I'm attempting to install these same horns on my JK. Just wandering how did you get at that Torx screw that holds the factory horn to the bracket. It's in such a small lousy location. thanks. Doug

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