need to replace the horn - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

benhogan · #1 08-05-2010, 10:48 AM

I just bought wifey a Honda Civic. She likes the car but hates the horn (too soft).

Does anyone here know of a good place to get a LOUD horn? are they easy enough to replace?

TX76513 · #2 08-05-2010, 10:54 AM

Why JC Whitney of course - take your pick. Don't know of a larger selection from pratical to WTF

The Siberian Express Train horn would be a good choice.

benhogan · #3 08-05-2010, 11:02 AM

good tip!

quick question- what is the difference between the high and the low horns?

TX76513 · #4 08-05-2010, 11:06 AM

I have always thought it was the tone (high/low)

MTI · #5 08-05-2010, 11:07 AM

Mercedes uses horns with two different frequency ranges, perhaps it makes the sound more audible to more folks.

Whenever I got a motorcycle, my first upgrade was to replace the stock horns with louder Hella electric units so that I could signal my presence to the lane drifting folks in "land yachts."

benhogan · #6 08-05-2010, 11:08 AM

thanks for the tip.

$19 with free shipping. can't beat that.

thanks a bunch

JamesDean · #7 08-05-2010, 12:30 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjR5K_Fb6r4&feature=related

mpolli · #8 08-05-2010, 01:39 PM

Cars usually have two horn sounders, a high and a low. I think this is required by DOT regs. Make sure both are working. It is common in Seattle for horns to die from non-use. They are electromechanical and get corrosion if not used for years. You can "repair" them by removing from car, hooking up 12V, and whacking with hammer. I had to do this on a Nissan where both had gone bad.

Jim B. · #9 08-05-2010, 02:02 PM

I bought a couple of screaming booming old Cadillac Fleetwood horns from a Cadillac junkyard for about $35

and then wired them in - to augment the W126 horns on my coupe.

That helped a LOT for cheap, as with the factory town and counry horns, the town horn sounded exactly like the beep of a VW bug which is ridiculous for a big black top of the line S class old Mercedes Benz.

I researched it a bit and also considered a screaming shrill Fiamme horn, like the Maseratis and Ferraris have.

Not as cheap as the Caddy junkyard ones, but the upside would be when the car in front of you jumps up in the air, and splits in half.

Then of course there is the train horn option, with an air compressor, for the total fanatics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQpa8whzwAE heeeeeeeeeeeeee

Pooka · #10 08-05-2010, 03:56 PM

A lot of old Fiats from the 1970's used air horns. They had two little trumpets and an air compressor.

You could likely find one of these units online. They were a lot louder than they looked like they would be,

#11 08-05-2010, 05:57 PM

I had an old Klaxon type horn (6V) on my high school beater car. It was pretty loud with 12V. I think it came off a 20s buick, it was kicking around my dads garage for years.

panZZer · #12 08-05-2010, 07:01 PM

Get a pair of tual tone horns from a 60's -70's chevy at the j-yard

TheDon · #13 08-05-2010, 07:04 PM

Hella SuperTones

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XLULsqTIpA

pawoSD · #14 08-06-2010, 12:21 AM

I'd just mount a double or triple set of the MB stock horns. That'd be LOUD!

Skippy · #15 08-08-2010, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benhogan

I just bought wifey a Honda Civic. She likes the car but hates the horn (too soft).

Interesting. Does she use the horn a lot? Mine get used infrequently enough that they're at risk of dying from lack of use. They aren't alone. My unit experienced a rash of dead air horns on MTVRs at CBC Gulfport that were crudded up from non-use. On a related note, one of my buddies was helping swap an alternator on an MTVR last night and managed to step on the horns, breaking them off. The sound emanating from what was left of the horn assembly was amusing, to say the least, kind of like the Honda horn maligned in the OP.

For anyone wondering what an MTVR is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_Tactical_Vehicle_Replacement