Modern Buddy

The Bud just came out of and intense open-panel horn transplant!
HOLY CRAP THAT'S ONE LOUD HORN!





I also have a question for dalvarado, the original Stebel install "how-to"
poster (or for anyone else who may know the answer): I just extended
the wires from the original horn about 10 inches and hooked them up to
my Nautilus. I had to move stuff around a little, and of course bolt the
horn down. Other than that, I didn't change anything... What are all those
extra steps and did I mess something up? The horn works GREAT how it
is now, so I don't know what the deal is.

I'm still stuck with the magnum in my bike, I dont think I need a new one, it is a big different compared to the standard buddy horn, but if I could choose, I would have used the same one as you.

Go out and chase some birds and squirrels, their fun to honk at.

So it sounds like you just hooked-up the wires from the original horn directly to your new Stebel horn right? No relay between the Stebel and the original wiring. If so, you might burn up the original wiring and/or horn button because the Stebel draws a lot more current than the original horn - possibly more than the original wiring or horn button was meant to carry. Ideally, the original wires should be connected to the coil of a high current relay (which draws very little power) and the contacts of the relay should be connected between the battery (through a fuse) and the horn. In this way, the relay contacts carry all the current for the horn rather than the horn button and original wiring.

jfrost2 wrote:
Go out and chase some birds and squirrels, their fun to honk at.

i did that a lot when i first got mine.

babblefish wrote:No relay between the Stebel and the original wiring. If so, you might burn up the original wiring and/or horn button because the Stebel draws a lot more current than the original horn - possibly more than the original wiring or horn button was meant to carry. Ideally, the original wires should be connected to the coil of a high current relay (which draws very little power) and the contacts of the relay should be connected between the battery (through a fuse) and the horn. In this way, the relay contacts carry all the current for the horn rather than the horn button and original wiring.

RUH RO, RAGGY!
Looks like I left something out... I figured as much. Where am I supposed to get this relay and fuse and what kind do I need? I obviously have no idea what I'm doing. I guess I should hook it up the "safe" way, so I don't ruin anything... It prolly shows how to do all that on the install post, I'll just have to take another look. Thanks!

Didn't mean to get you all worked-up! There's a good chance you may not need to do anything since you're probably not going to be using your horn all the time and when you do, it's just for short "beeps". On the other hand, maybe you do tend to "lean on the horn" a lot! Anyway, if you do need a relay/fuse, get them at any auto parts store like Autozone, Kragen, Napa, etc. They're usually available as a kit with wires and connectors for wiring-up fog lights and such.

An easy way to do the relay, look for a kit at the autoparts store. They are very common for accessory lights etc. Basically you're running power from the battery through the relay to the horn, a relay is just an electronic switch. The old horn wires would act as the on/off signal for the relay. This way they don't have to carry the extra power the horn needs (original wires weren't set up to handle that). I had a pair of them for my HID project for $25.