Because the stock horn was so wimpy, I set out to upgrade it to something more befitting of the NYC and surrounding area attitude we all know and love.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out just how easy the horn upgrade would be.

Behind the driver side headlight is a horn for the alarm system. Leave that one alone.

Thinking the horn would be buried in the bumper area, I took out both fog lights (it's a Sport) and looked around. Hmm. No horns there. I was happy when I did find the horn. It's right behind the grille!
1) Took off all the pop 'em thingys and removed the black shroud between the grille and radiator/hood latch support.
2) Took off the driver side pop 'em from the black plastic latch cover and swung that out of the way. Now I had got access to the little meep meepy horn.
3) 12mm bolt holds the horn. Removed it.
4) The Fit's horn is one wire only. I was surprised. The plug has two terminal spots, but the horn only gets (+) voltage from the purple wire.
5) I mounted two Fiamm "El Grande" horns that I got from Advance Auto Parts for $20 (I'd used these or similar Fiamms on my motorcycles and they were great). Both horns get a short bracket, and both brackets can go to the one bolt. I did aim the snouts of the horns angled mostly down so water won't collect inside.
6) The fit may throw (+) to the horns, but given the small gauge of the wire and the fact that I've had these horns before, I knew better than to pigtail off of the stock wire and let the 10 amp (each) horns fry my stock wiring.
7) Wired up the included relay, running a fused line to the battery (which is close by), grounding the relay to the horns with one of the spade terminal tabs they came with, and then power feed to the horn, and the horn trigger to energize the relay.
8) Hit the horn button and Wow! My Fit sounds like an expensive European import instead of an economical Japanese import. That's more like it.
9) Taped the connections, wire tie the relay someplace away from the impact sensors for the airbags (maybe not far enough... I'll go back in and neaten up my install a little more... darn OCD), and then put back the latch shroud and the black cover and all the pop 'ems and then went out for a drive and let people know I was coming.

$25 bucks or so well spent.
To do this get the Fiamm El Grande horns.
Some female spade connectors
Decent gauge wire
Fuse holder
Fuse 15-20 A
small male blade connector that you'd need to snip down narrow enough to fit the stock horn connector, but only if you don't want to just cut it and splice the wire.
Ring connector for battery connection
Electrical tape
Wire ties
An hour or less of your time depending on skill and mindset (see my forum "name"... I have issues but at least I know it.)

I will do this to my wife's 09 base model. Perhaps I'll take a pic or two and add a sound clip.

Enjoy!

 

Yes, please post a picture or two. This one of the short list of my dislikes of the new Fit. The horn is embarassing.

 

Thanks for the report. I've been thinking about changing the horn and in fact this morning and at lunch today I first went to a body shop and then Honda to inquire about changing horns.

Sounds pretty easy to do, though your list of needed items seems lengthy.

I want to switch to my Acura RSX-S horn. Do you think it will work?

 

A sound clip would be nice too if you can get one.

 

No body shop or Honda dealer required for this if you are mechanically inclined. Given that the relay is needed due to the increased current draw of the Fiamm horns I used, this is not a "plug and play" operation. But, if your Acura RSX-S horn is fed by only one wire, you might be able to plug and play there... if the Acura is equipped with two horns, you might need to do a piggy back from one to the other. But then, that'll increase the load on the Fit's one fairly small gauge wire. I'm guessing that the Acura uses two wires and two horns. You can probably search around online to answer for that.

As for the list of supplies, it may seem lengthy, but it's not, really. Put it this way... Advance Auto Parts has a $4.99 box of assorted crimp on connectors that contains all the kinds needed and then some. They've got the fuse holders, fuses, etc. Any Pep Boys, AutoZone, etc should have it all in one isle. So that's a few things in one shot. Electrical tape, fuses, etc... simple stuff, really.

 

The 05 RSX has 2 horns, which is why I like it.

Sounds like I can manage to do the work myself. Thanks for the explanation. Can't wait to eschew the puny horn. It's so embarrassing.

 

Thanks for the info TKZ.
Sounds burly

 

The Stebel Nautilus is a mini air horn designed for motorcycles. Much, much louder than the disc horns.

Have Hella SuperTone horns now - about 110 dB. The Fiamm mentioned is 130 dB - at 4". The Nautilus is 139 dB at 4 feet! There are many clips on utube etc, like http://video.aol.com/video-detail/st...-db/2808557013.

It does not annoy people the way that some loud horns do. About $35. Also requires a relay.

 

The fit has two horns one by the hood latch and one under the drivers head light.

 

I'm using Hella super tone myself it sounds pretty much like a Volvo 850's stock horn but a bit louder. Which is pretty good already.

 

Looks like there's so much room behind the grill, you could mount just about any type of air horn.

 

Thanks!!! I think im going to change my car horn too. It sounds cute but its not going sound cute when im about to have an accident. haha.

TKZ, do you know the name and model number of the horn you bought? I really like the sound that the horn you installed. There is no Advance auto parts on the west coast so i think im going to buy it online. Thanks!

 

You saw my other post from today about the horns and rock guard I put in?

The horns are Fiamm and the model is El Grande and come as a pair with a relay and brackets. Available on Amazon too. Pep Boys and AutoZone had a similar set from another maker, but I had good luck with the Fiamms so I stuck with them. Happy hunting...Have fun!

 

Just placed an order with Amazon for Fiamm 74100 El Grande. Is this yours?

Question...you listed a Fuse 15-20A. What is this and what's it for? You also listed a fuse holder. ??? I'm a novice at this electrical thing so it's all Chinese to me. (And I don't speak Chinese)

Any other tips on installation I would really appreciate. Hopefully it'll be even more simple and straightforward than it sounds.

Thanks!

 

In layman's terms ...

The stock wiring will only control the relay (an electrically-controlled switch) because the new horns draw more current than the stock wiring is rated for.

The power for the new horns has to come from the battery via heavy gauge wire that you route from the battery to the relay, then from the other side of the relay to the horns.

The wiring from the battery has to be fused in case the wire shorts out (hence the fuseholder and 15 or 20 amp fuse). Without a fuse, sparks would be a flyin' if the wire shorted out! The fuseholder should be as close to the battery as possible.

With the new setup, when you press the horn you're turning the relay on or off, which in turn connects/disconnects the new horns to the battery.

 

what i did is remove the front bumper to install my bosch silve horn.

 

Can any of you who installed a new horn post a photo of the battery/fuse thing so I can get a better sense of how it should look?

Or...any of you in the SoCal area willing to install the horn for me for a fee I would consider. I ordered my horn yesterday but I'm not confident at all for the install.

Thanks.

 

CrystalFive,

I dont have any pics of it for you, but it is quite easy to complete. The link below will give you an idea of how to wire the relay. Just use a medium sized wire (no need for anything huge), place a fuse within 12-18 inches of the battery, and you will be all set. The chart shows how the relay should be connected.

Relay Wiring

Hope it helps. LMK if you have more questions.

 

Thanks, S0L GT.

TKZ12NO1 is going to help me out with the wiring, but I'm keeping your diagram for when I actually do the install. Electrical stuff is all gibberish to me.

 

Here is a copy of the scant instructions included with these horns.

I haven't installed them yet, and I'm considering purchasing the Accord "low" horn, for comparison.

I may do one install on the Fit, and one on a street bike, whichever works out best.