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New Horn

If this is the same horn (PIAA | Powersports Slim Line Sports Horn (500Hz) #76501), PIAA claims it draws 2.7 amps. I don't know what the OEM switch is rated for but I would think it could handle 2.7A through its contacts. I think Stebel horns are around 18 amps or so necessitating the use of the OEM horn button to energize a relay instead of the horn directly.
 
pismocycleguy said:
My PIAA horn seems to be plenty loud using the OEM wiring and horn button. Much better, louder, than the OEM horn.
A lot of riders are using this horn without many complaints of frying the horn button.
So I'll wait and see what happens.
But thanks for the concerns.
Click to expand...

I am glad that someone has taken what I had to say as a "Concern". The issue that causes the failures is the "Arcing" of the coil in the horn creates as it operates when the button is "Engaged & Disengaged". This creates "Carbon" that will build up over time and "Eats Away" the plating on the button's contacts.

Carbon is a "Resistive" material by nature. It can be "Cleaned Away" and should periodically, possibly once a year or so to maintain “Full Voltages”. That will be dependent on how often this horn used and the durations of use. However the damaged plating cannot be replaced once it has been eroded away. This leaves those contacts open to corrosion thereafter. I just wanted everyone to take these factors into consideration.

I installed a “Relay Harness” for the horn on this past Saturday onto my bike. I took pictures of the installation. I modified the relay harness that came with the Vision X Solstice Solo LED Pod Kit that I bought off of Amazon, Amazon.com: Vision X XIL-SP120 Solstice Solo Prime Dual Light Motorcycle Kit (40° Narrow Beam) with FREE LED Emergency Flare: Automotive

I will upload and post a link to those pictures of the "Horn Relay Harness" later on for you all to review.

I also installed the Vision X LED Pods at the same time. I also used a Relay Harness for these, which I made myself. I used only the "Power Button" assembly from that Vision X relay harness kit. I plugged the "Trigger Power" for the power button assembly into the Honda Accessory harness (3-Pin) and connected the "Supply Power" for the relay into the "4-Pin" connector on this harness with a 5A fuse in series. Both of these LED Pods will draw about 1.5A when powered up, which is not that much. I wanted to be able to switch them "Off & On" than wiring them directly to the Accessory Harness.
 
agia said:
Powersports Slim Line Sports Horn (500Hz) #76501, PIAA claims it draws 2.7 amps. I don't know what the OEM switch is rated for but I would think it could handle 2.7A through its contacts. I think Stebel horns are around 18 amps or so necessitating the use of the OEM horn button to energize a relay instead of the horn directly.
Click to expand...

That is correct on both of those figures on those 2 horns. However you are overlooking what is referred as an "IR Drop", as we refer to in the engineering field. Each switch contact and length of wire adds Resistance "R". These can add up quickly. As current "Amps" pass through all these "Resistances" a voltage loss is resulted through each of them. Using Ohm's Law, V (Voltage) = I (Amp) X R (Ohms), thus the term "IR". You can see how current drawn is directly proportional to the "Voltage Drop", the more the current that is drawn, the more the Voltage that will be dropped between those points, which could be as much as 0.1 to 1 Volt in some cases. Eliminating all unnecessary switches and lengths of wire will have a direct effect on the voltage that will be delivered directly to the horn, making it "Louder" by some level of comparison.

I hope this explains what are the advantages of using a “Relay Harness” that is connected directly to the battery in greater detail.
 
How timely. Motorcycle Consumer News just published a horn comparison article.

While repeating the whole article here would be impractical, in summary the PIAA Slim Line was rated a little above average overall, based on the compact size, and decent sound level (114.9dB) for the relatively low 2.8A draw. It's big drawback was the price per dB.

Top rated, but not by landslides, was the Hella Twin Tone Horn Set 128.1 dB, and the Fiamm Twin Tone Horn Set 129.5 dB (which I happen to have).

The Wolo Bad Boy Dual Tone Air Horn pulled 16.3A, while the Stebel Nautilus Dual Tone Air Horn pulled 18A, but weren't any louder than 130dB.
 
Last edited:
Brillot2000 said:
That is correct on both of those figures on those 2 horns. However you are overlooking what is referred as an "IR Drop", as we refer to in the engineering field. Each switch contact and length of wire adds Resistance "R". These can add up quickly. As current "Amps" pass through all these "Resistances" a voltage loss is resulted through each of them. Using Ohm's Law, V (Voltage) = I (Amp) X R (Ohms), thus the term "IR". You can see how current drawn is directly proportional to the "Voltage Drop", the more the current that is drawn, the more the Voltage that will be dropped between those points, which could be as much as 0.1 to 1 Volt in some cases. Eliminating all unnecessary switches and lengths of wire will have a direct effect on the voltage that will be delivered directly to the horn, making it "Louder" by some level of comparison.

I hope this explains what are the advantages of using a “Relay Harness” that is connected directly to the battery in greater detail.
Click to expand...

I'm familiar with IR losses and the advantages of relay switching for high current devices. I haven't confirmed the current draw for the OEM horn but it is stamped 3.5A whereas the PIAA horn claims 2.7A. If the OEM horn is not on a relay, then why would the PIAA horn need it with a claimed current demand of 800mA less than the OEM horn? Otherwise, I understand your theory in minimizing these losses but at these lower current levels, I suspect plenty of juice is available to achieve both of these horns' designed output levels.
 
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I recently mounted a second horn that was similar to the oem horn on the NCX. Actually I mounted the two horns that were once stock on my FJR to the NCX to get the two-tone hi/low effect. I was prepared to add a relay if needed but the circuit seems to drive them both without issue. I didn't note the amp draw on the horns but I expect it is at least 6-7 amps combined. Will report back if we experience any issues/blown fuse but initial testing would indicate I can honk them repeatedly and annoy the neighbors and all the dogs in the neighborhood too quite effectively.
 
Hi Guys i live in England and was asking if anybody knows of a UK supplier that sells the PIAA horn or do i need to order it from the USA

many thanks for you help
 
silverhound said:
I recently mounted a second horn that was similar to the oem horn on the NCX. Actually I mounted the two horns that were once stock on my FJR to the NCX to get the two-tone hi/low effect. I was prepared to add a relay if needed but the circuit seems to drive them both without issue. I didn't note the amp draw on the horns but I expect it is at least 6-7 amps combined. Will report back if we experience any issues/blown fuse but initial testing would indicate I can honk them repeatedly and annoy the neighbors and all the dogs in the neighborhood too quite effectively.
Click to expand...


Replacing the horn hasn't been high on my list of things to do but if there was a simple solution like what you've done I'd be interested. Keep us updated please.
 
SergeantChuck said:
Replacing the horn hasn't been high on my list of things to do but if there was a simple solution like what you've done I'd be interested. Keep us updated please.
Click to expand...

LOL. Yeah, it wasn't very high on my list either but I had the two horns from the FJR and with this weather had some time to kill and energy to expend. I'll post up some pictures shortly but basically I made a bracket to hold the two horns side by side out of 1" x 1/8" steel and mounted it through the hole with a bolt that the OEM horn was attached to. I made two Y jumpers that plugged into the current horn wires to split the connections to go to two horns instead of one. If need be I can return everything to stock in about 5 minutes. No wires or bike parts were harmed in the process of this farkle. :D
 
Am I the only guy that bought the Hi-Low dual-tone version of the PIAA Slim Line Sports Horns? I like the dual tone sound MUCH better than the single. Having the two horns makes it sound a _lot_ louder to me, too.
 
SergeantChuck said:
Replacing the horn hasn't been high on my list of things to do but if there was a simple solution like what you've done I'd be interested. Keep us updated please.
Click to expand...
The horn is a safety device. It is only of value if heard. A driver with windows up and radio on will not hear stock horn when pulling out in front of you or drifting into your lane. My Stebil was installed before NC left showroom.
 
Fuzzy said:
The horn is a safety device. It is only of value if heard. A driver with windows up and radio on will not hear stock horn when pulling out in front of you or drifting into your lane. My Stebil was installed before NC left showroom.
Click to expand...

Your right. I can barely hear it but I've never been much of a horn blower. Not sure why. Although I find myself wanting to upgrade but looking for a simple plug and play.
 
670cc said:
How timely. Motorcycle Consumer News just published a horn comparison article.

While repeating the whole article here would be impractical, in summary the PIAA Slim Line was rated a little above average overall, based on the compact size, and decent sound level (114.9dB) for the relatively low 2.8A draw. It's big drawback was the price per dB.

Top rated, but not by landslides, was the Hella Twin Tone Horn Set 128.1 dB, and the Fiamm Twin Tone Horn Set 129.5 dB (which I happen to have).

The Wolo Bad Boy Dual Tone Air Horn pulled 16.3A, while the Stebel Nautilus Dual Tone Air Horn pulled 18A, but weren't any louder than 130dB.
Click to expand...


Hey Greg, is the Fiamm Twin Tone Horn Set 129.5 dB plug & play, or does it require a relay? Any pics of them on your bike? Also, do you have a link to this article? I can't find it on the MCN site.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
AdamW said:
Hey Greg, is the Fiamm Twin Tone Horn Set 129.5 dB plug & play, or does it require a relay? Any pics of them on your bike? Also, do you have a link to this article? I can't find it on the MCN site.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
The article is in the April 2014 edition of Motorcycle Consumer News.
 
AdamW said:
Hey Greg, is the Fiamm Twin Tone Horn Set 129.5 dB plug & play, or does it require a relay? Any pics of them on your bike? Also, do you have a link to this article? I can't find it on the MCN site.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

My horn upgrade is detailed in post #54 of THIS THREAD. It is not plug and play due to the current requirements. You can see the relay installed when you view my post.

MCN does not post their magazines to the public (maybe just a few teaser articles and the TOC). They have printed and electronic copies but you need to be a subscriber to get them, and it wouldn't be right for me to post it here.
 
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I wonder if all these loudness ratings are standardized... The Napa horn is "Horn dB Level : 130 db @ 4 inches / 430 Hz". The OEM horn is 110 db but don't know if that sound pressure level is measured at 4 inches from the horn.
 
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