I was hoping to get some advise on how to install 12 volt oooga horn. The horn has a single wire coming out of the housing and I want to install a horn button on the inside of the vehicle. I have an inline 15 amp fuse and plenty of wire to do the job. Question is,,,, how to wire everything so that it will all work!!!! I was hoping for some kind of a diagram or instructions,,,I know it sounds easy,,,but not for me!,,,,I could use any advise,,Thanks!

Well you could just replace your existing horn with the new one, but if you want to keep your original horn then do this.

Apparently your horn is grounded by the housing or mounting bracket on the horn. The one wire is the hot wire. when you mount the horn it will be grounded to the frame or body of your car depending on where you mount it.

Look on the housing of the horn to see how many amps that it uses.You will want to use wire that can handle the amperage of the horn.

Look for a 12 volt source in your fuse panel that isn't being used or run from the battery.Running from the battery will take alot more wire.Make sure your 12 volt source supplies power with the key off if you want the horn to work without the key on.

Run a wire from the 12 volt source to one side of your horn button. Install the in-line fuse in this wire.
Run another wire from the other side of the horn button to the wire on your horn.

If the horn is mounted properly and has a good ground, then when you push the button:OOOOGGGGGAAAA!!!!

This should be wired with a Relay.

roys63 is absolutely right!
For some reason it didn't occur to me that your horn will be drawing alot of power.

Wiring a relay into the circuit is a bit more complicated. It would be hard, for me at-least, to explain. Maybe someone else could.

What model car are you installing the horn on? Your car may already have a horn relay and wiring that is capable of handling the power draw of the ooga horn.
It would be much easier to explain how to incorporate the horn into your existing system.

Two Cylinder-
I'm attempting to attach a wiring diagram for your ooga horn. If this doesn't work, I'll send you a personal message.

Ed

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I've came across this thread (and forum) while doing some research before adding a classic claxon "Ooga" horn to my current-production Chevrolet HHR.

I haven't yet decided whether it will replace the OEM horn altogether or if I will be adding a discreet circuit/switch to maintain use of the OEM horn for the standard vehicle alarm and so forth. However, I have, in my reading, come across much discussion of how a relay is incorporated into most modern vehicles to accommodate the intermittently high power draw when sounding the horn rather than being just a straight 12-Volt pos/neg-ground electrical wiring connection.

I won't be adding one of the many aftermarket $30 "mock" Ooga's. I've located a genuine rebuilt and refurbished Model A Sparton claxon horn with all its "throaty" oogaing goodness. And while replacing the OEM horn with a modern aftermarket replacement would be a relatively simple "red to red" and "ground to ground" swap-out, integrating the already-present relay into the circuit, I have no idea what the classic 12V Sparton horn requires.

Being a vintage item from a vintage vehicle, my gut tells me it may have been based on a "straight wire" design. On the other hand, given how loud and how relatively inefficient the older design is likely to be, my gut also tells me it may need the extra "oomph" a relay may provide. The problem, of course, is that most people seem to be installing Sparton horns in Model A's or newer aftermarket horns in current-era vehicles. Very few seem to be mixing and matching, and sources of available expertise or specific "how to" information seems to be even rarer.

I'm an admitted absolute novice in all things electric, except knowing it consists of positive and negative, and grounding basically gives the current a place to run with less resistance than the human body (usually). I have no idea how a relay works, but I simply acccept it may be necessary and can read a basic wiring diagram and solder/connect accordingly. All I really need to know (I think) is whether or not a relay is required, and I'd greatly appreciate any experienced guidance, preferably from someone who has actually installed a classic Sparton (or similar) claxon horn in a current-era vehicle to tell me, "Yes, you do need a relay," or "No, you don't.".

In lieu of the specific guidance, is it something I can simply "wire up and try" without a relay and, if it doesn't provide sufficient "oogaing power", insert a Bosch (or equivalent) relay in the circuit without causing damage to either my vehicle or the horn?

I'd greatly appreciate any first-hand or expert guidance that may be available and apologize for hijacking a thread.

Thanks, in advance, to all who may help.

Remmie

it is most likely that the horn you have is a 6v horn, so what you will want is a voltage reducer. www.speedwaymotors.com sells these. you will want the ceramic 1 for blower motors ( an OOGAH horn is motor driven ).. you will also want a relay capable of drawing at least 35 amps as the horn will peak somewhere around 30 amps. if you wire a OOGAH horn w/o a relay, it will sound like a sick cow, no question. you can get bosch relay wiring harnesses from your local auto parts store.

Actually, the Sparton horn I have is 12V. (Though I wonder if the extra voltage piped into a 6V Sparton would adequately compensate for the lack of amperage without a relay?)

Anyway, I'll add Bosch relay and provide for a 35 amp draw if I opt for a discreet wiring connection, which I most likely will do. Otherwise, I presume it would be a "straight" swap for the OEM horn in the unlikely event I decide to just replace it.

Thank you for your advice.

voltage and amperage are 2 diffrent things. amperage is actually higher with 6v than with 12v. 12v through a 6v horn will just burn it up.

new OEM horns do not have the amp draw of an old oogah horn.. if you want to replace the factory horn, what I would do is use the + wire that goes to the current OEM horn, for the control circuit of a Bosch relay.