DIY Horn Upgrade Mod - Updated Jan 12

No idea. Please take photos and post them and let us know.

dstefanko said:

I have a 2014 model and just getting ready to replace the horn. Is it the same as the 2013s where you have to go from the bottom?

thanks

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Just did the upgrade on my 2014 Leaf today... DEFINITELY go at it from the bottom!! I was able to get there from the top, but it is much more difficult that the original (very well done) instructions indicate.

It worked though, and I only bled a little...

Nice. Which horns did you put in?

So we had someone drift in to our lane, I honked the horn to let them know we were there and wow was I under impressed. So I ordered the FIAMM 74100 El Grande - Twin Horns from amazon and put them in today. I also went from the bottom, pretty easy up on ramps.

I stole the idea to put the before and after on Youtube from this thread, but added a DB meter. I do have it calibrated, but really it is just for reference before and after. The funny thing it registered the exact same, 83 dB, my wife literally laughed out loud after the fact. But she and I both agree that it sounds better, she swears it is louder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a3zoAjMqls" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BrockWI said:

So we had someone drift in to our lane, I honked the horn to let them know we were there and wow was I under impressed. So I ordered the FIAMM 74100 El Grande - Twin Horns from amazon and put them in today. I also went from the bottom, pretty easy up on ramps.

I stole the idea to put the before and after on Youtube from this thread, but added a DB meter. I do have it calibrated, but really it is just for reference before and after. The funny thing it registered the exact same, 83 dB, my wife literally laughed out loud after the fact. But she and I both agree that it sounds better, she swears it is louder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a3zoAjMqls" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Funny! For my 2012, the Fiamm were definitely louder. Maybe Nissan improved the stock horn?

I want to make it so that when I press the horn for more than 2 seconds a third horn starts playing. Anybody know how to do that?

Thanks for the info. I was laughing the first time I tried honking in the leaf. It sounds like a squeak toy. Anyway, as some suggested, I went with the "PIAA 85110 115db 400HZ + 500HZ".

The original wiring plugs right into one of the horns. I then just T'd off both wires using the provided wiring from PIAA and plugged it into the second hord. I mounted both on the same bracket that the original horn comes on and it was installed in around 30 min (from the top).

The horn when locking is different I noticed. At first I was shocked when I locked the car and I still heard the sad squeak. But when the car is on and you press the horn, it's MUCH louder and sounds very similar to our Volt now. I'm very pleased!

derekwrobel said:

The horn when locking is different I noticed. At first I was shocked when I locked the car and I still heard the sad squeak. But when the car is on and you press the horn, it's MUCH louder and sounds very similar to our Volt now. I'm very pleased!

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Yep, uses a different speaker -- same one that produces the "vehicle sound for pedestrians", iirc. For me it was a nice change; my last car used to scare me out of my socks when pressing the lock button on the fob! :lol:

I just did this on my '13 SV last night. I bought the FIAMM horns on amazon and the brackets they came with were shorter/flatter. I ended up stacking them both to the driver's side forming a sideways "V" with the brackets. I went through the top after removing the plastic shrouds on the condenser(I used to be a tech at multiple new car dealers-finger yoga is my thing).

I wired a jumper between the two power terminals on the horn and the brown connector with green wire, connecting the black connector with the black wire with white tracer in it the ground eye provided in the kit.

Works good, it's nice you don't have to move the coolant tank out of the way.

hawkeye1824 said:

Just did the upgrade on my 2014 Leaf today... DEFINITELY go at it from the bottom!! I was able to get there from the top, but it is much more difficult that the original (very well done) instructions indicate.

It worked though, and I only bled a little...

Click to expand...

I have the 2014 Leaf S, and already have the FIAMM el grande horns ordered from amazon. if you go from the bottom does it have the crush panel as indicated in this post? I did try and look to see if I could do it from the top but it appears that it is different from the original DIY as others have indicated.

http://sfbayleafs.org/technical/diys/leaf-horn-upgrade/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also, regarding the wiring, it's confusing based on others posts. Some are saying that wiring is included but I didn't get any. I also looked at the instructions included but I think they are for people that can read it properly, I can't understand exactly how to put it together and how the stock wires are/are not used.

Do I just go buy some extra wire or do I have to buy an entire spindle to create the "Y" which I'm not entirely sure how to connect either. I've posted a pic of the horns below, did I even assemble it correctly? That "ground" bolt, is that something I supply from home depot as well? Are the silver spade connectors coming out of the horns the positive? What about the one without a spade connector?Is the gold connectors the ground? It seems like everyone else knows exactly what all this stuff is, but I have no clue. Thanks for your help!

Put the car up on ramps and Pop off the bottom aero panel and then remove and install the horns as by the DIY. One thing I found that makes it easier to install the new horns is to use a longer bolt than the one that holds the single stock horn an bracket.

In addition there is now a dedicated ground lead for the stock horn, so, make 2 pigtails, one for power and one for ground. No relay is necessary as the stock circuit is already controlled by one.

ChristopherJLee said:

hawkeye1824 said:

Just did the upgrade on my 2014 Leaf today... DEFINITELY go at it from the bottom!! I was able to get there from the top, but it is much more difficult that the original (very well done) instructions indicate.

It worked though, and I only bled a little...

Click to expand...

I have the 2014 Leaf S, and already have the FIAMM el grande horns ordered from amazon. if you go from the bottom does it have the crush panel as indicated in this post?

Click to expand...

Sorry, I don't have the answer to that. The front bottom panel only takes a few minutes to remove so it may be best you do that and find the definite answer (and update the wiki page, here ).

ChristopherJLee said:

http://sfbayleafs.org/technical/diys/leaf-horn-upgrade/

Also, regarding the wiring, it's confusing based on others posts.

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ChristopherJLee said:

I also looked at the instructions included but I think they are for people that can read it properly, [...]/quote]Judging by your writing, I am willing to bet that the problem is not with you!

ChristopherJLee said:

I can't understand exactly how to put it together and how the stock wires are/are not used.

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Have you looked at the wiki page on horn replacement? Is that any clearer?

Just a quick note on this, I installed my new horn today on my 2015 Leaf. Waaaaay easier to go in from the bottom. I installed one in my 2011 Leaf from the top and this took half the time. No ramps needed!
I just removed the front 7 bolts from the bottom cover and was able to easily get the tools and horn in without completely removing the entire cover. About 40 minutes all in. Easy to see all the work you're doing through the small front grill.

fyi
I went with the Wolo Model 320-2T Maxi Sound from Amazon again and love the sound.

yes, on the 13~15 cars going at the horn is best done from underneath.

I just did my 2015's horns this weekend. It is nearly impossible to access the horn from the top of the engine bay.

Instead, carefully jack the car up or get it on ramps, take out the 10mm bolts and the first four plastic pop-offs, and the undercarriage cover will drop down nicely. Remove the 12mm bolt holding on the stock "horn" :lol: and replace it with your own. The pig-tail for power to a dual horn doesn't have to be long at all. The wire from the existing horn is quite long.

Let's pretend that somebody was really tired, and wired up the horns with reverse polarity... horns worked... until they didn't. :sigh:

The good news is that I installed from the bottom I'll attempt to repair from the top. Then can compare operations on the 2011.

Well, now I know.

Much faster to go in from the top of the 2011. But WAY less access. It was good to install from below (get the ramps, remove more fasteners... and have huge access. It was good to switch polarity from the top (open hood, remove a few fasteners... and have limited access, but enough to swap the polarity).

New horn fuse, and I'm all set.

Darell what did you do

If you replace your stock horn with one(s) that don't use their case as ground, it does not matter which connector on the horn is the + or the - connection.

BrockWI said:

Darell what did you do

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Hey Brock! 'Sup?

I'm gonna blame old age. Thought for sure that I had the + and - sorted. And... I do now.