electical draw

[djbordie]

So I am upgrading my horns to the FIAMM Blaster series. They sound great but use 2 horns in place of the stock 1.

I dont understand how to measure the draw to decide which relay i use. (relay? right word?)

1 - Do i just hook up voltmeter to the stock horn and press it and see? or what...

2 - How do i measure draw of the new horns??

3 - How do figure out what relay to use after that?

as for the relay, i can do the wiring and such. I know the "gist" of having dedicated power from battery, dedicated switch from handle and ground.

Does that make sense?

can i splice from the relay to the 2 horns? or should they relay each?

thank you

2003 z1000 - Fiamm Freeway Blasters.
[weakest horn ive ever heard on a bike...aside from the 250 ]

thank you

 

[01cbr]

If by volt meter my mean ammeter....

The current the horn draws would be in amps. The new horn should have this info on the packaging no?

 

[djbordie]

If by volt meter my mean ammeter....

The current the horn draws would be in amps. The new horn should have this info on the packaging no?

forums say they draw 5 amps

website says they need 10 amp fuze

 

[Baggsy]

http://www.stromtrooper.com/maintenance-tech-farkles/46064-fiamm-freeway-blaster-horns.html

Someone did an install with pictures on StromTrooper. Does the picture show up?

 

[djbordie]

wow very nice.

so i guess it doesnt matter what the stock horns draw or does it?

how do i figure what size relay to use?

 

[Baggsy]

He removed the stock horn and connected the wires to the relay.

The stock horn button triggers the relay, which in turn triggers the new horns. That way you don't overload the stock wiring.

Parts list was at the link, including the relay.

12 volt dc waterproof Spdt 30/40A relay, 5 pin relay socket, fuse and holder

 

[djbordie]

Parts list was at the link, including the relay.

for a vstrom...not z1000.

does it matter?

from what i understand i does..

 

[gnatwest]

Any automotive relay will be fine.

 

[djbordie]

isnt the idea here to get the specific relay, so you get maximum horn output with proper draw, etc.

 

[Baggsy]

for a vstrom...not z1000.

does it matter?

from what i understand i does..

as long as it can handle the load. Your fuse is smaller than it's capacity. The big difference is using two horns in parallel instead of one.

 

[Baggsy]

isnt the idea here to get the specific relay, so you get maximum horn output with proper draw, etc.

A relay is just a more complicated on/off switch.

 

[frekeyguy]

Knowing the gist vs. wiring it up properly are two different things. Make sure you are wiring it up properly, last thing you want is to be stranded on the side of the road.

 

[frekeyguy]

as long as it can handle the load. Your fuse is smaller than it's capacity. The big difference is using two horns in parallel instead of one.

A relay is just a more complicated on/off switch.

Just wow!

 

[Baggsy]

Knowing the gist vs. wiring it up properly are two different things. Make sure you are wiring it up properly, last thing you want is to be stranded on the side of the road.

Is the horn on a separate circuit? It's pretty hard to mess this up, unless one causes a short to drain the battery, but in most cases the loud constant horn blast should alert one to the situation. Or one could forget to tighten the battery terminals.

The big thing is to make sure that the resistances of the horns are matched. Otherwise, all the power will ruN through one and not the other.

 

[gnatwest]

The horns could also be in series, either way is fine. By using the relay you are separating the draw from the horns from your main electrical system (when wired correctly) You dont need to match proper draw. The inline fuse will protect you from anything going horribly wrong.

 

[Splash]

So I am upgrading my horns to the FIAMM Blaster series. They sound great but use 2 horns in place of the stock 1.

I dont understand how to measure the draw to decide which relay i use. (relay? right word?)

1 - Do i just hook up voltmeter to the stock horn and press it and see? or what...

2 - How do i measure draw of the new horns??

3 - How do figure out what relay to use after that?

as for the relay, i can do the wiring and such. I know the "gist" of having dedicated power from battery, dedicated switch from handle and ground.

Does that make sense?

can i splice from the relay to the 2 horns? or should they relay each?

thank you

2003 z1000 - Fiamm Freeway Blasters.
[weakest horn ive ever heard on a bike...aside from the 250 ]

thank you

You said Z1000? Here's a Tutorial when I installed a stebel horn on my 2004 Z750 (basically the same bike)

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?95140-Stebel-Nautilus-horn-instalation

 

[Splash]

isnt the idea here to get the specific relay, so you get maximum horn output with proper draw, etc.

No... just get this relay

 

[Baggsy]

Just wow!

Thanks!

Just don't get a normally closed relay, or hook the wires that attached to the old horn to the normally closed side of a dual relay.

 

[Scudzo_2]

If you know what your doing, there's all sorts of dual horn relay information on the web. If not, an Eastern Beaver dual horn relay kit is a good investment.

 

[djbordie]

does this make sense? (pasted from other forum)

So I swaped my horn for a FIAMM...sounds great, but it needs a relay for proper volume and safety.

I just need some clarification.

OEM Horn wires:
blk/wht whire goes to the switch, easy plug in to relay.

The other wire (brwn/blk) goes to the junction box.
Which leads to a 10amp fuse anyway.

1 -- Could i just use that wire for the +12 power? it already has a proper fuse...so why bother re-wiring another lead with an inline fuse?

Then i just need to find a dedicated ground and im done...

2 -- Should i just run another wire from the relay to the negative on the battery? or just splice in to a ground somewhere? or?

3 -- the horn has 2 leads. horns say they are not + or - sensitive, meaning plus + anywhere and - anywhere...fine. (so following the relay schematic)
- 2 to the relay from the horn, 1 relay to ground, 1 relay to +12v
and im done???

found info here:
Well, on a standard relay there are 5 pins. All labeled for your confusion! Anyway, 85 and 86 are the trigger, you need one side hot one ground, this would be the horn input so when you push the button, well you know. Anyway, the pins 87 and 30 are the switched thru, when you hit the button, it completes the circuit between these poles. So hook 12v to 30, and when triggered, it comes out 87, so you could hook that to the horn. Just ground the horn and youre done.....87a, the last, is a thru from 30, until the relay is activated.

Ok, so long story short, (if your getting rid of the stock horn), theres a black/white wire that SHOULD be 12v+ at the horn, connect that to 85, then connect 86 to a ground. Then connect 30 to 12v+, then connect 87 to the air horn 12v+ input. Easy..... Almost forgot, if that other wire at the horn test - or ground, then you can use it for 86.....even easier....


*4 --
eventually will add a second horn
so i need to splice it in somewhere...where should I add this to? the same leads on the relay as the other horn?

the FIAMM dual schematic says 10amp inline fuse is plenty for 2 horns...so like i mentioned earlier, there is already a 10amp in the junction box...if my idea earlier works for +12v

Thank you, hopefully this makes sense and I have the basic idea...