Guide: How to install the Stebel Magnum horn

[ultimax]

I installed a pair on my bike 2 days ago, so far so good. It really wasn't that hard. Sure, I blew a fuse, but that's my fault. Will explain what happened later on. I believe everyone's capable of doing it himself, as long as you have some patience, and common sense. .Anyway, here's the guide. I'll refrain from using technical terms, because I myself don't know them haha. Also, I gotta make a disclaimer. if anything goes wrong IT'S NOT MY FAULT! I did it this way, it worked, so if it doesnt for you, paiseh. TOO BAD

 

WHAT YOU NEED (list is non-exhaustive) :

 

1. Some time. It usually takes longer than you think it will, especailly if you've got no experience. Like me. I personally took 3 hrs, because I was very particular abt the wiring, and I made some mistakes. It's possible that 1 hr's all you need, but setting aside more time is better than having insufficient time half-way through the installation.

 

2. Knowledge of where everything is. Where your battery is lah, your horn switch, your horn. How to gain access to those components. All bikes are different, so I can't be specific. Basically, if you're comfortable removing your seat/fairings, you should be OK.

 

3. Tools. Screwdrivers, allenkeys, ratchet set for removing stuff. Electrical wire splicer to remove the insulating plastic from the ends of the wire, or scissors and some skill. It's not that hard to strip electrical wire lah. I'm sure most of us did basic science circuit experiments in primary sch which required us to do so. Black tape's also useful. I have found there are 2 types of black tape. One's thicker and glossier than the other. The other is more elastic, and more matt. I like this kind better as is sticks better, and forms a tighter seal. The first kind is quite hard to use IMO, and doesn't stick well. Unfortunately, it's easier to find this kind.

 

4. Electrical wire. I used normal 2 core electrical wire (2 core = 2 wires in the insulator). Nothing fancy. Go to any hardware store. They'll definitely sell electrical wire. There are many types out there, but you don't need anything that hardcore. It all comes down to personal preference actually. Some people like the wire to be all black so it's easier to hide, others prefer the kind which is red and black, so it's easy to figure out what's positive and what's negative. All the same lah! The stebel box tells you to use 1mm, or 1.5mm wire....maybe we're supposed to, but I used normal wire I got from my neighbourhood shop. No difference leh. We'll see, of course *fingers-crossed* I used about 2 metres of 2 core wire for my Virago 125.

 

5. Fuses. Go to Sim Lim Towers and get a fuse holder + a 10A fuse. The box tells you to use a 20A fuse, but most people I've spoken to use a 10A fuse. So monkey see, monkey do. Incidentally,I've already blown 1 10A fuse, but that's because I was testing the circuit out and shorted it accidentally. I think Andy recommends using a 13-15A fuse...I can't remember. ROL13 uses a 20A fuse. I can't say it's personal preference, because the fuse you use does matter. I guess all I can say is how much of a risk do you want to take? The smaller the rating, the higher the chance of it blowing. Conversely, the higher the rating, the higher the chance of your bike's electricals from being shorted out. I say go with 10A. Better kiasu than sorry. I'm kiasu. Besides, I myself don't know what exactly will happen when there's a power surge in your bike, and how to scientifically explain what fuse rating to get. The fuse holder is $0.60, fuse $0.20 each. Pls get more than one!!!

 

6. Connectors. I don't know what their proper name is. I brought my relay and the horns to the shop, and told them I wanted the thing that slots over the terminals. They knew what I wanted, brought me some, and I was happy. They cost me $0.20 each. I donno if I was ketoked, I don't really care. They work well, so no complaints. OF COURSE, you don't need to buy these connectors. You can simply black tape the electrical wire onto the terminals. BUT I believe in doing a good job when you install something, so you won't have to worry abt it later on, especailly if it's exposed to the elements. What I ended up dong was using these connectors AND black tape. to wrap everything up. So anyway, you'll need 8 of these things. $0.20 X 8 = $1.60.

 

HOW DOES THE CIRCUIT WORK?

 

It's very simple. Even seems too complicated to do the job it's supposed to do. Basically, the horn is powered by your bike's battery (duh) and the relay is the control centre. The relay is made up of an electromagnet and a switch. 4 terminals on the relay in total, 2 for the electromanget, 2 for the switch. So in reality, there are actually 2 circuits working together. You hook the electromagnet part up to the horn button and old horn's power supply. You hook the switch up to your stebel horn and bike battery. When your press the horn button, you activate the electromagnet. When the electromagnet is activated, it closes the switch, activating the horn. Sounds long-winded. It is! Why you may ask. I'll tell you in the next paragraph.

 

DO I HAVE TO USE THE RELAY?

 

No you don't. Some people have directly replaced their old horns with the new stebel ones. The horns will work fine. Also, you'll spend a lot less time installing the new horns. But whether your bike's electrical circuits will be safe is another thing. The stebel horns draw a lot more power than the old horns. That's why they're many times louder than the old horns. Using the relay will prevent this additional draw on the battery from damaging parts of your bike, namely your horn switch. That's what I think lah...I'm not really sure. I'm sure someone will be able to give a better explanation. Anyway, just use the damn relay lah. You paid for it haha. Note: Some people claim that the relay supplied by stebel sucks. I don't know about that. Maybe it does? But it still works on my bike so I'm not gonna replace it with a better Bosch one. That costs about $4 (or is it $8)? If you're super kiasu, or if you damage your relay, get the Bosch one. Up to you lah haha.

 

HOW TO INSTALL THE HORNS.

 

Ok I think I've been pretty wordy so far. So I'll keep this simple. It's also probably the most important part of this guide...the meat rather than the skin.

 

1. The instructions on the box are not completely right. The picture of the relay is oriented wrongly. ROL13 says it has to be rotated either clock-wise or anti-clockwise for it to be correct. If you wire everything up according to the diagram, the bike horn won't work. If you experiment, like I did, you can blow fuses. I blew my signal light fuse coz I really didn't know what was going on. I've since learnt my lesson. I shouldn't have approaced this problem by trial and error haha.

 

2. Because the diagram on the box is wrong, use the one on the back of the relay instead. There should be a little rectangle with a line across it, as well as a switch. Recall my earlier explanation of how a relay works? That diagram's basically a visual representation of that explanation. There should be numbers too which tell you which terminal belongs to which part. Follow that and you won't go wrong.

 

3. It's easier to picture yourself installing 2 circuits, rather than just one. I started work on the horn button first - the electromagnet part of the relay. Let's call that circuit A. Your bike's horn system may be configured one of 2 ways - with a live wire going to the switch, or a ground wire, as shown in the instructions on the stebel box. I assume most bikes have the horn switch wired to the ground, as is the case with my bike, because it's safer. However, I don't think it makes any difference because all you're really doing is replacing the old horn with the electromagnet in your relay. Think about that. Try to visualise So all you have to is to connect the wires to the electromagnet's terminals on the relay. That's all. If you've wired everything correctly, the relay should click when you press the horn button.

 

OK, you're half-way done!

 

4. Ok now on to the switch part of the relay - the 2nd circuit. Let's call this one Circuit B. This is the actual switch which operates the horn. All you have to do is to run a wire from the positive terminal of the battery to one of the two terminals on the relay. Connect the other terminal to the positive terminal on the stebel horn (refer to the diagram on the box). Connect the negative terminal on the horn to a ground connection, any metallic part on your box. Generally, any screw on the bike's frame. I'm sure you'll be able to find at least one.

 

Congratulations! You're done!

 

Here's a summary of the entire process :

 

1. the electromagnet is activated by the horn button. That's the first circuit A.

2. The electromagnet activates the switch in the relay, Circuit B.

3. Circuit B is closed, and the horn sounds off.

 

Simple huh?

 

BTW, when you mount the horn, dont tighten the mounting screw too tightly. The horn unit needs room to vibrate slightly, otherwise the sound produced will be muted and funny.

 

Also, try to hide the relay under the seat. You will need to use additional electrical wire, but keeping the relay dry is always a good idea

 

I may have made this sound more complicated than it really is, but I've tried to explain everything. Some things are really pretty common sense, but I just wanted to be as clear as possible.

 

If you've got any questions, PM me.

 

If you're still not confident of installing the horn yourself, or can't be bothered, PM Andy. MotorX will do a very good job for you for a small fee.

 

Also, if you find any mistakes in this guide, pls point them out. Or if you have anything else to add, feel free to reply!

 

Good luck!

[Guest Miki]

hi bro, how much is the horn? any more recommendation on easy to fixed up horns? any brands? got sound can already for me...

[shoei]

am i rite to say that it is safe to use one of such horns without the relay and just plug and play using my stock pins??

[ultimax]

Originally posted by Miki@Aug 15 2004, 10:46 AM

hi bro, how much is the horn? any more recommendation on easy to fixed up horns? any brands? got sound can already for me...

the stebel horns are $16.50 a pair at Autobacs.

 

Nikko disc horns are actually pretty decent. They tend to get softer as they age, but replacing them is cheap. Less than $10 from Ah Boy. Easy to install to because your stock horn is prob a Nikko horn too

[ultimax]

Originally posted by shoei@Aug 15 2004, 11:48 AM

am i rite to say that it is safe to use one of such horns without the relay and just plug and play using my stock pins??

I'm no expert but I think each horn draws 6A, and your stock horn draws only 3A (if I recall correctly).

 

I suppose if you don't hold your horn button down everything should be OK. But I'm really not sure. Gotta ask the experts.

[tealeaf]

in general, the purpose of a relay is to use a small amount of power to switch a higher power circuit. the common bosch type relay is an SPDT switch 'on-ed' by supplying a low power to the coil. the coil draws very little current(less then 200mA). however the output contacts can pass up to 30A.

 

In this case, its actually an electrically operated heavy duty switch for cases that would draw more current than our push button and associated wiring can handle

 

so is it safe not to use a relay? i guess that'll depend on how bulky your current horn switch system is. if u find ur thumb burnt by the melting horn button, u'll know u'll need the relay.

[S4Sixty]

Catch no ball.

Too long winded.....

 

Maybe an help with pics and drawings ??

Then can put up sticky liao !

 

Cheers !

[ultimax]

Originally posted by S4Sixty@Aug 17 2004, 04:39 PM

Catch no ball.

Too long winded.....

 

Maybe an help with pics and drawings ??

Then can put up sticky liao !

 

Cheers !

No drawings or pictures unfortunately, but I can summarise the process. The problem is some people may be confused with the circuit diagram on the box. It's partially incorrect, and if you follow it, the horn will not work. That's why I spent a lot of time explaining, not just describing, how everything works.

 

But if you just want a description, here's a summary

 

1. Connect the wires from the old horn to electromagnet in the relay. I'm not sure what the terminal numbers are as I don't have the relay with me. Check the back of the relay for details. If everything's wired correctly, the relay should click when the horn button is depressed.

 

2. Connect both the horns and the positive terminal of your battery to the remaining 2 terminals on the relay. Again, look at the diagram on the relay for details.

 

3. Horn should now work.

[Guest nE0]

http://www.picturesky.com/albums/userpics/10129/DSCN0384.jpg

Relay wiring (Bosch, not original one. Please throw the original one away, cos its horrible horrible..)

 

http://www.picturesky.com/albums/userpics/10129/DSCN0382.jpg

 

Connector for battery, fuse holder.

 

http://www.picturesky.com/albums/userpics/10129/DSCN0393.jpg

 

Ground for horn. Any bolt to the chassis will do.

[hachi]

Ok I understand the picture so how about the connection to the horn?

As horn got 2 terminals we only connected to one of it izzit?

Or One part to the ground on the horn?

If enlighten mi on this.

After this I can fix it to my bike liao.

[ultimax]

Originally posted by hachi@Aug 18 2004, 08:57 AM

Ok I understand the picture so how about the connection to the horn?

As horn got 2 terminals we only connected to one of it izzit?

Or One part to the ground on the horn?

If enlighten mi on this.

After this I can fix it to my bike liao.

The diagram on the box shows which terminal is positive, and which one's negative. Refer to that diagram.

 

if you want to use both horns, u have to connect them in parallel ie. have a wire which connects both the +s and another wire which connects both the -s. After that, connect one of the + terminal of one of the horns (doesn;t matter which one as they're both wired together now) to the + on the battery, and the remaining - terminal to the ground.

[hachi]

So connection from relay pin 87 both to the horn + terminals and both grd from horn any metal part of the bike. Am I correct say that?

Pin 87 to the + terminals of the horn and parallel the connection from grd of the horn to any metal part of the bike.

 

Is the relay water proof?

I am thinking of just installing outside and maybe water proof it.

[ultimax]

Originally posted by hachi@Aug 18 2004, 09:16 AM

So connection from relay pin 87 both to the horn + terminals and both grd from horn any metal part of the bike. Am I correct say that?

Pin 87 to the + terminals of the horn and parallel the connection from grd of the horn to any metal part of the bike.

 

Is the relay water proof?

I am thinking of just installing outside and maybe water proof it.

Yes, that's correct. Just make sure you're using the right pins on the relay. Refer to the back of the relay for a diagram. NEO used a bosch relay, which is better, but may be configured differently.

 

The relay probably isn't water proof. I suppose you could wrap it up in plastic and blacktape everything up, but I'd suggest putting it under your seat. You will need to use more electrical wire, but at least it'll be protected from the elements. Besides, if you place it near your horns, the heat from your engine may cause it to fail eventually.

[hachi]

From the pic above I can see 2 87 pin same as the FIAMM relay I have now.

Each 87 pin connected to one horn then both grd from horn connect to any metal part of the bike, am I right to say that?

 

I think all clear all issue I dont know thank you very much. Maybe DIY tonight. Time for blasting those cabbies and drivers.

[Guest nE0]

The horn has 2 pins, doesn't matter which way you connect, one is to ground one is power.

 

If your relay has only 4 pins, then twist and crimp both wires into one cable lug, plug into relay pin 87.

[bo mai lah]

 

went to autobacs today. there's tis horn tat cost $160. but the noise is f***ing loud. very good!!!! aiming for tat. any1??

[hachi]

CAn get those less than $20 r trying to let people notice u not to make them deaf.

[mokamoka]

Originally posted by ultimax@Aug 15 2004, 11:53 AM

the stebel horns are $16.50 a pair at Autobacs.

 

Nikko disc horns are actually pretty decent. They tend to get softer as they age, but replacing them is cheap. Less than $10 from Ah Boy. Easy to install to because your stock horn is prob a Nikko horn too

on fo te electric horn no sound...

[S4Sixty]

Originally posted by optimus880@Aug 18 2004, 10:42 PM

 

went to autobacs today. there's tis horn tat cost $160. but the noise is f***ing loud. very good!!!! aiming for tat. any1??

Why not use 2 sets of Stebel ??

[madman]

Originally posted by optimus880@Aug 18 2004, 10:42 PM

 

went to autobacs today. there's tis horn tat cost $160. but the noise is f***ing loud. very good!!!! aiming for tat. any1??

u mean louder than stebel?

 

btw S4, our small lau pok chia batt not strong euff to install 2 sets of stebel, if not i would have done so already. got 2 spare at home right now.

[ultimax]

Originally posted by madman@Aug 19 2004, 01:41 AM

u mean louder than stebel?

 

btw S4, our small lau pok chia batt not strong euff to install 2 sets of stebel, if not i would have done so already. got 2 spare at home right now.

how many amps is your battery?

[bo mai lah]

Why not use 2 sets of Stebel ??

 

 

go autobacs n try them. u in fall in love with the$160 de. it's freaking LOUD>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[shoei]

im using only one plug...direct plug on to the stock ones/

[S4Sixty]

Originally posted by madman@Aug 19 2004, 01:41 AM

u mean louder than stebel?

 

btw S4, our small lau pok chia batt not strong euff to install 2 sets of stebel, if not i would have done so already. got 2 spare at home right now.

Why not get Stebel Natilus then ??

 

Wanna sell me ur extra pair of Stebel ??

[S750WP]

Where is autobacs, wana to buy the stebel horns.