What's the deal with my Fiamms??

[wlafed]

I just installed the Freeway Blaster Fiamms... They sound terrible. It sounds very low and dull. I tried them both facing forward and then facing down. Same results. I wanted to see if they were both working so I unplugged the driverside horn and hit it. There was no sound. Maybe there is something wrong with the passenger side horn?? Or do both have to be hooked up as not to disturb the power flow? I don't know. All I know is these things are worse than the Factory horns.

Any suggestions?

Any other horns out there that are LOUD?

Thanks

[T'sTOY]

A few basic things come to mind.

Did you get a high and a low tone horn for your set?
They work together to produce the typical truck horn sound.

How did you wire them up?
The factory connectors can be used (positive leads) with the horns wired in series (as I remember the hook up).

Also, be sure to ground each horn to the chassis using the FIAMM supplied wiring. I just grounded each negative lead back to the mounting bracket and it's worked fine.

Hope this helps,

T

[T'sTOY]

Forgot to address a couple of other items in the last post.

I also tried one horn by itself and as I remember (well over a year ago) it did sound a bit dull, but again, they should work together to produce the overall loud tone you're expecting.

I have mine pointed down to keep out water and to clear the hood.

I used the supplied brackets in the stock locations with at least the passenger side bracket being angled a bit differently to avoid contact with the AC plumbing.

[Entoo_Tundras]

I had an 87' Isuzu pup'truck in highschool that me and my friends installed an old airhorn in. Thing sounded like a Semi... I loved that pup'truck. Then there was that summer I was working as a yardboy for a scaffolding company. One day i was moving the BIG trucks in and out of the yard when I hit the curb pulling into the yard. I parked the truck and all the guys were laughing and pointing at my pup'truck. Yep you guessed it i had run over my own truck. We used a forklift to bend the front bumper up from the ground and pull out the front fender. And the whole time that air horn was squeezing out a sound like a dying cat.

/snicker


*Sorry I strayed abit off topic. The horn question led me astray.*

[DesertDawg69]

Entoo,

That is hilarious! Just had to give you props for being brave enough to post that embarassing incident. Reminds me of some of the silly things I have done to myself. Thanks much.

wlafed,

I have thought about installing air horns myself. I am glad to see all the info. Seems to me that the horns must be connected wrong. Where did you buy your Fiamms?

[CJ]

The Fiamms need to vibrate in order to work their best. They should have come with metal brackets. Attach 1 side of the braket to the truck and the other to the horn. You'll notice a difference.

CJ

[wlafed]

Thanks for the info everyone...

I got them from Advanced Auto. About $9 dollars each.

Yeah, I bought 1 High and 1 Low.

Let me understand you correctly CJ. You just mount the horn with one of the brackets and then, say point the other one 180 degrees in the opposite direction? I will try that in the morning.


By the way, that was a good story Entoo.

Thanks

[CJ]

Maybe I wasn't clear. If the horn is fastened directly to a solid surface, such as the body or frame of the Tundra, the horn will not vibrate enough to allow the diaphragm to reach the proper frequency of oscillations.

Fiamm should have included in the package two metal strips with a hole on each end of the strips, I call these brackets. In the past, you would mount the bracket to the vehicle, then mount the Fiamm to the bracket. I assume their construction is the same these days.

If you simply hold the horn in your hand while carefully applying 12V to it, you'll get the same 'defective' sound you experienced before.

The opening on the horn should face downward and forward, if possible.

CJ

Originally posted by wlafed
[snip]Let me understand you correctly CJ. You just mount the horn with one of the brackets and then, say point the other one 180 degrees in the opposite direction? I will try that in the morning.[snip]Thanks

[Dude Boy]

How did you wire them up?
The factory connectors can be used (positive leads) with the horns wired in series (as I remember the hook up).

Don't wire them up in series, or they won't work right. They will be trying to work on 6V rather than 12V!