Spartan Steve
Member
Does anybody know the location of the horn. I want to replace it because I never liked the sound of the Mazda 3 horn.
Horn Location
- Thread starter Spartan Steve
- Start date
^ On the left side.
Much like my old EVO VIII, the stock horn on the MS3 is so anemic..bought a Stebel Nautilus off eBay and replaced the single beep-beep unit in about 1 hour.
Jack up and remove driver's tire, remove seperate small splash panel towards inner front wheel well, (2) 10mm bolts, 1 plastic button.
Remove under splash panel's (driver) lateral edge bolts and front plastic pin and 2 front bolts nearest driver's side so panel can drop a bit.
Remove the (3) 8mm bolts and wheel arch buttons so the front inner wheel well liner can be pulled down to access the horn mount area.
The original horn has a single hot lead and uses it's mount as the ground.The Stebel has a + and - connector...make up a 6" long connector wire to reach the OEM 12V female connector and a 6" ground lead to attach to the OEM bracket where the 12mm nut connects to the horn stud...the Stebel can be mounted there without modification, nice and snug. Loud as crap too...I wouldn't light this unit up next to a Patrol car!!
Jack up and remove driver's tire, remove seperate small splash panel towards inner front wheel well, (2) 10mm bolts, 1 plastic button.
Remove under splash panel's (driver) lateral edge bolts and front plastic pin and 2 front bolts nearest driver's side so panel can drop a bit.
Remove the (3) 8mm bolts and wheel arch buttons so the front inner wheel well liner can be pulled down to access the horn mount area.
The original horn has a single hot lead and uses it's mount as the ground.The Stebel has a + and - connector...make up a 6" long connector wire to reach the OEM 12V female connector and a 6" ground lead to attach to the OEM bracket where the 12mm nut connects to the horn stud...the Stebel can be mounted there without modification, nice and snug. Loud as crap too...I wouldn't light this unit up next to a Patrol car!!
Spartan Steve
Member
Thanks for all of your advise and help.
Thanks for the Stebel How-to! Much better information than the Factory Service Manual. I have a Stebel that I ordered from California Sport Touring for $40.36 shipped to my door that I plan to install this week.
-enganear
Imagine how loud the Stebel must be on a motorcycle where it is exposed!
-enganear
Imagine how loud the Stebel must be on a motorcycle where it is exposed!
SuperStretch18
Member
- :
- '07 CX-7 Sport, Black on Black; '04 Mazda3s
I have to think about doing this on my wife's car. She's got a regular 3s and the horn doesn't really say "get the #@%&* out of my way!" very well. 
Although bumper removal isn't that much of a hassle, I still didn't feel like messing with it, so I followed what others have done and mounted Hella Supertones behind the grille (or in front of the radiator if you want to look at it that way), spliced the power wires together and ran it down to the factory connector. I will admit I might've looked pretty weird laying on my belly with my arms shoved under the car trying to feel around and get the connectors joined. Lol!
It works fine without the included Hella relay, though there still seems to be discussion about the horns being louder if you use the relay than without it. Since the horns are directional and are now forward-facing and pretty much unobstructed, they're plenty loud enough. Sure as heck kept an Escalade from changing lanes right on top of me a couple nights ago in the pouring rain.
It works fine without the included Hella relay, though there still seems to be discussion about the horns being louder if you use the relay than without it. Since the horns are directional and are now forward-facing and pretty much unobstructed, they're plenty loud enough. Sure as heck kept an Escalade from changing lanes right on top of me a couple nights ago in the pouring rain.
You can use a 2 horn setup but you have the added hassle of running a wire thru the firewall, mounting an in cockpit switch, and accessing the horn pad hot wire..basically you have a 2 pole switch interposed in the OEM horn pad 12V wire with the switch letting the juice go to the original horn or your aftermarket when you hit the horn pad.
IrishMidak
Member
- :
- Mazdaspeed 3 GT
For those looking at the Stebel, I have just had the second relay die on me so you want to put that somehwhere that it cant get wet becaues they are not water proof or even close. Both died soon after a wash.
I was not planning to use the Stebel relay for the 18Amp horn. The circuit is fused for 15 amps and the values are usually conservative. I have read that many have wired in directly to the stock circuit using the stock Mazda relay without any problem.
If the fuse blows, I'll either add a series resistor (the horn has dB to burn) or bump up to 20Amp fuse (after verifying the wire gauge capacity).
-enganear
If the fuse blows, I'll either add a series resistor (the horn has dB to burn) or bump up to 20Amp fuse (after verifying the wire gauge capacity).
-enganear
The sound is worth it, isn't it ! I used a smaller 10mm bolt and nut on the horn to avoid the bracket hole enlargement problem. I guarantee if you hit the horn button at a pedestrian crosswalk, some people will be ready to string you up for making them jump from fright.
ihadacivicsi
Member
- :
- Speed 3 (True Red)
Replacement of MS3 horn with another Mazda horn?
Hi! I'm new to this forum. My 06 Civic Si was totalled when someone hit me while I was going through a green light so I just took delivery of a red Mazdaspeed3 GT. Awesome car! The bang for the buck is incredible.
I thought the 06 Civic Si horn was anemic until I heard the MS3! It sounds like a toy. For the Si, people discovered that the Fit horn was a plug and play replacement for the Si horn and the Fit horn was more substantial sounding so they were doing a straight replacement. Is the same thing possible for the MS3 horn? For example, is the MS6 horn or other Mazda horn a direct replacement for the MS3 horn?
It sounds like there are some DIY threads on adding the Hellas. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks.
Hi! I'm new to this forum. My 06 Civic Si was totalled when someone hit me while I was going through a green light so I just took delivery of a red Mazdaspeed3 GT. Awesome car! The bang for the buck is incredible.
I thought the 06 Civic Si horn was anemic until I heard the MS3! It sounds like a toy. For the Si, people discovered that the Fit horn was a plug and play replacement for the Si horn and the Fit horn was more substantial sounding so they were doing a straight replacement. Is the same thing possible for the MS3 horn? For example, is the MS6 horn or other Mazda horn a direct replacement for the MS3 horn?
It sounds like there are some DIY threads on adding the Hellas. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks.
ihadacivicsi
Member
- :
- Speed 3 (True Red)
CX-9 low tone?
The CX-9 has a low tone and a high tone. It looks like the low tone might fit.
The CX-9 has a low tone and a high tone. It looks like the low tone might fit.
Seems like a lot of controversy out there about wiring though. What's your take?
I did not use the relay, if that is what you mean. I just added six inches to the stock harness, made a jumper for the ground, and twisted and re-bent the bracket. I can stand on the horn and the specified 18Amp draw will not blow the 15Amp fuse.
See pic for bracket mod. This points the outlet toward the grill.
-enganear
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