DIY Horn Upgrade

I just did this mod (the principle is not new to me, since I had to do the same thing on my other car some years ago :)). Thanks to the originators of this though, for the instructions on how to get to the horn!

First, you DON'T NEED TO REPLACE the existing horn. Just add a second "Hi-note" horn on the other side - easy-peasy. I used the FIAMM 72102 "highway blaster" horn, such as this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned). Though the FIAMM 72002 would probably be fine as well (cheaper, though not quite as loud). Mount it to the other side earthing bolt using the supplied bracket and earth strap on one terminal. Then splice a new wire onto the existing horn wire and run it over to the new horn side and crimp on a spade connector. Done. Wife loves it - she was complaining about the feeble horn before, now she feels 'empowered' :). By the way, I'm still using the existing fuse and it's working fine. If it blows ever, I'll revisit

I also had a lot of difficulty getting the shroud out. I managed to release the front clips to the grill and manhandle it out as one piece. But couldn't get it back in afterward. So then I unclipped the top shroud from the metal bar, put the bar back roughly in place, clipped the shroud back on to the bar and slid it in the rest of the way forward. This bit is by far the worst aspect of the mod!

One other tip... when drilling out the pop-rivets, DON'T use a 1/8" drill bit and drill though - it takes a lot of drilling and finagling to get the rivet out, plus results in a lot of kerf. Instead use a 9/64 (or maybe 5/32) bit, drill slow and it will cut the head off the rivet in about a second! DON'T PUSH, as you don't want to drill a big hole into the plastic!
I thought about supplementing with a hi-note on the passenger side, but I wanted to make sure the horns were matched both tonally and loudness-wise, so I used the PIAA set. You're right about getting the shroud out. I found it easier to pull the shroud and the attached crossbar back just enough to expose the clips that hold them together and then release the clips using a flat-blade screwdriver, leaving the bar behind while pulling the shroud the rest of the way out. Going back in, the clips were pretty much destroyed, so I cut them off and put the whole thing back together. By the time you get everything in place and re-riveted, it's pretty solid, so the lack of the retaining clips seems moot.
 
I hate the sound of the stock horn and was going to do this mod,but realize it's not a good idea to do for CX-5 Sport.

While the stock horn is quite pathetic for honking in pissed-off/emergency situation, I think it's too loud for locking the car. The Sport versions don't have the option to adjust the horn level when you lock the doors via remote.

Installing a PIAA horn on a CX-5 Sport would be too loud for locking the car...
 
I think it's too loud for locking the car. The Sport versions don't have the option to adjust the horn level when you lock the doors via remote.

Installing a PIAA horn on a CX-5 Sport would be too loud for locking the car...
Pretty sure that NONE of the models will (or even CAN) let you adjust the level of the horn, locking the car or otherwise. I have a touring, and there's no option for that. The horn(s) are pretty simple devices, you apply 12V, they sound off. No level adjustment possible.

Having said all that, the short beep of the two horns is just fine when locking.
 
I think it's too loud for locking the car. The Sport versions don't have the option to adjust the horn level when you lock the doors via remote.
Installing a PIAA horn on a CX-5 Sport would be too loud for locking the car...

On mine (and I assume others) the horn sounds when you hit the lock button twice. Hit it once and the doors lock and lights flash, but no horn. You could just do that. I never hit the button a second time. No reason to.
 
I would like to add that if you choose to do the non bumper remove method, which saves about 1 1/2 hour and reduces risk of breaking (plastic) fastners that hold the bumer, or damaging the bumper drilling out the 4 pop rivets is no big deal. You can get a hand riveter form harbor freight tools for $5 that comes with rivets that fit; you just put the river on there and punch it. Then you clip the rod it used to punch with wire cutters and that's it. If you want a really tight rivert, get some from the dealer, they run about $3 each though. That being said leaving them off won't make much difference as long as you have the regular plastic push pins in place.

rivet

tool
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I installed a pair of Wolo Hi-Lo trumpet horns this morning. The only difficulty I had was removing the larger plastic cover after drilling out the rivets. There are 4 "tabs" on the bottom of this piece that go into slots in the sheet metal piece that it sits on top of, and each of these tabs has a tab that is designed to prevent it from pulling out.

What I had to do was pull up on the plastic shroud and holding it up with one hand use a nylon panel tool to pry up the tab to the point that I could push in the locking tab on it before it would fully pull out. A lot of bending of plastic was going on but it worked and the plastic went back to shape.

I also used the 1/4" plastic pins to replace the rivets after drilling out the plastic with a 1/4in. drill bit.

Whole thing took about an hour and a half, a half hour of which was spent trying to get those tabs to pull out...
 
I think I'm gonna add the high note horn like on my 2014 6 (has both a high and low). Just wondering do I have to change, or add or modify the current fuse, seeing is as its going from 1 for to 2?
 
I think I'm gonna add the high note horn like on my 2014 6 (has both a high and low). Just wondering do I have to change, or add or modify the current fuse, seeing is as its going from 1 for to 2?
Didn't change mine, and it hasn't blown yet (~9 months).
 
Didn't change mine, and it hasn't blown yet (~9 months).
Thanks for the quick reply...... I can't wait to add it !!! I got abused by my coworkers until 1 of the other guys should up in his Kia. I saw on other peoples pix that there is already a ground on the other side, how did you end up powering it and did you have to add any other wiring. Sorry for all the questions. Thanks again.
 
Thanks for the quick reply...... I can't wait to add it !!! I got abused by my coworkers until 1 of the other guys should up in his Kia. I saw on other peoples pix that there is already a ground on the other side, how did you end up powering it and did you have to add any other wiring. Sorry for all the questions. Thanks again.
Did you bother to read the thread you posted on? Everything you need to know is detailed in the previous three pages.
 
I think I'm gonna add the high note horn like on my 2014 6 (has both a high and low). Just wondering do I have to change, or add or modify the current fuse, seeing is as its going from 1 for to 2?

Unless you're adding an air horn with a compressor (like a Siebel Nautilus or Wolo Bad Boy) the existing circuit will be fine.
 
Just ground the 2nd horn to its mounting bracket. The first post shows there's already a ground point there.
 
There is nothing in the posts (specifically pictures) showing how to ground and power the 2nd horn.......

This may help, if you aren't sure what you aren't what you are looking at this is the ground wire. Basically you would hook the ground wire from your daisy chained (or however you made it) horns into it. Typicall you would just use another loop connector like that and bolt it against the one already there. The first is the picture eon the first page, the second two are my wiring set up. You can make something like this and test it with a 9v battery. If you get a scratching sound your circuit works. A stop at autozone or the like can get you all the s*** you need to do it. The two wires are identical, but it's recommended to try to get them to the length you think you will need so you don't have excess wire to bundle/hide.

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Shout out to Chris, for PMing me and walking me through the whole process !!! Advice for anyone looking to do the mod, the oem horn wire is super thin like 18 gauge, and I used the high note horn from a 2014 Mazda 6 as the add on and it worked perfectly and the bracket even had a threaded hole to screw in existing ground.
 
Word. I've received a lot of good help on this forum I try to give back when I can.
 
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