Want to change Volvo horn; how does it work? Topic is solved

[CIK7]

My 98 XC has a normal, mid sound horn. My 96 960 has that girly VW Bug/Honda Civic high pitch horn. How do I change the one on 960? Is the sound issued from a sound board or built into either of the horns that come on most Volvos? Refer to the two horn pics below.

[RickHaleParker]

Is the sound issued from a sound board or built into either of the horns that come on most Volvos?

OEM Horns are all Electrical/Mechanical devices. A electromagnet vibrating a spring loaded flat circular steel diaphragm. None are Electronics devices.

You can use any OEM automotive horn you want. They all have the same input requirements. No sense in spending money for a new horn, they are very reliable. Listen for a horn you like then go to a junk yard and pull the horn(s) off that make and model.

You can get aftermarket Musical Air Horns that work on the same principal as a Pipe organ.

I can recall a couple of guys the retrofitted a Train air horn to their cars. They did not earn any admiration.

[CIK7]

Is the sound issued from a sound board or built into either of the horns that come on most Volvos?

OEM Horns are all Electrical/Mechanical devices. A electromagnet vibrating a spring loaded flat circular steel diaphragm. None are Electronics devices.

You can use any OEM automotive horn you want. They all have the same input requirements. No sense in spending money for a new horn, they are very reliable. Listen for a horn you like then go to a junk yard and pull the horn(s) off that make and model.

You can get aftermarket Musical Air Horns that work on the same principal as a Pipe organ.

I can recall a couple of guys the retrofitted a Train air horn to their cars. They did not earn any admiration.

does that mean i only need to swap the cylinder object in the walmart picture? My 960 has 3 for the horn and 1 for alarm. 98 xc has 1 for alarm and 2 of the spiral objects in picture #1 for the horn.

[CIK7]

Is the sound issued from a sound board or built into either of the horns that come on most Volvos?

OEM Horns are all Electrical/Mechanical devices. A electromagnet vibrating a spring loaded flat circular steel diaphragm. None are Electronics devices.

You can use any OEM automotive horn you want. They all have the same input requirements. No sense in spending money for a new horn, they are very reliable. Listen for a horn you like then go to a junk yard and pull the horn(s) off that make and model.

You can get aftermarket Musical Air Horns that work on the same principal as a Pipe organ.

I can recall a couple of guys the retrofitted a Train air horn to their cars. They did not earn any admiration.

i used 2 extra 98 xc conch horns to replace the 2 96 960 cylinder horns. I recorded a video of the mistake i made and successfully getting it to work. Then i accidentally deleted the video. It was a fun process to rewire the horns. The neighbors probably were wondering why i was honking my horn at 830-9 at night.

[June]

My aunt would have my uncle add the previous car's horns to the new car from the early 70s through the late 80s. Her last GM car a 85 Lesabre had like 12 horns across the front. I won't say why on here as it's offensive, but it was quite a sound! The first car to loose its horns was a 72 Electra 225 named red bomb which had 4 horns from the factory and sounded like a locomotive horn ! So you can add more than two.

The wimpy Japanese horn your car originally had was considered a "town" horn and the horn like you switched to "country" horn. Mercedes Benz had a switch and had both long ago... June

[CIK7]

My aunt would have my uncle add the previous car's horns to the new car from the early 70s through the late 80s. Her last GM car a 85 Lesabre had like 12 horns across the front. I won't say why on here as it's offensive, but it was quite a sound! The first car to loose its horns was a 72 Electra 225 named red bomb which had 4 horns from the factory and sounded like a locomotive horn ! So you can add more than two.

The wimpy Japanese horn your car originally had was considered a "town" horn and the horn like you switched to "country" horn. Mercedes Benz had a switch and had both long ago... June

Very cool lesson!

[abscate]

In Paris, there was an optional French Horn

June, do horns work upside down or do they go flat?

[volvolugnut]

Automotive horns may be one of the last universal fit and function items on cars. As long as the voltage matches, swap to your hearts content.
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