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Old 11-10-2006, 03:47 PM   #1
Car vs. Driver
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Default How To: Install Supertones

EDIT (1/13/09):
DO I NEED A RELAY? This question has been asked over and over again, now we have conclusive testing done ...
Go HERE for testing results: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...&postcount=361

Thank you to forum member Mike Costin for providing an excellent test and documented results.

-CvD
----------------------------------------------------------

Reason why I'm posting this is because I couldn't find a complete "how to" on installing Supertones. Sure, there's a few threads on there, but I had to look at 3-4 different ones to get the complete picture.

So, here's the complete installation and everything you'll need to do it. I hope it's helpful.


Supplies Needed:
1. Electrical Tape or Shrink Tube
2. Wire strippers
3. 14G Wire
4. 14G Male Connectors
5. 14G Female Connector
6. 20 AMP In-Line Fuse Terminal
7. 20 AMP Fuse
8. Zip Ties
9. Sime Wire Loom (if you want)
10. Small nuts, bolts & washers
11. 14G In-Line Wire Connectors
12. Vampire Clips

Tools Needed:
1. Screwdrivers
2. Wrenches (for small nuts and bolts)
3. 10mm Wrench
4. Wire Strippers
5. Pliers

What to do:

1. Remove the front grill. And figure out how you're going to mount the horns. I used two existing holes in the radiator support that centered both horns between the side of the grill and the Subaru emblem (see pictures).

2. Disconnect one of the factory horns (or both if you desire). Don't cut the connectors, you will need to use one of them later.

3. Look at the relay that came with the horns. The terminals are numbered, this is what those numbers mean:
87 - (+) Lead for the supertones.
86 - Where the stock horn wire conects.
85 - Relay ground wire.
30 - (+) Power wire, connects to the battery with a fuse.

4. Figure out where you want the relay, because that's going to decide on how you run the wires. Once you have that figured out ...

5. Use your 14G wire to make a harness for the #87 to go to the horns. I ran one 14G wire to one horn, then spliced the second horn with a vampire clip. At all three ends, I used 14G female connectors.

6. Take some 14G wire and crimp a 14G male connector on it. Plug this into one of your disconnected factory horn wires. Then put a female connector on the other end and plug it into terminal #86 on the relay.

7. Find a suitable ground and wire up #85 on the relay. I used a stock ground location next to the batery (see pictures).

8. Now, you need to ground the horns. I ran the ground to the passenger side ground location (see pics). I also made the exact same kind of wiring harness for the ground wire as I did with the (+) lead from the relay.

9. Last is making the connection to the battery. I used a ring terminal and conencted it right to the battery and ran the wire through the protective cover for a clean look. This is where you need to use a 20A fuse terminal.

10. Install your fuse into the fuse terminal and test your horns.

Some things to note:
1. On the horns, the copper connection is (+) to the relay. The silver connecion is (-) to the ground.
2. These mofo's are LOUD.
3. Safedrives kicks ass. Thanks Charles! Buy your supertones there!

Tools and connectors needed:


'Wiring Harness' - I made two of these, one for (+) and one for (-) to the horns: Note that the vampire clip is not taped/shring wrapped yet. Make sure you wrap or tape it.


Battery connection with fuse:




Relay ground location:


Relay all wired up:


Ground for horns:


The final product:






Enjoy! Let me know if I misstated anything, I just did the install, so it should all be accurate.

~CvD
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Last edited by Car vs. Driver; 01-13-2009 at 01:01 PM.
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Old 11-10-2006, 04:03 PM   #2
Daishi00
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nice, but this should be in the "electrical and lighting" forum
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Old 11-10-2006, 04:32 PM   #3
Cre8ive
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Thanks for the write-up and pics. I am wiring up my horn this weekend, and your post saved me from searching on how to do this. And the pics help with my lack of reading comprehension.
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Old 11-10-2006, 04:55 PM   #4
Car vs. Driver
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Daishi00 View Post
nice, but this should be in the "electrical and lighting" forum
Indeed ... posted in the wrong forum!
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Old 11-10-2006, 05:01 PM   #5
scrwrx
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Bookmarked! I was thinking of ordering them soon and I might do it sooner now

Edit - How long did it take you to do this?
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Old 11-10-2006, 05:36 PM   #6
Safe Drives
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Wow! Nice write up!

Best regards,

Charles Buren
safedrives.com
877-739-1713 Toll Free
cburen at safedrives.com
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Old 11-10-2006, 05:47 PM   #7
WRXedUSA
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Those clip 3-way junctions are junk.

use a butt-end connector to join the 3 power wires.
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Old 11-10-2006, 07:24 PM   #8
Turbo20VJetta
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Very nice write up! I can't wait to hear them!
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Old 11-10-2006, 08:09 PM   #9
Car vs. Driver
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scrwrx View Post
Bookmarked! I was thinking of ordering them soon and I might do it sooner now

Edit - How long did it take you to do this?
About 2 hours, including a trip to radio shack and taking pics of the install.

I agree that those three way junctions aren't the best option, but in this case they're perfectly acceptable in my mind.
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Old 11-11-2006, 07:34 PM   #10
USAF_Pignose
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sound clip of the actual horn i havent been able to find 1 i know they are MUCH louder but i dont want the tone of a mack truck or the high pitch honk of a ferrari.
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Old 11-11-2006, 08:51 PM   #11
bl_easy
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Damn, what a clean job.

I think I'll redo my crap job. haha.

Works just like it should, I was just sloppy.

edit... Yeah, I'm definitely going to redo mine. I think I'll paint 'em flat black, too.

Last edited by bl_easy; 11-11-2006 at 08:57 PM.
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Old 11-11-2006, 08:59 PM   #12
Car vs. Driver
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bl_easy View Post
Damn, what a clean job.

I think I'll redo my crap job. haha.

Works just like it should, I was just sloppy.
Thanks man, I wanted the install to look as close to stock as possible. I'm actually kinda bent that I couldn't find a black fuse terminal
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Old 11-11-2006, 09:00 PM   #13
Car vs. Driver
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^--- hahahah ... quoted you too soon. I actually really like how they look. I can't lie, it's probalby the main reason why I go them (I'm rice).
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Old 11-13-2006, 08:15 AM   #14
bl_easy
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Haha, I got them because the single stock horn on the MY97 sucks.
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Old 11-13-2006, 10:44 AM   #15
carrman
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Hey Mulder, should this be a sticky?
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Old 12-12-2006, 01:14 AM   #16
dudley123
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sweet dood, I was worried that i was gonna have to fab some brackets and drill holes and such.. COol I have my supertones sitting here on my desk staring at me. Guess the 06 is gettin the supertone treatment tomorrow.

Chris
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Old 12-12-2006, 04:08 AM   #17
aboothman
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Ya the 06 fit is great. Just need a few nuts, bolts, and the stuff listed.

THey have good radiator clearance too.
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Old 12-12-2006, 09:17 PM   #18
matt5frenzy
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thanks! excellent write up... think this will be my next mod
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Old 12-12-2006, 10:22 PM   #19
theicewall
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Nice job. I wouldnt mind a set, but my hella driving light wiring is a sloppy job as it is and im thinking I would have to redo that first and then do this.. perhaps a good summer project after I install my winter batch of parts.
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Old 12-24-2006, 05:59 PM   #20
gaewsky1
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From someone who has no electrical/wiring experience at all, this write up is great. I got all my parts from Radio Shack and took about an hour to install everything. The horns have a strange sound but they are loud. I suggest if you try them after the install either open the garage door or move the car out otherwise its too loud .

One bad thing is that my grill didn't fit correctly and I broke a tab off of it and had to use a zip tie to tighten it. I guess I'll search for a new grill now.
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Old 12-26-2006, 10:51 AM   #21
Psydotek
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with not enough lights...

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I'll add this:

An excellent way to not have to use a vampire tap to power the horns is to use a relay with dual #87 pins. That way you can run a separate wire for each horn which can make for a safer/cleaner wiring job.

[actually, i thought the Hella Supertone kit came with a relay that had dual #87 pins... i'm think mine did... but they're cheap, about $6 i think.]
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Old 01-02-2007, 05:12 PM   #22
kamil212
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Just ordered a set, taking your word on Safedrives.
Now I have to decide on what color to paint them. I have a Sedona Red car so the regular red doesn't go well, so I'm thinking either the Sedona Red which I have a can of, or the bumper gold which I have to figure out and order. I'm leaning toward the gold. Any opinions? Thanks


Also, now I'm afraid to put them on. I checked the decibel chart and these are rated at 118dB. The chart puts a train horn at 120dB
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Old 01-02-2007, 05:20 PM   #23
Psydotek
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with not enough lights...

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Don't worry, they're not that loud... At least while you're inside the car...

I say paint 'em black unless you really want to "show them off".
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Old 01-02-2007, 05:39 PM   #24
kamil212
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Thanks, the reason I was afraid is cuz I live in Chicago
The reason that I finally decided to get these is that the other day there was a moron in front of me that had a green right turn light and just stood there till it turned red 10 seconds later. I was about to get out of the car and....

The reason I wanted to paint them is that I have the replica genome grill which is pretty empty so I wanted to put something in there but not too flashy
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Old 01-03-2007, 06:18 PM   #25
culturedetox
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I wish I had this writeup when I installed mine... infact.. I have not idea how mine are working at all because of the crap job I did
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