How To

Alright, I’m making this because I feel like more how to’s will help people better understand how to install their train horn kits. To my knowledge most train horn kits are similar; they all have horns, air line, wires, compressor, tank, etc. So these write ups should be universal to an extent…This is the instructions that came with my kit http://www.hornblasters.com/diagrams/mnl-hb4h1520gcc.pdf and page 6 is the money page. That the page that really helped me.

First step… Picking the right horn. Well I personally have the S4 or HB4H horns and I can honestly say that they sound amazing. If you are looking to purchasing horns and don’t want to spend the huge money for a K3 or K5 these horns are the thing to do. Other things you may want to consider are how big of a tank do you want/need. If you’re looking into the big boys K3 or K5 you will definitely need/want more air than the S4 horns. If you’re going with a big tank then you will want a decent compressor, Ask Dan or Lance on their opinion, after all they are the experts. Another thing to consider is how much pressure you want, and what size airline to use…

         Second step.... After getting your package from that UPS man and you have the goods, you will want to figure out where to put the horns, tank, and everything else you may possibly have. Honblasters recommends the horns be facing down for maximum performance, honestly these horns are loud and by loud I mean LOUD. So if you can’t face them down it’s no big deal. The tank you can put wherever you want. Cars-trunk is the perfect place, Trucks- frame rails or the bed is fine. The compressor on the other hand should be in a dry place that it won’t get banged up from rocks, dirty or anything that can harm it. 

       Third step....... Now that you know where you want to place the horns, tank, compressor, etc you can get onto the fun part. Installing your kit. Well since I have a Honda Accord I will be showing you how to install it on a car. Trucks are probably not that much different and you can improvise :D lol sorry for you truck owners you already have a how to.

Here is everything that came in my kit… Horns, tank, compressor, airline etc.

Alright put your horns where ever you want them to go. You can use bolts to bolt them in, fabricate a piece such as the other how to, or you can use zip ties like I used. lol Here are some pics of my S4 horns mounted. just remember if you put your horns all over your car you WILL need more airline. just go up to Napa or your auto parts store and ask for air brake line to whatever size you need.

2 Longest horns

and the 2 shorter horns going up front

So you have the horns installed; now it’s time to hook up the air line. Figure out where you will be running it. just make sure to stay away from any moving parts and hot objects. Run the airline from the horns to the splitter supplied in the kit and use the Teflon tape to prevent air leaks. From the splitter you can run the airline towards your valve.

Ok so you have the airline right by the valve… See which way the arrow is pointing and run it with the arrow blowing towards the airline running to the horns. the YELLOW arrow is how my airline running to the horns is, and the RED arrow is how you connect it to the tank. and I just zip tied the valve to the tank, you can also bolt it up but this way seemed easier.

Ok so your horns have airline running from the horns to a splitter that takes the 4 airlines and puts it into 1 and then runs to a valve and from the valve to the tank. That part is Done.

Next up is wiring your kit… ok this all depends on how you want to have your horn set up. I used 2 toggle switches (1 to turn on the compressor and the other to activate the train horn). so first I will show you how to run the compressor power and ground wires… ok find a flat mounting surface to ground your wires and make sure is bare metal. I also grounded both the black valve wire and the black compressor wire to the same spot using a screw… So the grounds are done. next is the valve wire. Starting up in the engine bay find where your horns are located and cut one of the wires and fuse it together with your valve wire… It should sorta look like this

run that wire all up and threw the firewall by finding a grommet and pull all the excess wire through. Next is the compressor power wire. first locate your fuse box, Don’t put the fuse in there yet and mount that to the battery.

run that wire through the firewall grommet and pull all the excess out… now get your toggle switches and put them somewhere you would like. I did mine in the center console…

So you’re almost done. Run those wires back towards you compressor and valve. and hook them up. should look something like this…

Compressor wire is at the bottom and the valve (light red/pink but switches to blue) is at the top…

Now Put the fuse in and start her up… Check for leaks and test the horn to see if it works when you want it to. So now you’re ready to go out and have a BLAST. I hope this helps anyone in need lol

nice work and good write up!!!

Nice with pictures also!

Awesome. I will def. tell customers about this and forward them to your thread. Thanks for the attention to detail!

You need a relay !!!

yea i used a relay it keep my compressor off when my ignition isnt turned on

Should read:
yea i used a relay it keep my PRESSURE SWITCH off when my ignition isnt turned on.

Why?
Pressure switches don’t like high amp draw… if you run power through a relay, then the pressure switch never sees amp spikes from compressor restarts. This will effectively increase the life of your pressure switch.

I just used a toggle to turn on and off the compressor when the car is running or not running… What exactly does a relay do? I couldnt read the text with that picture

Are you not running a pressure switch?
That could spell disaster… you should always use a pressure switch.

The relay is used to allow power to the pressure switch.
Rather than your ignition absorbing the draw of both compressors running (which is may not have been designed to do) - it is doing the low amp draw job of energizing the pressure switch.

I’m not a fan of adding ANYTHING to the ignition circuit, and here’s why…

Automakers build vehicles, some better than others. However, I can’t think of a single automaker that would build a V-8 but limit its power to that of a lowly 4-cylinder. Why? Because they utilize that which they build to the best of its ability. Using this logic, why would they design an ignition that could handle the power load of a small city, when all its intended to do is to turn on the vehicle’s power systems and start the engine?

no the pressure switch is on top of the valve for this kit… Ill look into a relay

What kit do you have?

http://www.hornblasters.com/products/details.php?item=HK-S4-V228

Cool, so you DO have a pressure switch!

Now, all you need is a relay to help prolong pressure switch life.

Yes I do. haha thanks for your help

Nice setup…gotta love them zip-ties

Thanks for this eye awakening post! I just got my conductors special shocker 232xl a few days ago and wasn’t sure where to start… This definitely helps!
I went out and bought a ton of zip ties and plastic wire coil protector covers… Took my spare tire off and plan to mount everything under my truck bed where the tire was… I do have a question, however… I made sure my tank could be mounted outside, but you say the compressor needs to be mounted in a dry location… I have an 03 Tacoma and there’s absolutely no room under the hood or inside my truck to put the compressor… I was thinking of getting some sort of protector to put around the compressor and somehow mount it as high up underneath my truck in a corner or something… If you have any ideas, please please please throw them my way! I want this to last!
Also, after I mount my horns (I want to point them backwards), is there some place I can purchase a protective cover to prevent scratches, road grime, water, etc.!!! Maybe stockings or socks?!! I’m just asking, I don’t know…

Thanks again for this post! Very helpful!!!

Jon

The Viair 325c that comes with the 232 kit is sealed, so it can handle water and dust no problem. Just make sure the air intake filter is clear of moisture and it would be good to keep it clear of dirt and dust too. But the compressor itself doesn’t care.
Putting a cover over the compressor is a bad idea because that would increase the temperature.