Weird Horn Wiring Question - Maybe It's Haunted

[KIRK!]

I can't find my problem via search, so I have to ask.

I am installing a new Denali Mini Sound Bomb, which should be a plug and play swap. I tested it before reassembly, with the bike started, and there is just a brief quiet blip, then nothing. Tried the connectors the other way around, even though I know it doesn't matter. Still the same - nothing. So I reconnected the stock horn and it still works fine. I tested the new horn on another bike with an easily accessible battery and it worked fine. Also tested the stock horn. Fine, of course. Next I tested the voltage at the Trophy's horn connectors, 13.6v when the horn button is pressed.

What am I missing? I'm hoping I'm just being dumb.

Thanks in advance!

[trophied]

It draws more than the standard horn and will have to be routed through a relay so the switch will operate it properly.  Do a search on the forum and you can find coconut's post on how to wire an aftermarket high powered horn into the system using the Trophy's switch.  I wired two extras with separate power from a relay, and one high and one low frequency mounted on each side of the R&G bars with the micro switch just below the existing horn switch. I can get the standard horn, or with a larger surface of my thumb doing the work get all three horns at once.  People in cars CAN hear them.

[KIRK!]

Thanks Trophied. That is the right logic, but I read other posts here where members just used the stock connections for this same horn with no new relay. I was hoping I wasn’t seeing some other simpler cause since there is nearly 14v at the horn connection. Denali even states that this horn should be plug and play.

[swilkins65]

I have that exact horn and installed it just three months ago.  It was "plug and play" using their optional wiring harness which has a direct battery connection and included relay.  It was like an additional $29 (SKU: 953308 on Revzilla).  The horn I bought on Revzilla was SKU: 1036349.

[KIRK!]

According to Denali and other posts here, I shouldn’t need a relay. This is the small snail one, not the air horn. Still confused. Why would the same horn work on other Trophys, but not mine? Is there a difference between years in this system? Mine is a ‘17.


Here’s one.
https://www.triumph-trophy.com/index.php/topic,9739.0.html

[digital]

The test to perform is very simple...
Take the two wires from that horn and connect them directly to the battery and you will see how the horn works without problems. However, if you plug it in or plug two horn-type horns into the OEM connector. You will see that it does not work.

It's very easy to understand. The OEM Trophy has a ridiculous horn. Any 50 cc motorcycle has a better horn, so a motorcycle as big as the Trophy has a ridiculous horn that we are almost forced to place the horn as God intended.

That said, by incorporating that ridiculous horn, there is no need to have a relay, since its consumption is minimal, that connector is designed for OEM horns or similar.

When we fit better horns, obviously their consumption exceeds what that connector can give them. That's why some members have had no problems installing their horns, for example Denali, as they have the relay built in, the two wires from the OEM horn connector are used to energize the DENALI's relay.
If for any reason, something happens to a motorcycle by putting a horn directly from the OEM connector and without a relay. The manufacturer could never be held responsible, since the amperage of that connector is limited to a certain consumption.
So yes or yes, it is necessary to place a relay...

The incorporation of a relay is very simple to do. It is not a question of the voltage of 12 volts more, but of the amperage that it can supply.
Attached is a schematic I made so you can see it:

[digital]

When I made that diagram I put a 20 amp fuse on it, I see that it is somewhat excessive, I don't know why I put that value so high. Surely my head went to heaven.
The ideal is to put a fuse a little more than what the manufacturer says what your horn consumes.
For example, if the manufacturer says that your horn has a consumption of 4 amps at its maximum consumption. You could put a 5 amp fuse and if you connect two horns in parallel as shown in the diagram it would be the sum of both horns, that is, 8 amps, so you would put a 10 amp fuse.

Another way to find out the consumption of any horn is to take a voltmeter and place its measurement in amps and place its two clamps in series between the positive or negative of the horn and at that moment they will give you the reading of the horn consumption.

 

[Novocastrian]

Originally Posted by KIRK!

According to Denali and other posts here, I shouldn’t need a relay. This is the small snail one, not the air horn. Still confused. Why would the same horn work on other Trophys, but not mine? Is there a difference between years in this system? Mine is a ‘17.

Mine works without a relay but only when the engine is running.  Draws more power than the OEM horn.  Yes, I should ideally have a relay but my horn gets used once a year - for MOT