Horn stopped being loud

[sweetie6485]

Last Friday we had a bad rain storm with flooding. I moved my car today and my horn isn't as loud as usual. How do I find the horn and what would be the factory one that was originally put in? I am trying to get better at fixing things myself.

 

[Natesriv]

it's on the driver's side, under the front wheel fender liner. One horn a total POS. I put in two louder ones..low note and high note. Much better, but you'll need a relay.

 

[TurtleOverlord]

Did you drive in the storm? It could just be filled with water and need to be dumped/dried out.

I upgraded to the cruze dual tone horn and one was pointing upwards.
It got filled with water and sounded like it was dying.

Dried out and working fine again.

 

[TurtleOverlord]

95128275 stock horn

94526131 Cruze dual tone horn (may need to cut off tab before installing)

 

[RMinNJ]

I forget if my cruze horn was dual but its a direct plugin at the horn connector and it much louder. Why
GM used a different one on the Sonic is beyond me..

 

[gaparker]

Because one horn is cheaper than two.

My real question: Generally speaking, two horns will take twice as much current as one. Does anyone know if the relay used to drive the single horn in a Sonic is the same relay used to drive two horns in a Cruze? It may be that since horns are used so rarely, it may not matter to the life of the relay.

 

[Ponchoguy]

I forget if my cruze horn was dual but its a direct plugin at the horn connector and it much louder. Why
GM used a different one on the Sonic is beyond me..

Cost as noted. If GM (or any car maker) can save a buck and still be compliant, they will do it. $5 a car (a guestimate) times X cars produced a year......

 

[Natesriv]

most relays (you'll find near the horns at the autoparts store) are all the same. You'll want to install one, but be careful the wires don't touch metal.

 

[6speedti]

One of the first things I did was install additional horns. I removed the oem, ordered a GM repair plug so I didn't have to cut the harness. I installed two high low horns on each side and ran it through a relay. Installation is a compromise if you keep the same location. If you aim the opening down water will splash up in the horns and screw up the sound and do long term damage. If you aim them up then water will splash inside the horn and not drain out. Instant death. I angled them slightly down from horizontal. I still get an occasional funky moose cow call on one of the horns from time to time but it clears up fast. A few blows and it clears up. I'm sure water damage has started. Relocating will require more removal of panels. I decided this was good enough.