I have one of the full size Stebel Nautilus horns like the one pictured below. I removed the front cover and fog lamp grille but found it would not fit through the gap. I was wondering if anyone had already fitted one of these and knew of a good approach? If not I will probably get the smaller version instead which I imagine should fit no issue. The current horn is a single one mounted on a flat bracket.

I have already been able to discern that the current electrical system should be fine without the relay as the default fuse is 20a and not shared with any other components, and the wire is 1.5mm squared cross section so should be able to cope with the amps and voltages involved.

Edited 27 July, 201015 yr by anewman

I'd like to fit a better horn to the other halfs SDI.

It sounds puny compared to the much louder horn on my vRS

Does any make fit under there or am I looking for something more specific?

just because the original horn is there dosent mean the new one has to go there, my old mini had 2, the normal and the Air horn......

just because the original horn is there dosent mean the new one has to go there

:yes: good point, there's plenty of room here and there in the engine bay around the tiny 1.4, will have to see if I can identify a good place to mount it.

OH Brain Fart :yes:

Behind the Grill!

I couldn't find what I thought would be a good place to install the full size one. The most ideal place would be behind the cowling next to the radiator. However, this is plastic and not sure on the idea of drilling a hole and bolting a weighty horn to it. I suppose it could be bolted to the bulkhead by the alternator but drilling a hole there might be tricky.

Anyway I went with the smaller version and it fits reasonably well. Decided against a relay as the original fuse is 20a which is the type specified for this horn, although I did notice the wiring is 1.5mm squared and apparently Stebel recommend 2.5mm squared. I'm hoping that's just for a margin of error. I was recommended to not bother with a relay on a car electronics forum anyway. If I understand electronics correctly the fuse should protect the wire from a melt-down, I doubt Skoda would use that wire and a 20a fuse if it would melt wire, and the horn will never be used for long enough to heat the wire much anyway. I didn't cut the original wires and simply got some 17amp wire from Halfords and put a female spade connector at one end (for the horn) and male the other (to plug into the original plug), with some heat shrink to keep it tidy. I then wrapped some self-amalgamating tape around the plug and the new wires to keep water out and cable tied it so it doesn't shake about or rattle etc. To anyone reading this thinking of fitting the horn to another car, make sure to use the relay if the original fuse is any less than 20a or supplies more than one circuit.

It is £29.99 from Halfords http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_258317_langId_-1_categoryId_165704 If you use quidco look up Halfords on the quidco site before buying from there.

The horn it replaced was a 335Hz part number 6Y0 951 101. For reference the brown wire was earth on mine.

You need the black plastic spacer installed for it to fit in the orientation shown above.

Sounds great, like a Ferrari horn or something

Edited 27 July, 201015 yr by anewman

Returning to my own question, I have found the ultimate place for the full size horn. There is 2 nuts on the driver's side, basically on the same bit of metal as where the towing eye screws into, at the bottom. I forgot to take a photograph, but basically the rear nut welded to the frame is an M6 size. You need to fabricate a bracket which comes off from this and goes upwards like an L shape. I am guessing as there's a nut welded there that something is actually bolted to it on models other than the 1.4 mpi, so it may be that this space is not available on some models. I would hazard a guess either an aircon compressor or something to do with the diesel/turbo engines.

All I need to know now is if running 2 air horns together is illegal or would fail an MOT

Note it seems the horn is now discontinued by Halfords.

Serious question - why?

I use my horn maybe once every few months in anger, so no need on that front and only occasionally if I need to cross a narrow bridge etc (not that it stops people coming the other way :() and the stock one is more than adequate even with one of the 'speakers' being broken.

It could all be so much worse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbKvHzCUKBA

Agree horns are rarely used, last time I used my horn was to test it worked.

The Stebel horns do sound pretty good...

How hard are these to swap from the original?

How hard are these to swap from the original?

I didn't find it too challenging.

The "Nautilus Compact" version with the front throwing air outlet just about fits in the stock location, as displayed above.

I have no experience of the face lift and VRS bumpers though (no idea if these would make it difficult), but on my Mk1 1.4mpi you merely remove the fog grille and fog light. I suspect if the VRS needs the bumper-off to replace fog bulbs it will be the same for the horn. Also I believe some models are fitted with different/improved horns (like VRS) and it is possible the bracket included with those is not the same as the basic horn meaning you would need to fabricate a straight metal bracket with two holes, so the horn can be offset as shown in pic above.

The slightly bigger "Nautilus" with downward air outlet won't fit in the stock location and would need some creativity to fit elsewhere - but the catalogue claims both reproduce the same frequencies and volume.

The Fabia as standard uses a 20a fuse supplying the horn circuit, so you don't need the included relay - making it easier to install electrically on the Fabia than most cars. 2 bits of wire, 2 female spade connectors, 2 male spade connectors, and some heatshrink are all that's needed to plugged into the original plug and straight to the horn.