cadillacjeff7777 Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 I've received a set of 2 wire A, C, D, anf F horns and a set of 1 wire. Any reason that I'd find the 1 wire louder than the 2 wire? 2008 DTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinW Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 It might depend on how they're wired, assuming the horns are in similar condition. The total current draw for all 4 is in the 20-24 A range. The OEM wiring for the single wire horns is at least 14 Ga (12 on earlier models), and the ground path is via the body. The 2 wire pigtails are 16 Ga, and depending on how the power and ground wires are configured and connected, there may be too much resistance at one or more points in the circuit. ___________________________________________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadillacjeff7777 Posted July 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Well, I've them wired 2 and 2 going to 14 gauge wire and then splicing together into a single 14 gauge wire that passes through a 30 amp fuse and then off of the B+ lug on the under hood fuse box. I guess that I'll trash these 2 wire ones and order up a set of one wire. 2008 DTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 The difference is the two-wire horns use one of the wires as the ground where the one wire horns use the metal mounting bracket as the ground. What is the size of the fuse for the horn circuit in your car? If it is not a 20 amp, the wires are not large enough to handle the current draw of four horns. When the Trumpet horn was eliminated, Cadillac used a 10 amp circuit and lighter gage wire. When I added the other two horns to my Deville, I used a relay in series with the original horns and a separate fused power feed to drive the additional horns. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinW Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Well, I've them wired 2 and 2 going to 14 gauge wire and then splicing together into a single 14 gauge wire that passes through a 30 amp fuse and then off of the B+ lug on the under hood fuse box. I guess that I'll trash these 2 wire ones and order up a set of one wire. Is the ground side wired in a similar fashion to one of the factory grounds? How is that setup integrated with the horn relay? I don't recall noticing any significant performance difference between the one and two wire horns when tested individually, but how they're positioned and located in the car does have an effect on the overall sound. Are the horns all the same size? I'm wondering if one or more of the two wire units are made by FIAMM which are a bit smaller. ___________________________________________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadillacjeff7777 Posted July 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Sorry, I forgot to mention how the horns integrated. They are ran though a relay that is triggered via the + wire of the factory horn circuit. I did not notice if the horns were smaller than my louder 1 wire ones but I did test each right off of the battery before installation and the 2 wire ones are noticeably quieter. 2008 DTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinW Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 There may indeed be a difference in the performance of the horns, based on a small sample of used horns. I measured 3.7 A and 4.7 A for 'C' and 'D' horns respectively from a '95 DeVille (2 connector) and 5.5 A for an older single-wire 'C'! The orientation while firing wasn't consistent, but it did seem the single-wire was more intense in back-to-back testing, which matches the current draw observations. Also, I was incorrect about the wire gauge; the '95 DeVille harness has 18 Ga. wire. ___________________________________________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadillacjeff7777 Posted July 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Well, maybe I'll eBay off this set to the next unsuspecting person. :/ 2008 DTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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