So I went to replace the horns on the Paj today. Getting real tired of a horn that sounds like a cross between a moped and the Roadrunner. But it turns out that the horn switch on the steering wheel turns on the GROUND. That's right, the horn is always hot with 12v and hitting the horn gives it -ground! So an aftermarket set of horns (like the ones I bought) won't work because they use their mounting bolts for ground, and if I hook up the hot wires from the old horns, they would be on all the time!

Damn... just when I thought it was going to sound like a truck!
Any aftermarket horn ideas that will fit and yet not get their ground from the mounts?

That's prtty weird. Almost all horns are operated in exactly the way you describe.

Are you sure the horn won't work both ways?

I used a set of Bosch air horns with a very small compressor. The compressor won't care which way the wires come in. On my 1-ton Dodge, the horns always made the little cars jump. Dodge was BIG and ugly! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />

Just a thought.

Positive, it is ground that is switched. I was confused when I pulled the original horns because I use a bolt head for ground and both horn leads were hot! It is only the ground lead that connects when you depress the horn.

Almost any aftermarket horn would work for a Pajero.

I'm currently running a Stebel Nautilus.

My brother went from stock to Hella, to Stebel, and now he's running Bosch.

My pal is running a Mitsuba unit.

It'll work, it's not rocket science. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Ok here's how the local shops do it (please forgive any detail errors, this is just meant to be an overview).

1. Unplug stock wiring from stock horn and set aside. Remove stock horn now.
2. Run new wiring directly from battery's positive terminal
3. Make sure there is an inline fuse that runs with the new wire
4. Wiring from battery goes into appropriate socket on relay (there is a diagram on the relay body)
5. Check original horn wire. Determine which is the 'trigger wire' (the wire that gets activated when you press on the horn button)
6. Tap into this wire and connect to appropriate socket on relay
7. Connect new horn to relay and put on a ground wire
8. Test horn.

So in essence, the OEM wiring's role now is just to trigger the relay.

The relay will trigger the flow of electricity directly from the battery into the horn.

Use the appropriate size wires and connectors.

Or just get a Fiam horn. Those come with terminals so you can connect any way you want to.

All GM cars that I've ver worked on are switched in the same wat as the Mitsu's. That's where my confusion came into play. I've never seen a single wire horn excpet on a '51 Buick I've been working on on the side.