Installed Second Horn (Hella) on my Rivian

[iansriv]

Thank you OP. I have been thinking about this ever since I first honked my horn and the other guy laughed.

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[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I don’t use my horn often but the single horn setup is not fit for purpose. If you’re trying to alert someone in another vehicle it is completely ineffective. I wish Rivian would just sell an upgrade kit so you could buy the previously-included 2nd horn with bracket and wiring to make it plug-and-play by owners or a 15-minute job for a service center.

I don't use mine often either. But when I do it's clear the lower toned horn [that Rivian kept] is not high pitched enough to cut through din of road/highway noise.

It’s a simple enough job, but I don’t like modifying a brand new vehicle with non-standard parts. I’m even less likely to do this because we don’t have an official fuse layout from Rivian and, IIRC, some fuses are not standard. This means if we end up blowing the fuse it could require scheduling a service appointment for some time in the (distant?) future that we have to pay for out-of-pocket.

Fusebox diagram (F33, driver side, third on bottom left, is the horn):

 

[rydb]

The double horns in the original setup aren’t especially loud, I can’t imagine what it is with half the power. I get cutting costs, but some of this seems like low hanging fruit only because they designed a lot of the major structures and systems in ways that are inefficient to manufacture at scale so they have no choice but just content removal to shave costs efficiently.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Hi, purchased the horns from Amazon. HELLA 011225831 Black 12V BX Trumpet Horn Kit(Universal Fit) . Try one at time with existing factory horn to find your happy sound. I soldered the wires, but you can use a spice connector. If you ever installed a car stereo you can do this. Super easy.

Looks to be 500 Hz, which coincidentally is the same as the higher pitched unit in Hella's Supertone pair (was once original equipment in Ferrari's cars). Some in other threads have said they'd prefer slightly lower pitch of the Hella Sharptones (400 Hz).

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

The double horns in the original setup aren’t especially loud, I can’t imagine what it is with half the power. I get cutting costs, but some of this seems like low hanging fruit only because they designed a lot of the major structures and systems in ways that are inefficient to manufacture at scale so they have no choice but just content removal to shave costs efficiently.

They are plenty loud. When it comes to sound, some things to keep in mind: Volume vs Intensity (pitch). Two sound sources at the same volume, the higher pitched (frequency) source sounds louder to the human ear. Think of a crowded noisy restaurant or dinner party. Someone speaking with higher pitch stands out from all the rest. Or, a toddler's shriek at a noisy family reunion. Same idea. Also, the R1's cabin is well sealed (hence the near 43" water fording capability). So the horn(s) sound quiet from inside the cabin.

The issue with newer production Rivians is they skipped the higher pitched horn but kept the lower one. If the aim was to cut cost, it was a silly decision. Instead, they should've made the camp speaker a Gear Shop item.

 

[graymatter]

The double horns in the original setup aren’t especially loud, I can’t imagine what it is with half the power. I get cutting costs, but some of this seems like low hanging fruit only because they designed a lot of the major structures and systems in ways that are inefficient to manufacture at scale so they have no choice but just content removal to shave costs efficiently.

The new horn is legitimately unsafe. Other cars cant hear it at freeway speeds. The only reason Rivian can get away with it is there arent any regulations for it, but its going to get someone killed at some point

 

[rydb]

The new horn is legitimately unsafe. Other cars cant hear it at freeway speeds. The only reason Rivian can get away with it is there arent any regulations for it, but its going to get someone killed at some point

So there are all sorts of regulations for lights and tesla got in trouble for their custom horn sounds, but there are no rules for how loud a horn has to be? That’s easy to measure, too.

 

[graymatter]

So there are all sorts of regulations for lights and tesla got in trouble for their custom horn sounds, but there are no rules for how loud a horn has to be? That’s easy to measure, too.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration doesnt have any regulations for horns. Some individual states do, but most of them just say that it has to be manually triggerable by the driver and that it be audible from 200 feet away.
Obviously 200 feet away is totally subjective. A pedestrian could hear the horn from a parked Rivian at 200 feet away, but you cant hear it from 10 feet away in another vehicle at 70 mph

 

[Polar]

Part of me wants to install this but I don't want to void the Rivian warranty.

https://hornblasters.com/collections/electric-horns/products/compact-electric-horn

Looks like a Stebel Natilus - have used them previously on other cars and motorcycles. You will want to change the current horn feed into a relay trigger and wire that horn into your battery or a dedicated 20 amp fuse. I would NOT power that off the OEM horn wiring. Awesome horns those - Stebel has a duel tone as well that is pretty good.

The main issue with these is there a delay as the compressor builds pressure initially.

 

[garrison]

Did you disconnect the 12v batteries before working on the wiring?

 

[iforbes]

Just the one. Both horns on driver side, plenty of space. Rivian is just using standard 12v horns. Looking at the stock horn it very much resembles the Hella ford horn. No Telsa crazy yet.

I thought the second horn was on the passenger side. Am I understanding correctly that you placed the second horn on the drivers side? Am I also correct that you checked for wiring on the passenger side and that the wiring was missing?

If you wanted to do a write up/video of your process it would be super helpful. Thanks!

 

[R1Tmcg]

No novelty horn?

 

[gregtay]

After picking up R1S 2 weeks ago was shocked by the lame single horn. Couldn't find anything on web showing resolution.

Figured the 2nd location for horn was there and empty. Pulled out frunk tub and was correct. Easy to get to from inside frunk area. Drivers horn there and standard 12v. Passenger side empty. Was hoping wire was there just tied up, but couldnt find. So instead just added a 2nd Hella horn to drivers side. Simple splice into factory wire. Mounted to open bolt on fender well. Cost $30.

Works great. As it should have been from factory. Will experiment more for best frequency of 2nd horn.

I have been waiting months for this post THANK YOU! Now I know what my weekend project is.

 

[zschicago]

I thought the second horn was on the passenger side. Am I understanding correctly that you placed the second horn on the drivers side? Am I also correct that you checked for wiring on the passenger side and that the wiring was missing?

If you wanted to do a write up/video of your process it would be super helpful. Thanks!

Yes the second horn was suppose to be on passenger side and the spot is open. My plan was to install horn there, but it was blocked by metal pipes feeding radiator. I checked everywhere for the connector for the second horn. No luck. I cant imagine Rivian changed wiring harness. Once I saw all the open space and the open louvers for wheel wheel (great for sound to get out) figured it would do. Plus the available open bolt to attach made it easy.

As far as write-up if I get some time will do.

 

[SoCal Rob]

No novelty horn?

Sure, why not?
https://a.co/d/futMhak

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