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Hey there fellow smarty-pantses! I recently undertook the installation of a pair of Hella Sharptones into my 2017 ED and thought I'd share a couple of things that might be helpful if anyone else wants to do it. I didn't really take pics as I went but I'll try to illustrate.
First of all, I consulted Evilution.co.uk ... as usual very useful, but a couple differences exist on the ED.
Here's a pic of the finished product:
![64829]()
As you can see I ended up removing the stock horn from the passenger side as well as moving the alarm horn from the driver's side. The packaging under the hood of the 453 ED is somewhat different than the petrol version and I think there's a bit less room. Certainly the 453 ICE doesn't have the low-speed EV noisemaker (on the left of the above pic just above the crash bar).
Here's the stock horn:
![64830]()
It's your basic trumpet-style automobile horn. The reason I included this pic is because the mounting flange is relevant. See how it has two holes? The outside one is for the mounting bolt and the inside lines up with a tab on the mounting location. Your Hella horns won't have that tab-hole so you'll have to break out a 1/4" bit and drill one.
I bought the horn adaptor thingy from smartmods.co.uk and made my own wire to hook the new horns up using some 14-gauge jacketed wire I had lying around. I didn't wire the horns to the battery or use a relay; might give that a whirl next summer.
Here are the left and right horns all mounted up. On the passenger side, where the stock horn went and on the driver's side, where the alarm horn was.
![64831]()
![64832]()
Evilution recommends bolting up the alarm horn somewhere out of the way. On my ED there are very few spots that work, and just to make things really difficult, the wire to the alarm horn is really short. I ended up bolting it behind the mounting point where the driver-side horn goes. I just used a 1/4-20 x 1/2" stove bolt but if I did it again I'd use a 3/4" and maybe a nylon lock-nut. This awkward angle is looking up from below the driver's side headlight.
![64833]()
I had to bend the flange for the alarm horn to get it to fit, and it cost me a skinned knuckle reaching around with my socket, but hey, I never have to move it again. I previously tried mounting it in front of that gold-coloured member but apparently horns don't work properly if they are touching something! I suppose I could have thrown a Z-bend into the flange but that literally just occurred to me now.
Anyway that's it! The Hella Sharptones sound great at at 115db have rather more kick than the stock beeper. Got that sweet Euro sound. I haven't measured the actual sound level myself but if I get around to it I'll reply to this thread.
Hope this is helpful for someone! Happy to field questions.
First of all, I consulted Evilution.co.uk ... as usual very useful, but a couple differences exist on the ED.
Here's a pic of the finished product:
As you can see I ended up removing the stock horn from the passenger side as well as moving the alarm horn from the driver's side. The packaging under the hood of the 453 ED is somewhat different than the petrol version and I think there's a bit less room. Certainly the 453 ICE doesn't have the low-speed EV noisemaker (on the left of the above pic just above the crash bar).
Here's the stock horn:
It's your basic trumpet-style automobile horn. The reason I included this pic is because the mounting flange is relevant. See how it has two holes? The outside one is for the mounting bolt and the inside lines up with a tab on the mounting location. Your Hella horns won't have that tab-hole so you'll have to break out a 1/4" bit and drill one.
I bought the horn adaptor thingy from smartmods.co.uk and made my own wire to hook the new horns up using some 14-gauge jacketed wire I had lying around. I didn't wire the horns to the battery or use a relay; might give that a whirl next summer.
Here are the left and right horns all mounted up. On the passenger side, where the stock horn went and on the driver's side, where the alarm horn was.
Evilution recommends bolting up the alarm horn somewhere out of the way. On my ED there are very few spots that work, and just to make things really difficult, the wire to the alarm horn is really short. I ended up bolting it behind the mounting point where the driver-side horn goes. I just used a 1/4-20 x 1/2" stove bolt but if I did it again I'd use a 3/4" and maybe a nylon lock-nut. This awkward angle is looking up from below the driver's side headlight.
I had to bend the flange for the alarm horn to get it to fit, and it cost me a skinned knuckle reaching around with my socket, but hey, I never have to move it again. I previously tried mounting it in front of that gold-coloured member but apparently horns don't work properly if they are touching something! I suppose I could have thrown a Z-bend into the flange but that literally just occurred to me now.
Anyway that's it! The Hella Sharptones sound great at at 115db have rather more kick than the stock beeper. Got that sweet Euro sound. I haven't measured the actual sound level myself but if I get around to it I'll reply to this thread.
Hope this is helpful for someone! Happy to field questions.
