Getting Started
Your horn kit came with this assortment of fittings below.
CONDUCTOR'S SPECIAL - CONNECTING THE SHOCKER HORNS TO THE AIR TANK
- A - 1/8" FNPT x 5/16" PTC Elbow (4)
- B - 1/2" NPT Solenoid Valve
- C - Banjo Fitting (4-way)
- D - 1/2" MPT x 1/2" PTC Fitting
Start by plumbing one of the two 1/2" NPT x 1/2" PTC (D) fittings into the tank. If you are using a 2-gallon tank, this fitting will only fit into the end-caps of the tank. If you have a 5-gallon tank, any of the 1/2" ports (other than the bottom most port while mounted) can be used for this fitting.
Take the other 1/2" NPT x 1/2" PTC fitting and plumb it into the inlet side of the valve. If you are unsure as to which side is the inlet, take a look at the side of the valve.
The small arrow cast on the side of the valve indicates the direction of air flow that can pass through this valve. The arrow points towards the direction the air should be flowing. The side opposite from the arrow is the INLET, and the arrow always points towards the OUTLET.
Take the 4-way banjo fitting and plumb it into the outlet port of this valve. Your valve should look like the following:
*Note that the 4-way fitting is on the end the arrow points towards. This is super important! If the valve is plumbed backwards, it will leak air constantly.
Positioning The Horns
Now that the valve is setup and ready to go, you can now start thinking about where you want to position your horns. Keep the following in mind;
- Each horn bell will connect to the solenoid valve. The kit includes 17 feet of 1/2" air line to go from the tank to the air valve. And 10 feet of 5/16" air line to go from the valve to each horn. 10 feet of 5/16" gives you roughly 2.5 feet of play from the valve to each horn.
- The horns do not need to all face the same direction. You can face two forward, two backward, or all four in different directions.
- Each bell must have at least 2-3" of room from the end of the bell. If the end of the bell is completely covered, the sound cannot escape from the horn and project.
Position each bell in the desired install location. Once each bell has been test-fitted in the desired location, find the center point between all of the bells. This is where the valve will be, so that each line from the 4-way Banjo fitting can route to each horn. Before you make the install locations of these components permanent, let's first make sure we have enough line to connect everything together.
Locate the roll of 1/2" and 5/16" air line that came with the kit. The 1/2" roll should be ~17' long, and the 5/16" roll should be ~10' long. You can cut the roll of 5/16" line in half. Take each half and cut it in half again, to make four equal length pieces. Make sure each length is cut evenly. If the lines are different lengths, the horn bells will sound off at different times and it will not sound nearly as good.
Take the elbow fittings (A) and plumb each onto the brass stud of each horn bell. These fittings can swivel and do not need to face any specific direction. You can swivel them around to accept the air line from the valve without kinking the line.
Once all four bells have the elbows installed, go ahead and connect one of the 5/16" air lines into the elbow fitting, and route it up to the four-way on the valve. Be careful not to kink the line by bending it too tight. Do this for all four bells.
Finishing Up
At this point, go ahead and plumb the supplied 1/2" air line into the inlet side of the valve. Route the line up to your air tank, and plumb it into the 1/2" NPT x 1/2" PTC fitting. Your horns are now plumbed and ready for use. All that's left is wiring up the air valve!