putting horn on switch live

[cookan]

Hi,
having spent our first night in the bongo with the 3 children I now have a long list of prep tasks I need to do before we take it for a 1 week, then full month away !Top of the list is moving the horn to the switch live to avoid the numerous beeps we had moving 5 persons around inside...I'd rather not try to remember to pull the fuse every night so was hoping to simply rewire the circuit.

From a look at the back of the fuse box I see the horn feed is plugged into a set of fuse holders fed by a permanent live...on the same row there's the Curtains and lighter sockets/radio collectively supplied by IG1/'On'. Since the horn is nextdoor to the Curtains..and I don't have curtains, I was hoping to just swap the two connectors around so curtains L are on permanent live and horn goes on switch live....any ideas how I do that ? The front face of the fuse box looks like it should pop out to unconver the connectors and perhaps enable me to do this....I could neither disoldge the horn connector from the back of the box, nor dislodge the the front face of the box from the housing so short of cutting the wires can't see how to dismantle the thing...I assume there's a knack !

Alternative suggestions welcome...

thanks,
Ant.

[jaylee]

Hello,

Removing the cab fuse box is easy. Just undo the 2 screws & kind of jiggle forward to remove & access the loom behind...

There is a lip at the side of the cab fuse box either side as you remove the cover panel. I fitted a latching switch there to disable the beep for camping mode.. (Actually more than one in the end.) When the fuse box cover panel is replaced you cant see it! (just enough clearance to hide it.)



I can't see why you couldn't do the same to disable the horn when you need to..!

[cookan]

thanks for the idea, no problems removing the fuse box itself, just wanted to be able to split the box in half so I could expose the contacts. At some point in the future I may want to use the spare fuse slots but can't see how you fit (and remove) a connector through the back...I assume that once the fuse box is split in half, that becomes more obvious.
thanks,
Ant.

[mikeonb4c]

I'm a bit of a simple caveman about these things and would just fit a fused switch inline with the horn feed, maybe under the bonnet. That way my horn could still work when parked up, but be disabled when I choose.

[jaylee]

That's basically my take on it Mike, but just after the fused source.... A bit easier to get at should you forget to either turn it off, or more importantly switch it on...

V quick pic for you...



Like i said earlier the cover fits over the top & hides em away...

Buttons to disable the all the beeps bar the reverse & to isolate the auto folding mirror on the locking. (should i be jumping in & out alot..?) 3rd one at the top out of shot, isolates the jazzy led fitted in the dash glory hole...

But you get the idea!

[mikeonb4c]

That's basically my take on it Mike, but just after the fused source.... A bit easier to get at should you forget to either turn it off, or more importantly switch it on...

V quick pic for you...



Like i said earlier the cover fits over the top & hides em away...

Buttons to disable the all the beeps bar the reverse & to isolate the auto folding mirror on the locking. (should i be jumping in & out alot..?) 3rd one at the top out of shot, isolates the jazzy led fitted in the dash glory hole...

But you get the idea!

Clever as ever Trevor That's what I'd do if I wasn't so lazy

[cookan]

I'm sure I posted a reply earlier, but can't see it now so appologies if this is a duplicate post...In short I managed to swap the connectors for the Horn and the Curtains (L), so I'm well chuffed I completed my first useful bongo alteration

Turns out, getting the face plate off the fuse box revealed nothing useful (remove all the fuses, then the face pulls out relatively easily)..it did allow me to shine a torch through the fuse box to spot how the retaining clips kept the connectors in the back in tho..

Each fuse connector in the back of the fuse box is held in place by a single plastic retaining clip built into the upper inside edge of the hole the connector is in (as opposed to retaining clip being part of the metal contact itself)...so a small flat bladed screwdriver inserted inbetween the connector you want to remove, and the upper inside edge of the hole its in...levered a little..will push the plastic retainer upwards and allow the connector to be pull back out.

Swapping the yelllow/red with the yellow that's next to it, puts the horn on the switch live, and the curtains Left on the permanent..job done and no more accidental noise !

[jaylee]

Reading you initial post i just realized that you not only wanted to stop the permanent live horn, thus avoiding accidental sounding.. But switch the blinds to permanent live... The second point i missed completely.

But then i have been working on another horn problem.... http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=55636

Your solution is not only free, but no cutting involved too!!

Nice work Cookan..!

[cookan]

well..it was really the horn...the left curtains on permanent live was just the side effect but as those two connectors sit side by side in the fuse box and they're either side of the permanent/switch split, it was the easiest thing to do..If I stumble across the curtain connector in the back, I might use it as a behavioural incentive module for the rear kids seat Permanent 12v and I can dish out a short sharp punishment at the press of a button whether we're driving or not !
Ant.

[mikeonb4c]

Personally, I'd fit a willinton kit for the blinds, and a separate switch for the horn. I don't like the idea of rewiring fuse boxes unless it is obvious to the next owner, garage etc. I'd also like to retain use of horn when key is out. But then I'm a caveman ha ha