HornBlasters AIR 500 Series User manual

HORN AIR 500 SERIES
INSTALLATION MANUAL
WARNING: To ensure the longevity
of your system, reading and following
these instructions is necessary. Make sure
to follow the routine maintenance interval
found on the bottom of page 3.
Page 1

•Air Compressor (model varies)
•HornBlasters 5-Gallon Air Tank
•HornBlasters Tank Fitting Kit
HORNBLASTERS HORN AIR 5-GALLON INSTALLATION GUIDE
KIT CONTENTS:
Identifying Fittings The diameter of the thread (X) will indicate what size thread a
fitting has. If you're not sure which fittings are 1/2", 3/8", or 1/4",
measure the thread on each fitting and match it up with the values
below.
1x
Safety Blowoff Valve
(Do not use as a
drain)
1x
1/2" PTC
Fitting
1x
Drain Cock
Fitting
5x
Reducer Bushing
1x
Pressure Switch
•Air Filter Relocation Kit (in compressor box)
•Air line Cutter
•HornBlasters Universal Wiring Kit
1/2" NPT 3/8" NPT 1/4" NPT 1/8" NPT
0.84" 0.675" 0.54" 0.405"
1x
Air Gauge
2x
Brass Plug
1x
Tire Inflation Kit
Page 2

www.hornblasters.com [email protected]
Safety Tips and Important Information
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
•Do not disassemble any electrical components of this horn kit (air compressor, air valve, pressure switch).
•Do not attempt repairs or modifications of any component. Please refer to qualified service agencies for all
service and repairs.
•Do not operate any component where it can fall or be submerged into water or any kind of liquid.
•Do not reach for any component that has fallen or been submerged into water or any kind of liquid.
•Use the included components with 12 volt DC systems only.
•Do not leave the air system unattended during use.
WARNING: To prevent injury:
Caution: To prevent the risk of electric shock or electrocution:
•The air compressor will become very HOT during and immediately after operation. Do not touch any part
of the compressor with your bare hands during or immediately after use.
•Do not use this product near open flames or explosive materials or where aerosol products are being
used.
•Do not operate this product where oxygen is being administered.
•Do not pump anything other than atmospheric air.
•Never use this product while sleepy or drowsy.
•Do not use any tools or attachments with the supplied air source unit without first determining maximum
air pressure for that tool or attachment.
•Never point any air nozzle or air sprayer toward another person or any part of your body.
•The included compressor is equipped with an automatic reset thermal protector and can automatically
restart after the thermal protector resets. Always cut off power source when thermal protector becomes
activated.
•Use only in well ventilated areas.
•Do not fill the included air tank above 150 PSI. Doing so may result in death or serious injury.
•Disconnect the battery negative cable before doing anything. Failure to disconnect this terminal can lead
to damaged electrical components.
•Use eye protection when operating drills or other power tools during the install.
•Ensure the parking brake is engaged before you get underneath the vehicle.
•Do not wire the system without the fuse holder.
•Do not allow the compressor to run when the vehicle is off.
To ensure a long lasting system:
•Inspect and replace the filter elements once every 3 months.
•Drain the tank of moisture once every two weeks using the drain cock fitting.
These two steps are essential to keeping your kit up and running for years to come! If you don't drain
the tank or change the filters on the compressor, these components will not last as long as they are
rated for!
Page 3

Recommended Air Source Install Locations
Recommended Install Locations for a car/sedan
•The trunk of your car/sedan/suv is a great spot for this air source kit. The trunk keeps the compressor out of
the weather and is one of the best install locations for the compressor/tank. The air tank is rather bulky and
won't fit in your engine bay (unless you have a huge engine bay).
•If you decide to mount the compressor outside the car make sure it won't get submerged if you go through a
large puddle! It can get wet but you cannot submerge the compressor. The install below demonstrates how a
5-gallon tank can be mounted in the trunk of a car. The compressor is located underneath the rear bumper
with the filter routed up into the trunk so that it stays dry.
Recommended Install Locations for Trucks
•The toolbox is a great location for the compressor. The box will keep it out of the elements.
•Mounting the compressor/tank underneath the bed is a great option. There's plenty of room available and
mounting the compressor outside will help it run cooler and save space in your bed / toolbox.
•The engine bay is a good spot for the compressor and tank so long as you keep it away from the exhaust
manifold and engine block. The engine generates a lot of heat and will keep the compressor from running
cool. If the compressor overheats, it will not run until it has cooled off.
Page 4

Preparing the Air Compressor
•You can mount these horns in the front bumper similar to car, or underneath the bed as shown above.
•If you face the horns forward when mounted underneath, you may have to clean them out from time to
time. You can clean them out with water from a hose. Give the horns a nice long honk to clear them
up.
•Make sure to mount the horns using BOTH studs! If you only use one, it will break after awhile!
Start by locating the hardware that was packaged with your air compressor. You should have a set of mounting
bolts, two barb fittings, and an air filter housing. A picture of each is shown to the left for reference.
Let’s start by taking the fitting on the left with the male thread and inserting it into the
compressor inlet. The other fitting (female end) can be threaded onto the filter housing
directly. Your compressor/filter should look like the image below. At this point, you can
use the supplied air line that was packaged with the compressor to connect the
compressor and filter together.
*This line is not meant to hold pressure. Do not use this for anything other than
the filter.
Connect fittings to
compressor & filter
Route 3/8" air line in
between filter/compressor
Barb Fittings
(Male & Female)
Filter Housing
Relocation Air Line
Filter Placement
Your compressor is fully sealed against the elements. If the compressor is mounted outside with the air filter on
the end of the compressor, the filter will get wet and water will get pulled into the compressor. To prevent this,
the filter must be relocated to an ENCLOSED AND DRY location. If your compressor is mounted in the bed of
your truck or underneath the bed, the filter can be relocated into the cab of the vehicle. You could also route
the filter into the bed if it's covered. Do not mount the fitler where it will get wet or dirty!
If the air filter is not relocated, the compressor will pull in water/dirt and will stop
working properly.
99.9% of compressors we receive for inspection have pulled in water through the filter
housing.
WE DO NOT WARRANTY COMPRESSORS THAT HAVE FAILED DUE TO WATER/ DEBRIS
BEING PULLED INTO THE INTAKE/FILTER
www.hornblasters.com [email protected]
Page 5

Recommended Tank Assembly
Option 1
Option 2
(Upside down)
Always make sure the drain cock is
facing DOWN. Regardless of how
you decide to assemble the tank,
the drain fitting needs to point down
to allow water to drain. Gravity will
pull water to the bottom of the tank.
Compressor Inlet
Compressor Inlet
1/2" OUTLET
1/2" OUTLET
Page 6

•You can mount these horns in the front bumper similar to car, or underneath the bed as shown above.
•If you face the horns forward when mounted underneath, you may have to clean them out from time to
time. You can clean them out with water from a hose. Give the horns a nice long honk to clear them
up.
•Make sure to mount the horns using BOTH studs! If you only use one, it will break after awhile!
www.hornblasters.com [email protected]
Tire Inflation Kit Install Procedure
The tire inflation kit is an add-on that we recently started to include with Horn Air kits. This kit can be used
to inflate tires or run other air tools such as an impact wrench directly from your HornBlasters air tank. The
Tire Inflation kit includes a variety of fittings and components such as a blowgun, quick connect studs,
and couplers.
To get started, locate the two compression fittings in your kit. They look like this:
Take one of these fittings and plumb it into the open port we left on the tank. You
will need to use the included 1/4" run tee to plumb the compression fitting into the tank if an open
port is not available.
Remove the nut from the compression fitting and
slide it over the air line. Firmly seat the air line
over the barb fitting as shown to the right. Once
the line has been seated over the barb, slide the
nut up to the fitting and tighten it down over the
line. Make sure to tighten this up! Do not leave it
loose.
Once you've got the tank side done, lay out the included mounting bracket, quick coupler, and compression
fitting as shown below. The compression fitting will wedge the quick coupler to the bracket. Go ahead and
plumb the 1/4" air line onto the compression fitting the same way we did on the tank side. Use the two included
screws to mount the bracket to your vehicle. We usually see these mounted near the license plate, on the
bottom of the bumper for easy access.
Page 7

Wiring the Compressor
•You can mount these horns in the front bumper similar to car, or underneath the bed as shown above.
•If you face the horns forward when mounted underneath, you may have to clean them out from time to
time. You can clean them out with water from a hose. Give the horns a nice long honk to clear them
up.
•Make sure to mount the horns using BOTH studs! If you only use one, it will break after awhile!
Compressor Wiring
A = 10 GAUGE TAN RING TERMINAL
B = PRESSURE SWITCH
C = 18 GAUGE RED MALE SPADE CONNECTOR
D = 10 GAUGE YELLOW/GREEN FEMALE SPADE CONNECTOR
E = AIR COMPRESSOR
An ignition/key power source can be any circuit that is hot when the vehicle is on. Good examples of these
are the radio, daytime running lights, power seats,cigarette lighter, or even an accessory fuse. You can use
the included T-tap or Scotchlok connector to tap onto one of these circuits
Alternatively, an add-a-fuse can be sourced separately and be used to pull key-power from the fuse box. The
cigarette lighter fuse is almost always key-power on, as well as any fuses for power outlets throughout the
vehicle. If the compressor runs when the vehicle is off, your power source is hot all the time.
Make sure to run the supplied 10-gauge red wire from the fuse holder up to the pressure switch's red wire. You
can use the supplied 18-gauge wire for the key-power connection. (blue wire)
Page 8

•                  
•                  
                    

•                   
www.hornblasters.com [email protected]
Troubleshooting
Compressor
•The compressor doesn't turn on.
oTry connecting the compressor to a car battery directly.
Take the red wire to the positive terminal and the black wire to the negative terminal.
Give us a call if the compressor doesn't run. If it does, go to the next step.
oDouble check the blue wire on the pressure switch.
If this blue wire is not hooked up or doesn't have +12v power, the compressor will never run.
This blue wire receives a signal from the vehicle to let the system know the car is on. This is to
prevent the system from running when the car is off.
oMake sure the fuse isn't blown
If the fuse is blown, this could be due to a short in your wiring. Before you put a new one in,
check and ensure your wire is not frayed or exposed anywhere.
•The compressor doesn't fill the tank
oMake sure the drain cock isn't open
The drain cock is fully closed when the wing nut is threaded OUTWARD. >>>
oMake sure the valve isn't open or backward
If the valve is open, the air from the compressor is escaping through it constantly. If the valve
is backward, air will escape through it constantly.
oCheck the compressor's air inlet
If the red plug from the inlet was not removed, the compressor cannot suck in air. Remove the
filter and remove the plug.
Make sure to check that you removed the red plug from the end of the compressor's leader
hose. If the plug is still present, the compressor will not be able to push air out of the hose.
•The tank loses pressure after a few hours
oSpray each fitting and air line with soapy water or Windex.
The liquid will bubble up anywhere a leak is present. Usually, fittings need to be tightened
further or more Teflon tape needs to be present on the threads. If you have a leak from the air
line connections, re-cut the lines and re-seat them.
oMake sure the compressor's check valve wasn't overtightened
If the check valve is overtightened, it will leak back to the compressor and the air will escape
from the filter. This may also lead to a blown fuse.
Page 9

Train Horn Recommendations
If you don't already have an air/train horn for your vehicle, below are some horns we would
recommend pairing up with this horn air kit. These horns will include a solenoid valve and air
line. Basically, everything needed to connect to the air source you just installed.
Shocker XL Train Horn
The Shocker XL is one of the
best train horn sets we offer.
Each horn bell mounts
individually and can be installed
on just about any vehicle. These
are made to sound like a real
train horn and are backed with
a lifetime guarantee by
HornBlasters.
Part #: AH-S4
Price: $459.99
Outlaw Train Horn
The Outlaw Train Horn is great if
you have a truck with extra
space under the bed. This three
bell horn offers train horn level
output without breaking the
bank. 1/2" air line is included
with the horn. This horn is the
next best thing from our
Shocker XL.
Part #: AH-C3B
Price: $283.99
Page 10

Air Horn Recommendations
Safety Air Horn
The safety air horn is one of the
loudest air horns HornBlasters
offers. This horn emulates the
sound of air horns heard of
emergency vehicles, but with a
HornBlasters twist added. The
safety horn is much much louder
than your typical fire truck and
much more abrasive.
This horn is ready to accept 1/2"
air line. It does not come with it
by default, though. You can add
some by searching part # AL-8H
on our website.
Part #: AH-S33K
Price: $459.99
Rocker Air Horn
The Rocker air horn set is the
Shocker XL's little brother. This
set consists of two bells and uses
a 3/8" solenoid valve. Despite
this, it is still almost as loud as
the Shocker XL. These are great
for tight spaces or small vehicles.
Each bell can be mounted
separately and apart from each
other.
Part #: AH-S2
Price: $289.99
Page 11

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