Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2019 March 24

= March 24 =

Looking for remote-controlled car horn
Background: My car horn went nuts, going off at random. The mechanic wants $1500 to fix it, but only charged $200 to pull the fuse (what a bargain !). After I recovered from my heart attack, I began looking for cheaper after-market options.

I am trying to find this item for sale online. Features I would like:


 * Small. Needs to fit in tight engine compartment.


 * Waterproof.


 * Wireless remote. Key fob shape best.


 * Normal car horn beep sound. Not too loud.  Volume setting a plus.


 * Horn power wires should have clips to hook onto car battery pos and neg terminals.

So, far, this is the closest I've found, but it makes siren sounds, not regular horn beep:

https://www.ebay.com/i/132882535265?chn=ps

This one makes 7 tones, but I have no idea what those "tones" are:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Siren-Horn-Remote-Control-Kit-7-Tones-Wireless-Electronic-Loud-Alarm-12V-DC-New-/264223552580?hash=item3d84f37444

Can anyone help me find what I need ? Thanks for your help ! SinisterLefty (talk) 00:26, 24 March 2019 (UTC)
 * Not wanting to sidetrack but, is it actually a legal requirement where you are? I use mine around once a year, and if I had a better temper I'd probably never use it at all. Might be more economical to hang fire until you trade in for a newer car. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.200.138.194 (talk) 04:39, 24 March 2019 (UTC)


 * Our relevant article is Vehicle horn. Is there a reason not to fix your car's own horn circuit which is probably like this?

 ---                    /                           \                    /                       horn  \ /                      switch  \ _______________/              fuse        /     |________________________ /                        +-OXO---o/  o+   \ |                         |                                            |    \ ==                       +_____                                        __|___  \                            -                                          |    |/                  battery   :                                     horn | _____                                       |____|\                            -                                            |                            |____________________________________________+ 
 * DroneB (talk) 14:34, 24 March 2019 (UTC


 * Unfortunately, it's far more complex than that. It's a Jeep Compass, with the infamous TIPM (Totally Integrated Power Module), which controls not only the horn but just about everything else, and frequently fails, and can't be serviced, and is extremely expensive to replace.  Why did they do this ?  Well, the horn also is tied in to the panic button on the key fob, which causes it to play a sequence of alarms until the key is placed in the ignition to stop it.  I don't need this, but I do need a horn, mainly just to nudge the guy in front of me who hasn't noticed the light has changed (unless he's like the guy in the Beatles song, then there's not much hope).  Still, I just want a friendly little honk, not something that will require him to change his shorts. SinisterLefty (talk) 15:17, 24 March 2019 (UTC)
 * Is it wowwow–wowwow wowwow–wowwow, wowwow–wowwow wowwow–wowwow (lower pitch), wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow (long gaps), woooooouuuuuup! (rising pitch) woooooouuuuuup! (a repeat) (low pitch)taw TAH!(high pitch) taw TAH! taw TAH! taw TAH! (same pitches as the first taw TAH) [loop for ~2 minutes]? I'm not old enough to remember the car alarm fad's peak and my part of NYC wasn't hood but that was my lullaby. Or was it double the number of woooooouuuuuup!'s and a different number of taw TAH!'s? It's not quite seared into my memory enough to be sure 2 decades later. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 01:44, 27 March 2019 (UTC)


 * Rick Muscoplat is of the same opinion and suggests sending a note to Chrysler telling them how much you appreciate their incredibly stupid engineering. There is a repair service for the TIPM which looks like it can be opened and possibly be cleaned of corrosion with a Brake cleaner or Acetone, but I can't guarantee this will help. DroneB (talk) 17:44, 24 March 2019 (UTC)


 * Which is the Beatles song?  There's this, but that wasn't by the Beatles.   I was surprised by the reference to "a little Nash Rambler" - I have never heard of Nash, let alone it's Rambler.   In the only version I've heard, the reference is to "a little bubble car".   I thought this might be due to the BBC objecting to advertising, but "Cadillac" is in there - maybe they played a cover version? 2A00:23C4:5D0C:D500:305F:D789:20A:9B8 (talk) 18:18, 25 March 2019 (UTC)
 * I'm sure your question is meant to help the OP somehow. Cadillac and Nash Rambler are replaced by Limousine and Bubble car respectively in the version for Europe of the 1958 song Beep Beep where the Nash brand was unknown (except as a buyer and re-badger of Austin Metropolitans) and the BBC would not play songs that advertise car brands. DroneB (talk) 13:43, 27 March 2019 (UTC)


 * Google "Beatles lyrics He didn't notice that the lights had changed". In this one, the BBC objected to the drug ref ("I'd love to turn you on") and censored it.SinisterLefty (talk) 18:46, 25 March 2019 (UTC)


 * When you said they censored it I wondered what they did as I've heard the song many times.  I thought maybe they re-recorded it or turned down the volume at the critical moment.   Turns out they didn't play the song at all for a while A Day in the Life. 2A00:23C4:5D0C:D500:305F:D789:20A:9B8 (talk) 19:25, 25 March 2019 (UTC)