Bad Boy 419

[Jfhaas]

Can I plug and play the Bad Boy to existing wires or do I need a relay?

 

[Chupaca]

Not sure..!!

I just plugged it into the exsisting wires and it is working fine. Some say your fuse will blow if you honk it for 10 seconds or more. I hardly use it and if I do never for that long. Can't confirm that but your choice...:thumbup:

 

[jaherbst]

Can I plug and play the Bad Boy to existing wires or do I need a relay?

Connect to existing horn wires. Will work fin e.

Jack

 

[Marker]

I think it depends on the year of your RT.
The new 2014 and 2015 models with the 1330 motor have an alternator like a cars charging system,in that case no relay would be required.
If you have a 990 motor in your RT you will need to use a relay because the spyders charging system cannot handle the required power used to power the horn and you could blow a fuse.
I have a bad boy horn in my 2015 RT . I wired it in using the OEM horn wires and no relay and no problems .

 

[Jfhaas]

Thanks everyone. Jack

 

[Bob Denman]

I just wired mine in without the relay also.
Now; If you're the type to lay a heavy thumb on the button, and leave it there for a long time... :dontknow:

 

[finless]

Hooked my Bad Boy direct to existing wires. As a test I laid on the horn for 1 full minute! No blown fuse.

The fuse for the horn is shared with other things like heated grips etc. So if you had all that on MAYBE you might blow the fuse but I doubt it.

Bob

 

[sscheuer47]

Here is what the installation instructions says

QUOTE:
MOTORCYCLE electrical connection - using factory horn system (two wire system) fig. C

1. IMPORTANT: You are required to use the relay supplied with this horn kit to protect the factory horn button switch and wiring. The original factory horn draws less amperage so most motorcycle manufacturers do not provide a relay in the horn circuit.
UNQUOTE


It is an easy install without the relay but .....

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: We all read that...
The amount of time, that the juice going through those wires, is pretty small...
I've found no indication, that anything is heating up. :thumbup:

So far...

 

[finless]

QUOTE:
MOTORCYCLE electrical connection - using factory horn system (two wire system) fig. C

1. IMPORTANT: You are required to use the relay supplied with this horn kit to protect the factory horn button switch and wiring. The original factory horn draws less amperage so most motorcycle manufacturers do not provide a relay in the horn circuit.
UNQUOTE


It is an easy install without the relay but .....

Please note, what this is saying is for a non-can buss type of system. e.g. the horn button actually makes the circuit to the horn. With higher AMP draw on a system like that, the button actually closing the circuit will arc more and carbon build up will eventually make the switch not work.

This is a can buss system. I am pretty sure the horn button is not actually completing the circuit to the horn but instead is sending a signal to the cluster which it is making the circuit with probably a relay or a solid state chip.

Bob

 

[robmorg]

Please note, what this is saying is for a non-can buss type of system. e.g. the horn button actually makes the circuit to the horn. With higher AMP draw on a system like that, the button actually closing the circuit will arc more and carbon build up will eventually make the switch not work.

This is a can buss system. I am pretty sure the horn button is not actually completing the circuit to the horn but instead is sending a signal to the cluster which it is making the circuit with probably a relay or a solid state chip.

Bob

Bob,

I cannot speak for other model years, but the 2013 RT schematic shows the horn working right off the horn fuse in the RFB (Right Fuse Bank). The button in the MFS is AFTER the horn on the negative side of the circuit, and goes directly to ground. There is nothing between the horn and the horn button. That same 20a horn fuse also feeds the ACS system, the fog lights, and BOTH the front and rear heated grips. However between the horn and the rest of those accessories there is a "load shedding relay" (also in the RFB) that would apparently temporarily cut power to all of those other accessories (not the horn) should the current become too high at any one time. But again, the horn itself is before the load shedding relay (which makes sense from a safety standpoint). The current for the horn itself is not integral to the load shedding relay, BUT could potentially cause the relay to trip if all these things were on together for an extended period of time (which then may prevent the fuse from blowing, if everything works as designed).

This is why I chose to use a relay when I installed my Bad Boy earlier this month - not only to protect the button, but also because there are an awful lot of "current hungry" accessories on that same fuse.

If memory serves, I believe I looked at the 2014 schematic some time ago (after reading an earlier forum thread on this same subject), and everything was still the same as i described above, except that they increased the value for that horn fuse. This could easily be tested by pulling the horn fuse and seeing if those other accessories mentioned above still work. (I did NOT look at any pre-2013 schematics.)

Bottom line... I would definitely recommend using a horn relay with a bigger horn, even though actual practice may indicate that one is not needed.

 

[StanProff]

I used a relay with mine. I can just imagine my horn button getting fried or something so I installed the relay and I don't have to worry about it. It is not about the capacity of the charging system, it is the current that the horn button and wiring can handle by design.

 

[Professor]

Spyderpops installed mine at Spyderfest. I asked Harvey if he connected it directly or through a relay and he said directly. He said he had installed many of them that way and never had a problem. If I had done it myself, I would probably have used a relay like I did on my BMW a few years ago, but this seems to be working fine.