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Hi Bob. I'm trying to make a 5 wire Signal Stat 700 switch do something it wasn't designed to do--operate signal and brake lights. The easy path would be to use a 7 wire Signal Stat 900 switch. I purchased the 5 wire switch on a whim because I liked the way it looked. It's been causing stress in my life ever since. If my two relay set-up doesn't work this time, I'm giving up. Zac, the brains on this project, doesn't seem to be around anymore.
Hi Bob. I'm trying to make a 5 wire Signal Stat 700 switch do something it wasn't designed to do--operate signal and brake lights. The easy path would be to use a 7 wire Signal Stat 900 switch. I purchased the 5 wire switch on a whim because I liked the way it looked. It's been causing stress in my life ever since. If my two relay set-up doesn't work this time, I'm giving up. Zac, the brains on this project, doesn't seem to be around anymore.
Jim
Wow. Seems like an impossible task. I probably would have just bought this, but I'm sure your solution is less expensive.
It's been awhile, but I think I contacted the Ron Francis people about their converters for my particular situation, and they said they were no longer available. I know for sure I tried trailer light converters. I believe they had diodes that weren't compatible with 6V. It's been a struggle, but our friend, Zac always seemed to have another solution to try. If the relays don't work out, I'll give Ron Francis another try. Thanks.
It's been awhile, but I think I contacted the Ron Francis people about their converters for my particular situation, and they said they were no longer available. I know for sure I tried trailer light converters. I believe they had diodes that weren't compatible with 6V. It's been a struggle, but our friend, Zac always seemed to have another solution to try. If the relays don't work out, I'll give Ron Francis another try. Thanks.
Jim
Sorry Jim, I forgot that you are 6 volt. The Ron Francis thing probably won't work then.
Success! We wired up the relays and everything works!! Thank you Zac!!!
As you can see, there is still a little cleaning up to be done, but we did prove tonight that Zak's design using two double pole double throw relays really can make a 5 wire switch perform like a 7 wire switch.
Thanks Abe. Everything is working (now)--even the little indicator lights in the dash. The question is, will everything still work in the actual real-world with its vibration and bumps and temperature changes. I'm going to solder the wires and use heat shrink connectors. Everything should hold together--but I worry.
The switch seems a little touchy. Sometimes both signals come on--as in a "flasher" situation--and you have to wiggle the lever a little for the switch make make a proper contact. It's supposed to be NOS, so it's been sitting on a shelf somewhere for 60 plus years. I'm hoping with use it will get better, but of course it could get worse.
This was so predictable. Yesterday was a snow day (yes, we still have snow, and yes we just got some more) and without my usual tutoring duties to worry about, there was really only one thing to do--Go out to my heated garage and finish up my signal light project.
My plan was to proceed in stages. First up was to secure the wiring to and from the relays and get the relays ready for permanent mounting under the dash next to the fire wall. I did this very carefully with electrician's tape and was sure none of the connections to the relays came loose in the process. Next was finding a suitable ground. I decided on one of the bolts securing a bracket for the emergency brake. The location was perfect, and the bolt went through the fire wall. I cleaned up everything to shiny metal and added star washers to the mix. I was sure my two ground wires for the relays were making good contact with bare metal.
Before moving to the next stage--soldering and shrink wrapping all of the other connections--I wanted to be sure everything was sill working. And of course they weren't. Nothing is working. My friend, the mechanic, will have to come by again to have a look. Hopefully it's just a broken connection somewhere, but I'm really not seeing it.
...So the story continues, and once again I have somehow tripped up trying to accomplish the simplest of things.
You are probably right Bob. I was thinking that my newly crimped ground wires might be a likely suspect. Also, those black blob connections did get "crunched" a little in the "securing" process. I soldered those connections, then bound them in place with black thread, and finally soaked and covered the thread with epoxy--I thought what wonders I had done. They could be bad though, and it is my crowning achievement, the one-to-four yellow wire, with three of the black blobs, that powers up the relays. A break somewhere in this wire would certainly result in what I am experiencing--Everything dead!
Hey Mark. Thanks for the suggestion. I did some looking at terminal blocks on line. Maybe you can help me out on how you are envisioning they might work in my situation. If I were to purchase a 6 terminal block, could one wire going in, power-up five wires going out? If so, then such a terminal could be used for my yellow wire with its four-to-one junction. My ground wire has a two-to-one junction. I'm thinking this would require a second (smaller) terminal block. Then there are eight additional wires coming out from the relays making one-to-one, or in two instances--one-to-two connections--to the truck's wiring harness. I'm thinking these wires would require a third properly sized terminal block. Am I understanding this right? Please excuse my extreme ignorance! I'm a teacher, and sadly lacking in the practical knowledge owning and maintaining an old truck requires.
I went out to the hardware store this morning and picked up a six and a ten circuit terminal block. The six circuit block should take care of my four-to-one yellow wire, and the the two-to one black ground wire. The ten circuit block should handle the connections from the relays to the truck's wiring harness. I'll just use short wires for jumpers.
I should be set now to make another attempt at getting my Signal Stat 700 switch to work. The actual wiring scheme is already figured out. All that remains is making the connections, and the terminal blocks should be just the thing to make a good job of that. Thanks Bob and FortyNiner for staying on the case.
Today was the day. I started re-doing my signal light wiring using the terminal blocks Mark suggested. And Bob was right. There was a fault in one of the ground wires caused by an improperly crimped connector. I should be good to go now, and using the terminal blocks should make a neater more professional looking job. I really should replace my $3.00 wire stripper and crimper though.
I also had a chance to do some investigating into my ongoing temp gauge situation. The original gauge never worked and was removed as a part of the charging problems I was having two years ago just before the Kentucky Truckstock. I replaced the sending unit two years ago thinking it was faulty, but didn't get around to replacing the gauge until today. Unfortunately, something is not right. Now how could that be? LOL.
With the gauge installed and the key off, the needle reads hot. With the key on and the engine cold, the needle starts to go down toward cold, but only reaches less than half-way. With the engine running and warm, the needle goes all the way to hot. With the key off, and the gauge powered-up with a D cell battery, the needle goes down slowly from hot to about half-way to the cold. I'm thinking the gauge is working properly, but maybe the sending unit is somehow not properly matched to it. Could it be that I have the wrong sending unit? Is there something else I should try? The wiring is new.
I believe both the gauge and the sender were purchased from Classic Haulers. The new temp gauge is installed in the gauge cluster, but the cluster is not installed in the dash. Does the cluster need to be "grounded" to the dash for things to work properly? Can the gauge be "adjusted" so it goes all the way to cold when the key is turned on? Thanks.
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