Install Hall of Shame...

EVModules

Guess we'll have to disagree on this subject then.

If your terminal strips, wiring junctions are creating heat, something is not being done correctly Bill. They should produce just about no heat.

As for the fires you've seen. I wouldn't be surprised if it's done by the same guys that did the other vehicles shown here!

Bill Skinner525

I'm mostly talking about power supplies, they product heat, need to disaapte it & sometimes when they go bad they can make fire.

Ditto on terminal strips which over time can come loose & cause the wiring to get hot, they come loose without warning sometimes since vehicles are subject toall kinds of changing conditions. or a connection goes bad ahead of the junction point..end result heat, then fire

If wood was such a good material to be used in vehicles near electrical equipment, I think the car & truck makers would be using it.

They don't & I don't because it is a liability

I don't know of any wood approved devices by SAE, just like wood in building electrical systems is taboo by NEC regulations. Seen any wood switch or junction boxes lately?..there is a reason.. it's nonconductive when dry, but not when wet & it is fuel at the end of the day

That's why all the engineers I've known in 32 years as a Master Electrician will be specing Metal, not wood when electricity is in the design matrix

I agree with you most of the time it works fine, it's that 1% that it goes bad... my lawyer loves to hear about..that's a payday to him

TNYankee

Bill pretty much nailed my views on this. My initial posting may need more clarification, however. I agree with Sean on some of the possible appropriate applications for correctly selected and finished / covered wood. But wood in the trunk, especially in a environment like is typically seen in police cruisers, is not , IMO, a good choice.

Over time, the wood tends to rot, absorb moisture, warp & fasteners loosen due to vibration or abuse. I agree that is isn't the best for dissipating heat from electrical components such as amps &, power supplies.

Mostly, it seems that the installers using wood here just do such a crappy overall job that I just associate it with a bad install.

Example...National Park Service came by to drop off a vehicle last week. They asked me to look at car that was picking the driver up. Said the siren speaker was filled with water. I looked and found that the speaker had been mounted, under the hood, behind the grill, on a 6\"x8\" piece of unfinished PLYWOOD. It had broken loose and was pointed straight up, with the cones filled with, yes, water.

No I didn't have my camera, as I was just there to put the car in the shop.

So, yeah wood can be handy, and may be the only or best way to facilitate some up-fits. But I can't advocate using it in moisture, heat, or vibration-rich environments.

DaveCN5

I wish I had pictures of our old Officer in Command Car. It was a 1997? Ford CVPI that we bought from the police department for $1. (I don't think we ever paid them...oops!) It had a whelen Edge on the roof, HAW's in the tail lights and reverse lights and a HLF. Well we let some of the 18 year olds take it to a Fire 1 class and 2 weeks later the only gear the car had left was Reverse. I was picked to take all the lights and sirens, console, radios, etc. out of it. WHAT A NIGHTMARE! Take all those pics, put them into one car and then replace the HLF and HAW's wires with speaker wires and that's what I was working with. It took me 2 days to track everything down and figure out where everything went and strip the car down. And when I was finished. We dragged that POS around the parking lot and cut it up with the hurst tools. After I took out my rage with a haligan and an axe first though. Worst install ever!

toubis

After seeing this post, i am not so embarrassed about my install.

firemedic_matt

what is the black material you put over the wood and where do you get it?

ervfc288

[quote:bdb693ec94=\"Firefighter_2000\"]

Throw in... well... Install some relays

Posted: Wed 6-Jun-2007 17:47 Post subject: not sure

We actually had these on hand. I have no clue where they came from. They look like they separate, but I never could get one apart. Thanks Craig

Posted: Fri 26-Oct-2007 14:50 Post subject:

Here are some pics of an interesting lightbar install. The 9M was added to this pre-98 CVPI somewhere along the line. The lightbar power came across from the driver's side, draped over the engine, then wire-nut together with some household wire, then jammed underneath the battery terminals with no connectors, nor a fuse. I also included some other assorted pics of the masterpiece. Note that nobody bothered to cap the original hole and drill a new one. Or even bother to swap the bar around a little so as to line the harness up with the original hole. THey just draped it across the entire roof line.

Posted: Fri 26-Oct-2007 15:30 Post subject: Re:

[quote:d9f210227f=\"Hugh A.\"]

Posted: Fri 26-Oct-2007 17:07 Post subject:

Yep, sheet metal. It's pretty sweet!

Posted: Fri 26-Oct-2007 17:55 Post subject:

Bwaaaaaahhhaaaaahhhhh! BTDT, sure looks like some that I've had here. Nice, Hugh, nice. Thanks for reviving the thread.

Posted: Fri 26-Oct-2007 23:51 Post subject: Re:

[quote:7437d4e885=\"Hugh A.\"]Yep, sheet metal. It's pretty sweet!

Posted: Fri 2-Nov-2007 17:39 Post subject: Re: Install Hall of Shame...

[quote:9103ff1737=\"TNYankee\"]I have decided to post some examples of the poor workmanship, poor planning, lack of common sense, technical ignorance, and basic crappy installations I come across. Typically, I encounter these up-fits as repair work, decommissioning jobs, or when upgrading the warning systems. It is truly amazing and shocking to see what other shops pass of as an up-fit, not to mention to hear what they charge! I think that the professional installers on this board will not be to surprised at what they see, but some others here may be...or may learn from these examples. I encourage other installers to add to this and maybe we can make it \"sticky-worthy.\" Enjoy! The four phases of seeing these upfits: *********************************************************** To start, let's talk about a 2004 Tahoe brought in with numerous electrical gremlins and a request to re-mount the flashlights. We started pulling it apart to find: This under the passenger floor board! And inside the console... And under the rear seat... And on the driver-side... Driver's A-pillar... The gunracks' power connection... Under the hood... The siren speaker had no cones and sounded very weak... Not the smartest was to tap into a fuse... So, we fixed it up for them... Finished interior... Cleaned-up wiring under the seat... New MS100 speaker with universal mount bracket on custom cross-bar: Well, what do you think? More to follow...

Posted: Fri 2-Nov-2007 18:16 Post subject:

I think it's the daylight vs flash thing going on.

Posted: Fri 2-Nov-2007 20:09 Post subject:

Frank's right. Same vehicle. Although I have about 100 more Hall-of-Shame worthy pics accumulated. I stay busy...

Posted: Fri 2-Nov-2007 21:27 Post subject: Re:

[quote:e98bb001de=\"TNYankee\"]Frank's right. Same vehicle. Although I have about 100 more Hall-of-Shame worthy pics accumulated. I stay busy...

Posted: Sat 3-Nov-2007 20:01 Post subject: Re:

[quote:7a1480fb4f=\"JW 4x4\"]I know it's a picture car, but I had to do it

Posted: Sun 4-Nov-2007 13:32 Post subject:

Here is one we had.... All the controls and radios were jammed into the factory console, that was hacked up something fierce. And we did this...

Posted: Sun 4-Nov-2007 14:40 Post subject:

I'll have to get some pictures of our brush truck when I go home. The wiring under the hood is a nightmare...We let our assistant chief do the install which was a really bad choice. Speaker wire does not belong hooked up to a HLF.

Posted: Sun 4-Nov-2007 15:50 Post subject: Re:

[quote:a7ce8d052e=\"hawkspringsfire\"][quote:a7ce8d052e=\"JW 4x4\"]I know it's a picture car, but I had to do it

Posted: Sun 4-Nov-2007 19:48 Post subject: Re:

[quote:2090a96307=\"JW 4x4\"][quote:2090a96307=\"hawkspringsfire\"][quote:2090a96307=\"JW 4x4\"]I know it's a picture car, but I had to do it

Posted: Sun 4-Nov-2007 21:40 Post subject:

I did a few lighting installs for movie cars. The movie lighting guys spray a dull coating on the lights to cut down on the glare and flashing on the camera.

Posted: Sun 4-Nov-2007 22:03 Post subject:

I use these wire tap fuses for small loads like chargers,scanners and low power radios. I always add a lower amp fuse down the line. Never had a problem w/them.

Posted: Mon 5-Nov-2007 11:45 Post subject:

Dont be cheap waytec sells a fuse holder that you can double low amp fuses on..

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