9M Wiring

[MedTrav84]

I recently paid $30 for a great light bar. It's a 2003 Whelen 9M that looks like it was in service for a very brief period of time, the condition is so good that even the gaskets look new. Seeing as I'm new to this hobby and my only experience has been wiring fresh from the factory plug and play LED bars I was wondering if someone can help me. Of course the control bundle and power cables were just cut at the roof of the vehicle, so basically I'm going to be left with a lot of soldering and DIY connector work. I downloaded the PDF from Whelen but I'm a bit confused about fusing and power.

Then manual states a 40amp fuse on the 8 guage main power wire, then further on in the manual it states multiple total amp draw by 1.25 to get my fuse rating. Do I replace the 40 amp with a smaller fuse if my power draw is like 25 amp ? I added all the possible current draw and it comes out to 53 amps, so what's with the 40 amp ?

Secondly I'm confused about it switching. Do I run a second power wire from the battery to supply power to the control cables at the switching point ? And do I need to fuse each individual switch seperatly ?

If anybody has a better explanation about how to do this I'm all ears. The Whelen manual really has poor schematics and seems to be full of contradictions. If I've posted this in the wrong place or if someone has a really deatailed, yet simple explanation I'd love to hear it.

 

[shues]

You have chosen a fun and rewarding hobby. You are fortunate to have found what is probably the best resource for the hobby. Welcome!

The installation guide you're using, by design, covers a wide variety of configuration options.

I added all the possible current draw and it comes out to 53 amps, so what's with the 40 amp ?

Reread the table and compare it to your 9M. You may soon see where you went wrong:


Source: http://www.whelen.com/install/136/13657.pdf


Does your 9M have room for corner strobes, outboard strobes, inboard strobes, flashers to both the front and rear, and both takedowns and work lights? It could, but it would need to be about 60 inches wide to accommodate all of those options.

Also, consider that some options are mutually exclusive. For instance:

Take-Down Lights 5 amps
Flashing Take-Downs 2.5 amps​

You can't both steady-burn and flash the same lights. The same is true of the work lights.

Of course the control bundle and power cables were just cut at the roof of the vehicle, so basically I'm going to be left with a lot of soldering and DIY connector work.

You might be wise to check the For Sale forums, or just post a Wanted thread. There are surely members here who have these harnesses on hand.