Hey all. Right now i'm set up in my F150 with a Whelen PCCs9NP in the little cubby in front of my shifter that runs to relays under the truck that are in a little black plastic project box i sealed with silicone. Once in a while it gets water in (idk HOW) and a relay will get fried, and im sick of that. I also have a T/A in the rear windshield with the control box in the center console. I was looking into something like a whelen cencom but know nothing about them. How do they get wired? The control box is just the control box and then it sends signal to relays inside the remote amplifier box thing? All wires and siren etc get ran to this silver box as well as some heavy gauge power wires? I Also want a PA/Air horn system so if i get this itll really help cut down on the clutter and if i can by some chance mount it in the truck bed or something itd make my life a lot easier. I'd have to rewire all my lights but it would certainly be worth the hassle of doing everything once and not having to worry about it again. Had my rear lights go out during the last snow storm and that was no fun. Fortunately it was daylight out so i did alright.
Whelen cencom's/similar control systems questions
- Thread starter lambo2936
- Start date
MtnMan
Member
Relays under the truck? A Cencom in the bed? You're doing it the hard way.
Keep the electronics inside. Control unit in the cab, one access hole for wires, waterproof splices at the lights, and you've got a neat and reliable install.
Keep the electronics inside. Control unit in the cab, one access hole for wires, waterproof splices at the lights, and you've got a neat and reliable install.
I agree with the above poster. Get a professional to do the install- why would you EVER mount a relay box/controller on the exterior of any vehicle??
http://elightbars.org/forums/f14/difference-between-cencom-red-cencom-gold-13031/
http://elightbars.org/forums/f13/cencom-gold-vs-cencom-red-4886/
Let me Google that for you:lambo2936 said:
http://elightbars.org/forums/f14/difference-between-cencom-red-cencom-gold-13031/
http://elightbars.org/forums/f13/cencom-gold-vs-cencom-red-4886/
And since I am in a good mood today..
A smart type siren (whelen Cencom, Feniex 4200, FedSig SmartSiren, other brands) will have a few parts to it:
Brain (control/relay/siren box)
Keypad controller (user input)
The brain is normally mounted under the seat (in your case) or a trunk. Main power wires are run from the battery, and hooked up. All the light wires are run to the respective relays outputs on the brain box (like the relay box on your current setup). The controller (keypad) is wired up (normally) with a data type cable, like you would find for home networking, or a telephone type cable. That is the only wire between the brain and the keypad controller, which offers additional mounting flexibility. For the airhorn/PA feature you would need to purchase a siren speaker, mount it on the front of the vehicle somewhere, and run two wires from it to the brain box, hooking up said wires to the correct outputs for the speaker.
Then comes the programming of the system, which can be fun in itself, and I will not go into detail here as the instruction manual has far greater detail and expertise.
Thats about it, in a nutshell.
Back to your original setup- if you actually sealed up that box really, really well, its most likely condensation getting into the box frying your relays, however I suspect there is a small leak somewhere. Never, EVER mount relay boxes, siren controllers, etc outside of the vehicle interior, even if using a project box. Just asking for bad news right there no matter what. Also when rewiring everything, ensure you are using waterproof connections on anything exterior of the vehicle. (solder connections and shrink wrap over said soldered connection).
A smart type siren (whelen Cencom, Feniex 4200, FedSig SmartSiren, other brands) will have a few parts to it:
Brain (control/relay/siren box)
Keypad controller (user input)
The brain is normally mounted under the seat (in your case) or a trunk. Main power wires are run from the battery, and hooked up. All the light wires are run to the respective relays outputs on the brain box (like the relay box on your current setup). The controller (keypad) is wired up (normally) with a data type cable, like you would find for home networking, or a telephone type cable. That is the only wire between the brain and the keypad controller, which offers additional mounting flexibility. For the airhorn/PA feature you would need to purchase a siren speaker, mount it on the front of the vehicle somewhere, and run two wires from it to the brain box, hooking up said wires to the correct outputs for the speaker.
Then comes the programming of the system, which can be fun in itself, and I will not go into detail here as the instruction manual has far greater detail and expertise.
Thats about it, in a nutshell.
Back to your original setup- if you actually sealed up that box really, really well, its most likely condensation getting into the box frying your relays, however I suspect there is a small leak somewhere. Never, EVER mount relay boxes, siren controllers, etc outside of the vehicle interior, even if using a project box. Just asking for bad news right there no matter what. Also when rewiring everything, ensure you are using waterproof connections on anything exterior of the vehicle. (solder connections and shrink wrap over said soldered connection).
I have everything on my truck set up right now so that it can be removed and noone would know it was ever there, other than a few holes in the center console/dash that are anyways covered by little rubber traction mat's when the gear wont be there. Otherwise i'd have everything ran inside. Im definitely going to be redoing the wiring when it warms up a bit and am going to use the existing holes in the steps to run wiring through. My problem would be running all of the power wires into the cab(i have 2 separate work lights in the front, then front lights, side lights, 2 separate back lights). Theres 6 switches but some of the switches power 2 relays. Theres 1 relay box in the front (that one hasnt given me any problems at all, only the bottom one) one in my center console and one on the bottom. bottom is sides and rear, front is front and side lights on the front of the truck and work lights, and console is for interior lights (front interior lightbar and rear t/a on windshield). That is probably insanely confusing, but that is how i set it up at the time because i kept adding wires and it was easier to splice off a control/signal wire than run power all the way to the relay to add side lighting on the front of the truck.
Ill probably get one and put it under the rear flip up seat and just have a good wire length on everything so i can move the box if need be to access something.
Ill probably get one and put it under the rear flip up seat and just have a good wire length on everything so i can move the box if need be to access something.
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Derp.
Why not just drill a hole or two in the firewall for wire pass through, like all vehicles are set up from the factory? Just remember to use a grommet to prevent wire fraying, and once you remove everything, they make full grommets (no wire pass through) which you can push in the hole, and no one will be the wiser- it'll look factory.
Why not just drill a hole or two in the firewall for wire pass through, like all vehicles are set up from the factory? Just remember to use a grommet to prevent wire fraying, and once you remove everything, they make full grommets (no wire pass through) which you can push in the hole, and no one will be the wiser- it'll look factory.
MtnMan
Member
lambo2936 said:
Another option is to put the relays in a sheltered, high-up spot under the hood. Next to the vehicle fuse block is generally good.
You can put the relays in a box for protection, but rather than trying to seal it, leave some ventilation for moisture to escape.
factorone33
Member
Chances are, water is not frying your relays. If the box is (properly) sealed, and the relays are themselves sealed, then either you're overloading your relays, or they're not wired right and are overheating as a result.
Honestly, mounting anything electrical underneath a vehicle is asking for problems, sealed or not. I've replaced dozens of lights on vehicle running boards that were "sealed" with acrylic resin and still managed to get moisture in them because they were constantly inundated with water and grime from the road.
If it's exterior, put it under the hood or behind the rear wheel well.
Honestly, mounting anything electrical underneath a vehicle is asking for problems, sealed or not. I've replaced dozens of lights on vehicle running boards that were "sealed" with acrylic resin and still managed to get moisture in them because they were constantly inundated with water and grime from the road.
If it's exterior, put it under the hood or behind the rear wheel well.