911ep STAR 360 perm to mag discussion
- Thread starter Frooom
- Start date
I've attached the PDFs related to this product, the installation manual and the pattern list.
As long as you don't make a mistake with polarity, it is impossible to cause damage no matter how you connect the wires.
Red: positive
Black: Negative
Orange: Pattern selector
Yellow, green, blue: Pattern wires
For a permanent mount unit, there are 7 possible presets based on combinations of the 3 preset wires, powered individually or together.
With a cig plug, you get one preset. They used a flat cable with 3 wires from the beacon. The plug you're looking at on Amazon will work exactly the same as the OEM one, you'll just have a lot of extra wires and the cable diameter will make it messier to route through door seals and such, so using the smaller cable for the switch would be the way to go, but it'd be a good idea to leave at least a foot of the original cable.
To change a pattern, you supply power to the pattern wire(s) to activate it, then you momentarily supply power to the pattern selector wire to move through the sequence of patterns. It will remain on that pattern until that orange wire is supplied power while the pattern preset is activated.
On the magnetic mount, they're nothing special.
It's just your typical 3.25" disk magnet mount, held on by single bolt & nut. The bolt goes through the disc, then the nut secures it and provides spacing, and the whole thing spins into the center hole. A larger disk would be fine too, but more spacing would be needed due to the diameter of cable with the permanent mount.
The mounting pad is not used in the magnetic mounts, only in the permanent mounts. You should be able to get the angle you need from a bolt with countersunk head, I think your best bet would be to have a wedge-shaped round spacer between the mount and the nut. It'll ride high, but in that the base of the 360Star is some sort of aluminum or pot metal, the threads probably strip fairly easily.
The amber dome lights are secondary to each of the primary patterns. The selection cycle goes through each pattern without dome lights, then with dome lights.
This is a screaming deal, by the way. I usually sell these starting at $150 in good, used condition.
Oh, one other thing. If you're wondering, I believe the 3-wire setup in the OEM cig-plug is wired up such that you have positive, negative, and pattern select. The positive is permanently wired to a pattern wire inside the beacon, so if it's on, it's on that pattern. The momentary secondary switch in the cig plug applies power to the main pattern wire and the pattern selection wire simultaneously to change pattern.
Excellent info, and thank you whoever moved the thread for me! This is exactly the type of info I was happy to find. I did actually locate a "seller" with these for 120, but who knows who they are, whether it's a legit product, and how much shipping was. Plus, this is a learning experience. Plus I'd rather buy from someone on here. I'm looking to keep the wire thin, and I'm not afraid to make my own, with just the 3. Excellent suggestion to keep the wire thinner and leave the thick remains external. As for magnet, I do have a few Whelen ones, with metal enclosure, but they are older, and have been banged around, which does effect how well they work, so my thought it to acquire a new one, and apoxy the **** out of it to the metal enclosure I have, and then attach the magnet properly with a bolt. I suspect the magnet will be the easier part. It's arriving today, so I will experiment and report back in this thread with a solution once I have it!
Extra special thanks for posting the documents!
Extra special thanks for posting the documents!
Alrighty, awesome packing job, light is cool...and...um. Heheh woops - much bigger than I expected. I'm gonna try to make it work though. Cord is definitely too thick, so that's going to get shortened and shrink wrapped at connection to a smaller cable diameter. There's 3 additional colors in it - yellow, blue and green. Going to ignore those. As for the bottom, looks like I don't actually remove the plastic insert and replace it, I simply bolt the metal enclosure and magnet TO the plastic insert, after re-routing the cable. Given the funny slopes the Juke's roof has, I may not be able to use this effectively but I'm going to get it set up first and give it a try!
This is the magnet I can get ahold of:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/huc/view.h...tems=C24D5U6IY3K4WC&newItems=C24D5U6IY3K4WC,1
I noted Star specified a 100lb magnet.
Could you elaborate on magnet depth? If I re-route the cable, it's too thick to have the magnet go into the light where the plastic mount plate was. I would need to space the magnet outward. My other option is to leave the plastic insert, and attach the magnet to the insert, allowing room for the cable. My very last option is to remove most of the power cable and re-wire with only the 3 wires. Guess maybe I should have gotten a plug model :/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/huc/view.h...tems=C24D5U6IY3K4WC&newItems=C24D5U6IY3K4WC,1
I noted Star specified a 100lb magnet.
Could you elaborate on magnet depth? If I re-route the cable, it's too thick to have the magnet go into the light where the plastic mount plate was. I would need to space the magnet outward. My other option is to leave the plastic insert, and attach the magnet to the insert, allowing room for the cable. My very last option is to remove most of the power cable and re-wire with only the 3 wires. Guess maybe I should have gotten a plug model :/
You'll need at least one of those pattern wires, but you can just splice it directly to 12V close to the beacon.
Even on the mag mount beacons, there's close to a 3/16" gap for the cable, mostly provided by the nut that secures the magnet. There's no reason you couldn't make that just a little larger of a gap with a washer or something.
Is it the angle that the cable comes out of the beacon that's causing you trouble?
Another option would be to just take out the big cable & pad altogether and connect the aftermarket cable directly to the pins. While it'd be nice to get connectors that slipped over the pins, you could solder directly to them and the mod would be reasonably reversible if you change your mind at some point & wanted a good long permanent mount cable.
You'd just need to hit positive, negative, and pattern select, with a jumper wire between positive and one of the pattern wires. After making your connections and verifying nothing is shorted, just fill the plug cavity with silicone adhesive, enough to provide comparable strain relief to the rubber plug around the original connector. You could probably also secure it by wrapping the cable around the post of your magnet mount and making an overhand knot or just securing a loop with a zip tie.
Last edited:
Here, let me sum it up in a more concise manner:
I would be willing to remove the plug from the OEM wire and solder in or attach an aftermarket wire, I guess. No fault of tsquale, I definitely didn't do my homework here, and this will end up being a lot more of a pain than if I had found one that was mag mount, but too late now, so I have to make this work, but I don't like kludges. If I'm going to make this work, I want to do it right, do it clean, and do it safe. One disadvantage is that while I know how to solder, I lack the tools right now, and getting some isn't an option currently.
Palm, meet face.
- I need to buy a magnet rated at 100lb that can accommodate the OEM wire.
- I'm not seeing any magnets that look like the one you posted.
- I cannot locate an OEM or original spec magnet.
- I'm worried that I'll have to buy a few magnets before getting one that might work.
I would be willing to remove the plug from the OEM wire and solder in or attach an aftermarket wire, I guess. No fault of tsquale, I definitely didn't do my homework here, and this will end up being a lot more of a pain than if I had found one that was mag mount, but too late now, so I have to make this work, but I don't like kludges. If I'm going to make this work, I want to do it right, do it clean, and do it safe. One disadvantage is that while I know how to solder, I lack the tools right now, and getting some isn't an option currently.
Palm, meet face.
I understand what you're saying, now-- I can't see the Amazon magnet, I think that might somehow be a link to your cart (or Amazon is confused, because it takes me to my saved cart).
These are apparently called "pot magnets".
Here are a couple. I don't know what to tell you about 100# vs 50#, too strong and you might break stuff/damage your sheet metal like using a dent puller, too weak, and the beacon might not stay in place.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004T7V6/?tag=elightbars-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WMOEFS/?tag=elightbars-20
I'd offer to trade your permanent cable for a cig plug setup, but looking more closely at the 4 beacons I currently have, I'm not sure that any of them are original, there's a good chance all are soldered. Well, I know 3 of them almost certainly are conversions. I hadn't bothered to take the magnet off my personal beacon before, it has silicone sealant, too, and it holds-up just fine.
Someone who knows more about these or purchased a mag mount brand new could probably speak to whether they had a significant build difference between the mounting types. I could see the permanent mount style having a more easily removable mainboard, in case it needed repairs. With a cig plug style, you wouldn't really need to remove the board so easily, because the whole beacon is easily removable.
If I was looking to make the conversion, the cleanest look would be connecting the cig plug cable directly, no splices, and you'd have the intact permanent mount if you ever wanted to go back to a permanent mount or restore the beacon to its original condition. A good electronic supply store should have the 2x4 or 2x5 connectors (can't remember which these have) to slide-on to the circuit board connectors, you probably wouldn't need anything more than a pair of pliers to crimp the leads.
These are apparently called "pot magnets".
Here are a couple. I don't know what to tell you about 100# vs 50#, too strong and you might break stuff/damage your sheet metal like using a dent puller, too weak, and the beacon might not stay in place.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004T7V6/?tag=elightbars-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WMOEFS/?tag=elightbars-20
I'd offer to trade your permanent cable for a cig plug setup, but looking more closely at the 4 beacons I currently have, I'm not sure that any of them are original, there's a good chance all are soldered. Well, I know 3 of them almost certainly are conversions. I hadn't bothered to take the magnet off my personal beacon before, it has silicone sealant, too, and it holds-up just fine.
Someone who knows more about these or purchased a mag mount brand new could probably speak to whether they had a significant build difference between the mounting types. I could see the permanent mount style having a more easily removable mainboard, in case it needed repairs. With a cig plug style, you wouldn't really need to remove the board so easily, because the whole beacon is easily removable.
If I was looking to make the conversion, the cleanest look would be connecting the cig plug cable directly, no splices, and you'd have the intact permanent mount if you ever wanted to go back to a permanent mount or restore the beacon to its original condition. A good electronic supply store should have the 2x4 or 2x5 connectors (can't remember which these have) to slide-on to the circuit board connectors, you probably wouldn't need anything more than a pair of pliers to crimp the leads.
dmathieu
Lifetime VIP Donor
How about cutting a hard rubber spacer in the shape of the magnet, thick enough (shouldn't take much) and grooved along with the groove in the bottom of the light, to give room for the wire you are going to use. Install the grooved rubber spacer under the magnet, seal where the wire comes out from under the magnet, and voila!
Hahaha wow thanks guys. A trade for a star 360 that functions as a plug and go would be fine with me, I won't look closely at anything. I did just remove the bottom, and the plastic actually doesn't go in deep, maybe all of 1/8th, so that's less of an issue but now I have two new ones: the plug is designed with a rubber grommet that I cannot remove, and block placing a magnet, and when I briefly wired this to my whelen responder momentary plug I have saved, it didn't work as expected in terms of pattern change. I am sure I can overcome the wiring issue but the plug blocking the magnet is kind of a show stopper. Pic attached.
Attachments
Okay I did figure out the wiring. Red to red, black to black, and include green to power so I can set pattern one. Here's where I had an issue: my momentary wasn't operating on orange. Remember earlier when I was asking how it was switched, positively or negatively? Turns out my plug is negatively switched. If I had soldering equipment I could just disconnect ground from the momentary and run a short length from positive.
Murphy has struck in full force.
In other news this light, while not quite as bright as expected, is still awesome!
Murphy has struck in full force.
In other news this light, while not quite as bright as expected, is still awesome!
That grommet is the "plug" I was referring to. I must have remembered wrong, I thought the header was on the bottom of the board, but if it's in the plug, that actually makes your life easier. You could probably get by just fine stripping the wires on your cig plug cable, push them into the appropriate sockets, and then hold everything in place with silicone adhesive. For all I know, that's what was done in the converted ones I have.
I was thinking it would be simple to take them apart & trade one out if you were up for that, but my guess is that it'd be exactly the same spot you'll be in when you get a switched sig cable, nothing so easy as just unplugging one base cable and plugging in the other, or pulling one board with modules and dropping in another. All of the ones I'll sell (eventually) are amber, not the setup you'd like.
Nothing is ever easy!
If you want to make it almost twice as bright, and are up for a soldering project eventually, you can replace those old 1st gen star base Luxeons with Sinkpad-II star base Luxeons.
How often were you planning on changing the pattern? Another option is just to set the pattern you'd like, then set-up your temporary switch such that you can use the beacon without any pattern switching until you get a more appropriate switched cable.
Honestly, I'm kind of at the "abandon ship!" point. I just won't have the time to spend on the mods this needs. I suspect the style that was sold as cigarette and magnet simply uses a smaller wire and the same plug, but with a smaller gromet. If you'd be willing to take a picture like mine above of what a mag mounted one looks like maybe I could decide based on that. I could probably just go direct wire as some folks have mentioned, but I don't have the necessary tools to determine the pin-out. I may try to sell locally to recoup funds and get something like a mini cobra bar.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If nothing else I have learned quite a bit.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If nothing else I have learned quite a bit.
7d9_z28
New Member
I've been following this and dont understand the problem... A 75# or greater magnet and some washers as spacers. Simple wiring: power, ground, and the pattern wire(s) for desired pattern. I mean you could buy this light as a mag mount and its been explained several ways here as to how it could work. It just seems so simple, maybe I'm missing something but...
I agree, it's fairly simple, but it requires a soldering iron, and by all rights a continuity tester to determine what each of the 8 pins on the board in the light do, seeing as how the wire for this variant of the light (perm mount) has 6 wires. Power, ground, pattern select (pos. switched), and 3 pattern lights. Once I get past the fact that the current OEM wire and 8 pin plug is too big to work with as a mag conversion, we arrive at the fact that I do not want to solder or attach wiring directly to the pins, which is frankly the only way to do this without an OEM magnet mount cord (this is an assumption).
It would be erroneous to say I could just slap any 75lb magnet up there (let alone that there are a few different kinds of magnets), Star specifically indicates a 100lb magnet, and given the weight of this light I believe it. I've read horror stories of mag lights lifting off, so simply slapping this on the roof and putting extra space under is doesn't sit well with me: I don't want to expose excess surface area and get a detachment or liftoff. They certainly would have done product testing to arrive at the 100lb 3.25" design.
Big thanks to everyone contributing so far. Even if I don't get this working, the learning alone is well worth it!
It would be erroneous to say I could just slap any 75lb magnet up there (let alone that there are a few different kinds of magnets), Star specifically indicates a 100lb magnet, and given the weight of this light I believe it. I've read horror stories of mag lights lifting off, so simply slapping this on the roof and putting extra space under is doesn't sit well with me: I don't want to expose excess surface area and get a detachment or liftoff. They certainly would have done product testing to arrive at the 100lb 3.25" design.
Big thanks to everyone contributing so far. Even if I don't get this working, the learning alone is well worth it!
Damn, I thought I'd get fancy and look for a double row 8 pin female header plug in the PC world but the ratings are for 1 amp...and this draw exceeds that. &$#@.
This is where I found them before, but again, didn't know the site and wanted to buy here, and these are also set to quad only. If I could find a complete manual on the star I might be able to see what the pinout is on the 8 pin, and just cut the existing 6 wire cord off and wire in a 3 to the OEM plug, which would solve the issue completely.
http://www.seb-usa.com/360star1.html
Or, I can try for a Code 3 LS222 after selling this off, but at least with this I could use a spacer to adjust the angle flat. The nissan Juke has a very, very frustrating roofline to work with.
This is where I found them before, but again, didn't know the site and wanted to buy here, and these are also set to quad only. If I could find a complete manual on the star I might be able to see what the pinout is on the 8 pin, and just cut the existing 6 wire cord off and wire in a 3 to the OEM plug, which would solve the issue completely.
http://www.seb-usa.com/360star1.html
Or, I can try for a Code 3 LS222 after selling this off, but at least with this I could use a spacer to adjust the angle flat. The nissan Juke has a very, very frustrating roofline to work with.
I found the pinout on the 8-pin once, by using a paper clip and multimeter on the permanent mount harness. I recycled the envelope I jotted it down on a while back, though.
That was from a project to replace the cable, I bought the beacon from someone on here, it had about a 10" cable, but I had a 60" cable from a bad WL-series bar. What I did there was pop the plug out of the mounting pad, cut the plug at a slight angle to get the header out, and then splice wires at the header & reseal everything with silicone (cutting the plug at an angle gives a little more surface for the silicone adhesive to mend it). It is possible to get these things apart and then reassemble them in such a way you're not sacrificing much.
But anyway, if you're about to abandon ship, I'm willing to work out a trade. I consider condition to be a significant factor, if your beacon is in like-new condition, that balances out the $25 I value the cig plug/mag mount option at. It's a good opportunity for the current-gen LED upgrade I mentioned earlier, which I'd do at-cost (about $80) since they'd be coming out regardless, all the mag mounts I'd be willing to sell are currently amber. I've got all the soldering if you cover all the shipping.
Oh, and something to consider which could accommodate your roof angle-- I'd wager that there's a ball-and-socket Ram mount that would work perfectly with a mag mount. If I can find one that would work laying around, I'm always happy to make a deal, especially for an experiment from which I can learn something useful.
That was from a project to replace the cable, I bought the beacon from someone on here, it had about a 10" cable, but I had a 60" cable from a bad WL-series bar. What I did there was pop the plug out of the mounting pad, cut the plug at a slight angle to get the header out, and then splice wires at the header & reseal everything with silicone (cutting the plug at an angle gives a little more surface for the silicone adhesive to mend it). It is possible to get these things apart and then reassemble them in such a way you're not sacrificing much.
But anyway, if you're about to abandon ship, I'm willing to work out a trade. I consider condition to be a significant factor, if your beacon is in like-new condition, that balances out the $25 I value the cig plug/mag mount option at. It's a good opportunity for the current-gen LED upgrade I mentioned earlier, which I'd do at-cost (about $80) since they'd be coming out regardless, all the mag mounts I'd be willing to sell are currently amber. I've got all the soldering if you cover all the shipping.
Oh, and something to consider which could accommodate your roof angle-- I'd wager that there's a ball-and-socket Ram mount that would work perfectly with a mag mount. If I can find one that would work laying around, I'm always happy to make a deal, especially for an experiment from which I can learn something useful.
I hate to abandon ship, but I just don't have the tools/setup I need to do this right now.
Not sure I understood the trade parameters - could you PM me and I'll ask more detailed questions?
Ball and socket - been looking around for that actually. Having a source of those could be useful for quite a few things.
Ongoing thanks to everyone contributing (I know I keep saying it - deal with it
)
Not sure I understood the trade parameters - could you PM me and I'll ask more detailed questions?
Ball and socket - been looking around for that actually. Having a source of those could be useful for quite a few things.
Ongoing thanks to everyone contributing (I know I keep saying it - deal with it
)On second thought, what I was suggesting above is kind of silly, unless you were interested in upgrading the LEDs. I've been a bit distracted this week.
It'd be easier to just swap-out the cable, although that's less exciting than a huge soldering project. I'd trade a cig plug cable and the work to rewire, for the permanent-mount cable and mounting pad on the off chance I might be able to use it someday. If you cover the shipping back & forth, I'll take care of swap.
I wouldn't mind doing the recabling at no charge if you supplied the cig cable, you could just hold onto your permanent mount stuff in case you might need it later. (Just PM me if either of these options sounds good...)
As far as the mounting details, that'd all be up to you. I think I've repeated a few things other folks have mentioned due to not reading everything thoroughly, so someone may have already mentioned this, but the threads in the bottom of the beacon appear to be compatible with camera mount threads.
It seems that there are plenty of Ram Mount camera balls for their ball-and-socket system (just look up "ram mount camera" on Amazon). Might be even more secure to get a female threaded ball and use a 1" piece of all-thread to attach the beacon, and another female threaded ball to secure to the mag mount with a bolt.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GLW1PG/?tag=elightbars-20
And here's the double-socket that's ubiquitous in the Ram Mount system:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KWPJ04/?tag=elightbars-20
It'd be easier to just swap-out the cable, although that's less exciting than a huge soldering project. I'd trade a cig plug cable and the work to rewire, for the permanent-mount cable and mounting pad on the off chance I might be able to use it someday. If you cover the shipping back & forth, I'll take care of swap.
I wouldn't mind doing the recabling at no charge if you supplied the cig cable, you could just hold onto your permanent mount stuff in case you might need it later. (Just PM me if either of these options sounds good...)
As far as the mounting details, that'd all be up to you. I think I've repeated a few things other folks have mentioned due to not reading everything thoroughly, so someone may have already mentioned this, but the threads in the bottom of the beacon appear to be compatible with camera mount threads.
It seems that there are plenty of Ram Mount camera balls for their ball-and-socket system (just look up "ram mount camera" on Amazon). Might be even more secure to get a female threaded ball and use a 1" piece of all-thread to attach the beacon, and another female threaded ball to secure to the mag mount with a bolt.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GLW1PG/?tag=elightbars-20
And here's the double-socket that's ubiquitous in the Ram Mount system:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KWPJ04/?tag=elightbars-20
Back in business, so to speak!
Made contact with Soundoff. Tech guy is going to take a look at his notes, cause he's pretty sure he has the pinout for the light's board written down and will send it to me. Soon as I get it, I will share of course. I also went out to digikey, and started a hunt for an 8 pin dual row female plug. Just need to measure the pitch and row spacing and I'll find the bugger.
With the pinout and a plug, this can actually be done properly, jumpered at the plug and such. I lack a soldering iron right now but I do have some special conductive apoxy, so I can conpoxy the plug's wiring. Only thing I need to do is make a custom grommet to seal the plug hole, but that might not be so hard. Just need to cut one out of a thick piece of rubber.....
Made contact with Soundoff. Tech guy is going to take a look at his notes, cause he's pretty sure he has the pinout for the light's board written down and will send it to me. Soon as I get it, I will share of course. I also went out to digikey, and started a hunt for an 8 pin dual row female plug. Just need to measure the pitch and row spacing and I'll find the bugger.
With the pinout and a plug, this can actually be done properly, jumpered at the plug and such. I lack a soldering iron right now but I do have some special conductive apoxy, so I can conpoxy the plug's wiring. Only thing I need to do is make a custom grommet to seal the plug hole, but that might not be so hard. Just need to cut one out of a thick piece of rubber.....
Received the pinout, working to get some decent pictures for ya'll. Cut the rubber grommet/plug housing off the cable, and it turns out they used a small circuit board to distribute voltage rather than solder directly to the pins. Not sure why. Anyways, pictures to come soon, and I'm working to source a new male header with 12 (6x2) pins, so I can show how to covert this really fancy-like. Will be re-using the grommet as a housing/weather seal.
Through careful measurement, this is the actual header unit:
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/61301221121/732-5297-ND/4846846
This is a 2.54mm row spacing 6mm pin depth header. Unfortunately I cannot order from there, as the minimum is 50, and that would be 37.00 bucks worth of parts. Fortunately, I can carefully de-solder the one contained in the cord, and solder to it (yes, I bought a new soldering iron). I may still try to source a new header, because with one I can leave the factory wiring intact.
Now, to explain the female plug receptacle pinout (the bit inside the light):
This is the same header, soldered to their voltage distribution board:
Please let me know if anyone can't see the images/files.
A text version of the female (on light board) pinout:
Power Power Trigger Trigger Ground Ground
Power Power Change Trigger Ground Ground
Please note, the 3 trigger wires are the yellow green blue. Doesn't matter which one you run to power, so long as you run power to at least 1, in addition to the 4.
Also, keep in mind when buying a momentary switch, like the one I linked on Amazon, it's ground side switched, meaning it will NOT work for this light. You need to remove the momentary, and just leave it going to the ground pin. Next, simply attach power to the momentary on one side, and run it to the incoming power off the power switch (essentially: add the momentary into the power circuit). I will take apart the one I order and post pictures/instructions.
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/61301221121/732-5297-ND/4846846
This is a 2.54mm row spacing 6mm pin depth header. Unfortunately I cannot order from there, as the minimum is 50, and that would be 37.00 bucks worth of parts. Fortunately, I can carefully de-solder the one contained in the cord, and solder to it (yes, I bought a new soldering iron). I may still try to source a new header, because with one I can leave the factory wiring intact.
Now, to explain the female plug receptacle pinout (the bit inside the light):
This is the same header, soldered to their voltage distribution board:
Please let me know if anyone can't see the images/files.
A text version of the female (on light board) pinout:
Power Power Trigger Trigger Ground Ground
Power Power Change Trigger Ground Ground
Please note, the 3 trigger wires are the yellow green blue. Doesn't matter which one you run to power, so long as you run power to at least 1, in addition to the 4.
Also, keep in mind when buying a momentary switch, like the one I linked on Amazon, it's ground side switched, meaning it will NOT work for this light. You need to remove the momentary, and just leave it going to the ground pin. Next, simply attach power to the momentary on one side, and run it to the incoming power off the power switch (essentially: add the momentary into the power circuit). I will take apart the one I order and post pictures/instructions.
Slight change of plans: after looking closely at how the magnet will sit, and where the header goes, I can surmise that they had a male header plug for magnet mount units that was built at an angle. I'm going to modify the rubber grommet to accommodate 45 degree angle exit wiring. As for the header, there should be enough room to still use the same one, but if not, I will buy or find a header with solder pins that are angled (yes they sell 'em!). More to come as I place orders for parts (might be about a week, maybe less depending on prime shipping )
)It just occurred to me I could have snipped 2 of the us-used patterns, back-pulled them out of the cord, and possible shrunk the cord with heat. Not 100% it would have worked, but...oops.
Oh well, I'll post all the remaining details once the parts arrive and I solder this all together!
Oh well, I'll post all the remaining details once the parts arrive and I solder this all together!
Magnets and new plug arriving today. I'll resolder the plug to be positive on the momentary. Waiting on the pins to arrive from digikey - don't know when those will arrive. Soon as they do, I'll test fit them and see which one is the best possible option.
Stay tuned!
Stay tuned!
Magnet is a perfect fit, not sure it's got enough holding power to be honest but we shall see when I test. Cable/plug also came in, and while I do need to swap some of the wires to get pos. switching, it's an excellent quality cable with good connections. Also the diameter is perfect for the wire channel in the base! Just waiting on my new headers for the wiring aspect.
I received all 3 header plugs. All 3 fit perfectly! I modified the one that's identical to factory by removing 2 of the 3 pattern pins (and blocking off the pin remnants with electrical tape), and bending the power and ground pins together so soldering will be easiest. (5 pins on one side [4 power + 1 pattern], 4 pins on the other [ground], and the center pin [pattern change]). Pictures below!
![IMG_1065[1].JPG](https://elightbars.org/forums/data/attachments/107/107023-f609019bfaf26d6bcd093f3d0e2867d3.jpg "IMG_1065[1].JPG")
All 3 new headers. Factory match bottom.
![IMG_1066[1].JPG](https://elightbars.org/forums/data/attachments/107/107024-69961a3b3d45b0e818f21fbed9a4ad1a.jpg "IMG_1066[1].JPG")
Sorry for the poor quality. Top 4 power pins + 1 pattern top, just below is the pattern change, and 4 ground below. The gap you see is where the other 2 pattern pins was.
I am going to attempt soldering the wire tonight, and soldering the power plug (convert from ground momentary to pos momentary).
All 3 new headers. Factory match bottom.
Sorry for the poor quality. Top 4 power pins + 1 pattern top, just below is the pattern change, and 4 ground below. The gap you see is where the other 2 pattern pins was.
I am going to attempt soldering the wire tonight, and soldering the power plug (convert from ground momentary to pos momentary).
So that did not go as well as planned, however it's partly because I have no flux, and also a 35w el cheapo soldering iron. A co-worker took my handiwork, the 2 other headers, and the cigarette plug and will attempt precision soldering for me tonight. I was successful (I think) in swapping the plug from ground-side momentary switching to positive. Tomorrow I hopefully find out how it went - if it works, pictures and details to follow!
Alright, Tom (my-coworker) did an amazing job. We initially used the 90 degree header and some bits from our parts bin (internal metal header pinhole cores), but the soldered lengths were too long and couldn't fit the cable channel. Undaunted, we came up with a plan using the header where the pins go out perpendicular to either side. Knowing this is injection molded ABS, and melts around 220f, I felt we could lay the wires on the pins, and drop solder on top. Also, I removed 2 pins that were extra (pattern wires), and replaced the pattern select wire with one of the extra pins from the 90 degree header, allowing for more room and isolation of the circuit. Pictures!
![IMG_1100[1].JPG](https://elightbars.org/forums/data/attachments/107/107168-f9587bdd91a457d0ba060bec2420a444.jpg "IMG_1100[1].JPG")
![IMG_1101[1].JPG](https://elightbars.org/forums/data/attachments/107/107169-1a37887792e0c3a11850f7e1d30b621f.jpg "IMG_1101[1].JPG")
![IMG_1102[1].JPG](https://elightbars.org/forums/data/attachments/107/107170-b701f602b9464074b0c5d598509436d6.jpg "IMG_1102[1].JPG")
I just tested and it worked perfectly. My only gripe is that this isn't quite as bright as, say, a Feniex Cobra TIR led, but I've been told the leds might be able to be swapped, so now it's just a case of properly creating the rubber/silicone grommet/plug, attaching one of my 100lb magnets, and seeing if it comes off easily. Anyone have advice on routing the cable through weatherstripping? Do you just leave everything as is? Any water leakage issues?
FYI
I used to have one of these, and I wish I had not gotten rid of it. You will not be disappointed in the output. Bright as hell. Personally I preferred one of the flash patterns that fired all of the LEDs at once.
Built like a tank, heavy as hell. Its a good beacon.
I used to have one of these, and I wish I had not gotten rid of it. You will not be disappointed in the output. Bright as hell. Personally I preferred one of the flash patterns that fired all of the LEDs at once.
Built like a tank, heavy as hell. Its a good beacon.
Yeah I tested it out on the Juke, and the angle isn't perfect but it suits the vehicle very well, and I have a slimlighter (TIR) forward to supplement. I bought a CMS80 "100lb" pull magnet from amazon...not amazingly strong but I doubt the light will move. I'm just running the cable through the weatherstripping, where both doors meet. Hoping I won't have a water issue.
Got the grommet adjusted (cut) to accommodate the new cord. Little bit of hot glue/silicon to seal it, and I am all set. The magnet sits well, and I'll give it a go on the car tomorrow (really hoping it doesn't come off...can't see how it would). Routing the cable through the B pillar location, where the two doors meet...hopefully no leaking. Thanks to EVERYONE for the help - this project would NOT have succeeded without encouragement and support that is available only here! Will post one more time with picture/video.
Will post one more time with picture/video.
Tony P
Moderator
Looks good! For the video, try uploading it to a third party like Youtube and then embedding the link here. That tends to work best.