Advice on minimal upfit for admin vehicle.

[John Smith]

I'll be up-fitting a used car to be used as an admin/travel vehicle for our Officers. It'll be an 07-14 Tahoe civilian model.

I was planning on putting a dual SoundOff nFORCE dash light in the windshield, and a pair of mPOWER 3" in each fog light housing (So two nFORCE modules, 4 mPOWER modules). All of the lights will be dual color, either red or blue and white. I will be using a simple Galls 9 switch panel that energizes a wire with a switch.

The problem I'm having is that the SoundOff lights don't offer an option to steady burn red or white depending on wiring inputs. So the module can either steady white, or steady color, it can never have one switch steady white, and another switch steady color. And I don't mean at the same time, but even at different times, it can't do it. So I get to choose steady color, or steady white. Well I wanted a takedown function and a cruise function, but cannot have both with SoundOff.

Do Whelen or FedSig offer similar style/size/brightness, dual color, light that allows both steady color and steady white depending on a +12v input? Again, not at the same time, but different times for takedown and cruise.

Note, I don't want an elaborate controller (ie BluePRINT), I will be using the simple Galls controller.

For those that care, side lighting will have an under-mirror dual color pod on each side, possibly another nFORCE module in one of the windows but I doubt it. Rear lighting will have an 8 head nFORCE traffic controller in the rear window. The car will also have the SoundOff HLF/TLF, and a SoundOff 200 series siren.

 

[Phillyrube]

Our agency issued Southern VP teardrops for detectives and admin vehicles.

 

[pdk9]

Having 1/2 of your front warning lights so low down (fog area) sounds like a waste and ineffective IMHO.
Why don’t you just get a dedicated aftermarket fog light kit (for steady white only) and put 4 Red/Blue mpowers in the grill for warning (and cruise)?

 

[Cleaning Traffic]

I think you have a lot going on for what you want in an "Admin vehicle" for what you are looking for. If it is a law enforcement agency owned/leased vehicle (not personal/private) most state DOT laws now require 360 degree visual warning (meaning all 4 sides of the vehicle) whether external or internal lighting. Interior: I recommend Whelens dual Avenger II Trio all around (headliner, rear window, and rear side passenger windows). You could put a Dominator in the rear window as well, and will still sync up. They would all sync together with a simple 3 switch panel (on/off, flash pattern momentary and steady override). Exterior: Can never go wrong with a full-size lightbar on the roof and hide-a-ways. If your fancy and budget allows, a bull bar with front and side (intersection) lights. I agree with pdk9, any lighting below the grill is merely cosmetic, and has no real effective purpose. I myself am not a fan of mixing exterior and interior lighting, especially if you want all to sync. Picking one or the other makes wiring and routing of cables so much easier. (My 2 cents!)

 

[Nolines]

If your going bare minimum there's always employing someone to run in front of the vehicle Yelling "Get out of the way, Official Vehicle Here" and moving a flashlight around..
(Please don't be mad at me!! )
I think that's an old hazing days thing??

 

[John Smith]

Having 1/2 of your front warning lights so low down (fog area) sounds like a waste and ineffective IMHO.
Why don’t you just get a dedicated aftermarket fog light kit (for steady white only) and put 4 Red/Blue mpowers in the grill for warning (and cruise)?

Our old state Chargers used Par 36s in the fog lights, and they were crazy effective. Although low, being placed so far out on the car, and the brightness, was quite beneficial. I'm hoping to replicate that. They also used a couple lights in the grill. I am saving some cash with the controller, I could probably swing a couple grill lights also.

I like where all of the lights can cruise, and all can takedown. Been impressed with how our cars do that.

I think you have a lot going on for what you want in an "Admin vehicle" for what you are looking for. If it is a law enforcement agency owned/leased vehicle (not personal/private) most state DOT laws now require 360 degree visual warning (meaning all 4 sides of the vehicle) whether external or internal lighting. Interior: I recommend Whelens dual Avenger II Trio all around (headliner, rear window, and rear side passenger windows). You could put a Dominator in the rear window as well, and will still sync up. They would all sync together with a simple 3 switch panel (on/off, flash pattern momentary and steady override). Exterior: Can never go wrong with a full-size lightbar on the roof and hide-a-ways. If your fancy and budget allows, a bull bar with front and side (intersection) lights. I agree with pdk9, any lighting below the grill is merely cosmetic, and has no real effective purpose. I myself am not a fan of mixing exterior and interior lighting, especially if you want all to sync. Picking one or the other makes wiring and routing of cables so much easier. (My 2 cents!)

All though I call it an admin/travel car, it will see some response, traffic, and UC work. Like you said, it needs to have 360, and takedowns. It is LE agency owned. It will just not be marked, no bull/push bumpers, and no overhead bars.

I looked at the dual avengers, can they with a simple controller have one wire steady takedown, and another wire steady color for cruise, in addition to flashing?

 

[John Smith]

Obviously a lot going on with this car, but their upfits with the slicktops used the same package minus the overhead bar and push bumper.

 

[Cleaning Traffic]

Our old state Chargers used Par 36s in the fog lights, and they were crazy effective. Although low, being placed so far out on the car, and the brightness, was quite beneficial. I'm hoping to replicate that. They also used a couple lights in the grill. I am saving some cash with the controller, I could probably swing a couple grill lights also.

I like where all of the lights can cruise, and all can takedown. Been impressed with how our cars do that.



All though I call it an admin/travel car, it will see some response, traffic, and UC work. Like you said, it needs to have 360, and takedowns. It is LE agency owned. It will just not be marked, no bull/push bumpers, and no overhead bars.

I looked at the dual avengers, can they with a simple controller have one wire steady takedown, and another wire steady color for cruise, in addition to flashing?

In whelens terms "cruise mode" is a low voltage (dimmer) version of the steady-on "Flood" feature (usually white) they offer. This is a "mode" as opposed to a "flash pattern" which yes, would require an additional switch on the panel. The Avenger has a separate wire for mode functions as they do with flash pattern selection. You would have to program each lighthead separately (which is in the wiring directions) before syncing all of them together through the switch. See attached

 

[Cleaning Traffic]

In whelens terms "cruise mode" is a low voltage (dimmer) version of the steady-on "Flood" feature (usually white) they offer. This is a "mode" as opposed to a "flash pattern" which yes, would require an additional switch on the panel. The Avenger has a separate wire for mode functions as they do with flash pattern selection. You would have to program each lighthead separately (which is in the wiring directions) before syncing all of them together through the switch. See attached

On a side note, Whelen is very big on their programming (I/O Board) features. With that being said, I buy a lot of surplus Whelen products and can tell you that most up-out fitters, mechanics, electronics techs, or whoever they may have working on emergency vehicle equipment are not very keen (fluent) on this technology, hence me receiving a lot of stuff that has been modified and/or altered (jumper wires, extra relays, etc.) just to gain the same features Whelen already provides in their products.

 

[John Smith]

Anybody have the owner/install manuals for an avenger or dual avenger that's going to be hard-wired (Not cigarette plug)? One that has the multi-wire.

I want to read through and see my options it before I commit to go away from SoundOff.

We've got 7 cars, and 3 lighting packages. The oldest being an MX7000, then a couple Whelen Freedoms, and our 4 newest cars are all SoundOff BluePRINT. I was hoping to go to exclusively SOS for the future cars, to keep things the same and easier to reuse old equipment, but if SOS can't do cruise and flood, while the others can, that's an issue.