Whelen Edge problem

shibby1952

Member
May 8, 2013
593
Iowa
So I am in completely foreign territory this time. I acquired a 60" Whelen 9308 NFPA bar from a fire department a few days ago. They claimed it worked when they removed it. It HAD 4 corner strobes, 4 front facing inline strobes, and a Pulsator in the center. The rear is blacked out. Three of the corner strobes are now missing- because as bulbs would burn out, they would just toss them due to the expense of replacements. Otherwise it appeared to be in great shape.

Here is the problem. It is completely dead in the water. There are two harnesses on this thing. There are two red heavy gauge hot wires, and what appear to be two heavy gauge black ground wires on one harness. The other harness has three small wires that appear to have been used. The rest are tied off. I have tried every possible combination of applying power to this bar with no result. Nothing, not even the pulsator works. I dismantled the whole thing and found about 7 fuses inside, which all appear to be good. I also don't see any physical damage to the two power supplies or the control board. So I am at a loss now. Do I need some sort of controller to run this bar? I have no idea what to do with it next. Any ideas from the Whelen experts? PTDC0453.JPGPTDC0454.JPGPTDC0455.JPGPTDC0456.JPG
 

gtpts27

Member
Jul 1, 2017
579
Virginia
Assuming the power supplies work and all wires connected properly, the bar uses low voltage trigger wires. Hook both large reds up to +12V, both large blacks to -12V, and then also add power individually to each of the smaller trigger wires - obviously the small wires w the terminals are most likely - to see what each triggers.

If that doesn't get you anywhere, and given fuses are good, then one or more below is likely true (ordered from most likely to least likely):
1) Wires not connected properly
2) Power supplies fried
3) All bulbs blown (unlikely)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Tony P

shibby1952

Member
May 8, 2013
593
Iowa
See, this is why I hate working on stuff with electronics, modules, and power supplies. Give me an old 2 wire Twinsonic any day. Anyhow, I tried it out- and whaddya know? It works! Sort of. One of the "trigger" wires runs the Pulsator. Another one seems to run everything else, and the 3rd I cannot get to do anything. Turns out the last remaining corner strobe is burned out. But by moving one of the inline strobes around to the other plugs, all 4 corners seem to run with the four inline strobes in the front. So I don't know what the last trigger wire is for.

Also- and this is VERY important! The bar must have capacitors that store high energy- because the damn thing bit me as I was trying to hook it up. Guess you have to short the reds to ground before you start touching wires. Lesson learned...

Now the problem is... Do I fix it? Or part it out? It takes 4 of these corner strobes. (part #02-0362733-00B) I checked eBay, and those sell from anywhere between $50 to $65 each, and I need all four to make it work right. I only gave $100 for the whole bar. So now I have a conundrum. It's in awesome shape otherwise. Guess this may take some consideration... Thanks for the help by the way!
 

gtpts27

Member
Jul 1, 2017
579
Virginia
See, this is why I hate working on stuff with electronics, modules, and power supplies. Give me an old 2 wire Twinsonic any day. Anyhow, I tried it out- and whaddya know? It works! Sort of. One of the "trigger" wires runs the Pulsator. Another one seems to run everything else, and the 3rd I cannot get to do anything. Turns out the last remaining corner strobe is burned out. But by moving one of the inline strobes around to the other plugs, all 4 corners seem to run with the four inline strobes in the front. So I don't know what the last trigger wire is for.

Also- and this is VERY important! The bar must have capacitors that store high energy- because the damn thing bit me as I was trying to hook it up. Guess you have to short the reds to ground before you start touching wires. Lesson learned...

Now the problem is... Do I fix it? Or part it out? It takes 4 of these corner strobes. (part #02-0362733-00B) I checked eBay, and those sell from anywhere between $50 to $65 each, and I need all four to make it work right. I only gave $100 for the whole bar. So now I have a conundrum. It's in awesome shape otherwise. Guess this may take some consideration... Thanks for the help by the way!

The fix or part it is obviously a question only you can answer, though you can probably find corners for less than $55each, just may take patience. David Southern often has Edge stuff at descent prices. He's dcroyale on eBay. I don't know if he is on ELB or not but it wouldn't surprise me. He will usually give discounts off eBay prices if you do a direct PayPal transaction with him and also if you buy multiple items. Maybe someone can provide an ELB username if he is a member. Also post a wanted post in the wanted section here. Someone else may have some corners at better than eBay prices.

Last but not least the center unit is officially called a PierceAlert (at least thats what I believe I'm seeing in pic).
 

shibby1952

Member
May 8, 2013
593
Iowa
Yes, dcroyale was the first person I checked with, I have bought stuff from him in the past and he was really reasonable. Unfortunately he did not have what I need. I may run a want ad, this is kind of a neat bar- even if it doesn't rotate. The odd part is the bar has amber in the rear corners. When the truck was ordered in 2003- the DOT mandated amber on the rear of fire apparatus. (or so I am told) The truck also came with two amber beacons on the back end that the department Chief promptly removed. The dealer insisted they had to be there- but they flashed into the rear view mirrors and blinded the driver. Rear amber must no longer be a requirement?

Anyway, the device in the center does not have a name on it, but it has two bulbs and reflectors that swing in and out at about 90 degrees. If that's what a Pierce Alert is, then that is what I have I guess. Works good, but man is it noisy. Anyhow, I have rambled on enough about this thing. Thank you again for the help. Strobe bar inner workings are a mystery to me...
 

CrownVic97

Member
May 21, 2010
3,350
Hazen, ND
Anyway, the device in the center does not have a name on it, but it has two bulbs and reflectors that swing in and out at about 90 degrees. If that's what a Pierce Alert is, then that is what I have I guess. Works good, but man is it noisy.

Yep, that's the Pierce Alert module! Effective traffic clearing center light for Edge bars ;).
 
  • Like
Reactions: OliverD

gtpts27

Member
Jul 1, 2017
579
Virginia
I have a similar bar and it has amber in rear corners as well (all red otherwise... except PierceAlert). My bar came from PA I think.

 

shibby1952

Member
May 8, 2013
593
Iowa
I have seen that Edge video before, didn't know you had that bar. That's exactly what I have except one side is blue on mine. Another interesting thing about it- the rear of the bar has colored lenses on it, even though it has no rear warning installed. Whelen didn't just black it out like Federal did with my Aerodynic. I suppose it was done for appearance reasons.

Anyway UPDATE. A vendor had 4 brand new corner strobes on eBay. So I just took my poison and bought them, since I need all four. I now have way more money tied up in this thing than it's worth, BUT at least it will be saved from being scrapped and be fully functional. So I guess it's going into my collection now after all. I guess that's why its called a "hobby" instead of a "business"...
 
  • Like
Reactions: gtpts27

kitn1mcc

Member
May 24, 2010
2,566
Old lyme ct
That is not that old of a bar. If you are gonna use it a display piece replace the lamps. they will last not being used all the time
 

shibby1952

Member
May 8, 2013
593
Iowa
The bar was made in 2003- so it's 16 years old anyway, and the bulbs are getting harder to find. I am replacing all 4 corner strobes with new ones. I was lucky to find a source that had 4 left-even if it did cost me quite a bit.
Here is a vendor with a replacement for the front inline strobe bulbs- of which this model has four. Look at this nonsense! No wonder departments are just leaving them burned out, or just replacing the whole bar instead...


 

Nolines

Member
Apr 5, 2018
1,678
Margate, FL
I Can Truely say I Have Always Preferred My Pattern setup for my Strobes over Whelens Desired Pattern and Wiring setups... Just leaves you So Much in the Cold with Lack of Protection.

Great Work on Restoring the Bar!
 

Forum Statistics

Threads
53,962
Messages
449,805
Members
19,102
Latest member
Hilux01

About Us

  • Since 1997, eLightbars has been the premier venue for all things emergency warning equipment. Discussions, classified listings, pictures, videos, chat, & more! Our staff members strive to keep the forums organized and clutter-free. All of our offerings are free-of-charge with all costs offset by banner advertising. Premium offerings are available to improve your experience.

User Menu

Secure Browsing & Transactions

eLightbars.org uses SSL to secure all traffic between our server and your browsing device. All browsing and transactions within are secured by an SSL Certificate with high-strength encryption.