Poll - Who has done the Doghead Relay Conversion

[KansasBobcat]

Did Doghead today on M1009 I got yesterday. Took about an hour. Found relay at O'Reillys in lawnmower section. Clerk could not find it on computer! My mounting plate was different than picture so drilled 2 holes. Got it reattached and connected batteries keeping 9/16 wrench in hand to disconnect ground but all went well. Did not hear "snap" but started right up! My thanks to Doghead and others on forum. Bob

 

[Okie Cowboy]

Went to my closest NAPA all they had was part # 701829 said was same part just had universal mounting is this right. I got it anyway was cheap enough part. The package only says 2 post side or base mount 1/4 or 5/16 post.
I'm asking to see if this will work before I start cutting wire.

 

[KansasBobcat]

Okie Cowboy. Your number is different. Mine 7018601 and looked just like photo posted. They tried to sell me another but don't remember number. I would play it safe and keep looking. Mine cost $13.00 Bob

 

[Red Dragon]

On a COLD winter morning I started my truck.... except it did not stop, starter kept going!... WHERE ARE MY WRENCHES! and going..... OH !@#$&&! and going.... GET THE BATT LUG OFF NOW! ....Still going kinda, lots of smoke. Then stop. Oh man why did this have to happen in the middle of a blizzard? Do not be me, Do the doghead mod....Right....NOW!

 

[M1008BOV]

$15 and 30 minutes of my time, I completed it before I left for Haspin!

 

[Nomeranger7]

Super easy and worth it for the peace of mind! Great info you guys provide here! Thanks to ALL!! Cheers!

 

[DawGoneIt]

Did the swap with that Doghead relay last year on the hatchery M1008 plow truck. No issues with starting after that. Simply is a must do. Took 30 minutes of my time.

 

[Bunkerbuilder]

I bought the parts to do it but I wont put Chicom parts on my trucks unless I cant find anything else..

I havent exhausted my options as I work in a Auto Electric shop and know I can find a butter relay than that POS from NAPA.

 

[doghead]

Thanks for sharing that.

Feel free to post your own thread and debate where parts come from, or whatever your issues are.

 

[cucvrus]

Never did it. Never will. Never had any issues with the OEM relay. I know I just don't have the same issues you guys have. And I have sold several of my trucks because they are not all hacked up and changed. I run them as they were designed and only have minor normal issues. As parts fail I change the parts that failed not the design. In my opinion it is like using a different size tire/wheel and thinking you made this huge improvement. It still does the same thing in the end. The first CUCV I bought in 1995 it was 10 years old i never had a problems with it. I just sold it after 173K. That is proof. The truck starts and runs when you turn the key. You ask I am entitled to my opinion.

 

[rsh4364]

I bought the parts to do it but I wont put Chicom parts on my trucks unless I cant find anything else..

I havent exhausted my options as I work in a Auto Electric shop and know I can find a butter relay than that POS from NAPA.

Can you post a part # for the butter relay,probably works smoother than napa unit.just kidding around a bit,I did the DH relay after a run away starter caused by me shutting my passenger door with no key in ignition,been OK since.

 

[gaogre]

Mine was already converted to 12 volts. I read about this relay and its potential catastrophes about 6 months ago. I unplugged the relay and jumpered the two purple wires together through the socket. Seems to be working so far.

 

[Assel]

Did the doghead relay mod today, took some time & work to get the "original" doghead relay shipped to me from the U.S. ..ordered some more stuff (like every U.S. shipment I do )

did not start her up, batteries are still out.but the weather here gets better & better so I really want to get the CUCV on the road again ..and I read about some "burning" CUCVs in germany on some german boards..maybe I should give them a tip to check out this relay mod ^^

 

[TexAndy]

I did it to my 1009. The GM relay seems to have a reputation for failing in the closed position.

Though it could be that whatever lawnmower relay we replace them with will have just as much liklihood of doing the same. There's far more with stock GM starter relays installed (with alot more cycles on them) so it stands to reason we'd hear about GM starter relays failing with more frequency.

I'm a paranoid soul, so I plan to install a kill switch on the starter cable. If I can find one properly rated, one of the big red button E-stops would be good, I think.

 

[TexAndy]

Did the doghead relay mod today, took some time & work to get the "original" doghead relay shipped to me from the U.S. ..ordered some more stuff (like every U.S. shipment I do )

did not start her up, batteries are still out.but the weather here gets better & better so I really want to get the CUCV on the road again ..and I read about some "burning" CUCVs in germany on some german boards..maybe I should give them a tip to check out this relay mod ^^

Why didn't you just look for a similarly rated relay in a auto parts store in Germany?

 

[Assel]

Because you can forget Auto-Part stores here...I once wanted to get a Fuel-Pump relay for my 27yr old BMW nd those guys there didnt even know what I was talking about...I had to search it on his computer by myself (found in likely 10 seconds, lol) ..I guess their more into selling wiper blades & floor mats... and I planned to get some other stuff from U.S. ..why should I not add the relay everyone uses to it?^^

saw a store that sells "special CUCV tools" ...the "24v Glowplug" removal socket goes for about 25$ + shipping ..and its just a common long nut...you can get in every homeworker store for about 2$ ...when I have time to wait, I order stuff from U.S. ...

and when you read the older posts you will find out that doghead choose a realy that simply cant get stuck in open, due to its design. Killswitch is good idea, think I do that also, I have some quick disconnect batterie terminals here, think im gonna install them too^^

 

[SteveUK]

Did the Doghead Conversion on my 85 M1009 at the weekend. I found a lawn mower solenoid on a well-known auction site in the UK for £9.99 shipped. It took about an hour and a half to do following the instructions here and my truck started up afterwards. AND I discovered the under-dash lamp but it needs a bulb.
Thank you Mr Doghead.

 

[gaogre]

I didn't realize that the ignition switch was only rated for 3 or 4 amps, and that the starter solenoid pulls like 30 to 40 amps. I had bypassed the relay by connecting the two purple wires together. I see now that this was a stupid idea. Fortunately, I realized my mistake before the ignition switch burned up and did the Doghead Relay Conversion this past weekend. It works great!

 

[Assel]

Now that I have a new Controller Card & a new GP Relay I can say that my "doghead" mod works great ! Truck starts perfectly and I hope it will do so for a long time now

 

[fitz]

I did the Doghead relay mod today.
I've owned my 84 M1028 for 2 years. Its been a great truck, but I did have to fix a couple of issues that are common to CUCV's (death wobble and fuel filter base). I didn't want to deal with a burned up wiring harness next.
Thanks Doghead.