riggermedic's M1009

[MarcusOReallyus]

View attachment 610746
pay no attention to the wire colors, they were made in china and I think they are purposely messing with my head. power to turn on the relay is yellow and ground is red power into the switch is black

Nice! Very clean work. We'll make an installer out of you yet!

For myself, no way would I use something with non-standard color coding. I'd pay twice the amount to have standard colors. That's asking for headaches down the road.

Also, get some dielectric grease on all those connections, including the ground. Exposed to the weather like that, you are going got have problems pretty quickly if you don't. Be generous with it. Pay no attention to the people who have just enough knowledge to be dangerous who will tell you not to use it because it's an insulator. That's what it's made for, and it's required in many applications, including aerospace, telecom, and military applications. Some folks like to use something like NoAlOx, and that's fine for single-purpose connectors (like a ground point), but NEVER use it where there are multiple connections.

One last thing - don't rely on a screw's threads to make your ground point. It will work fine for a while, but it's not the best connection. Scrape the metal down to bare shiny metal, and use a connector ring and a toothed lock washer on that beast, liberally coated with dielectric grease before you screw it in place. If you can get to it, slap some grease on the screw where it protrudes on the back side.

 

[Another Ahab]

You sound like you've been around the block about all this, MarcusOReallyUs.

Are you maybe an electrician on the "outside"?

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

I'm an engineer working in telecom, but I started in this business installing cellular phones, back in the years BI (Before Internet) when they were installed, not carried. No hand-helds.

Heh. I said that to someone a couple of weeks ago, and he said, "Oh, I remember that. Those old bag phones!" And I replied, "No, BEFORE that!"

 

[CUCVLOVER]

I'm an engineer working in telecom, but I started in this business installing cellular phones, back in the years BI (Before Internet) when they were installed, not carried. No hand-helds.

Heh. I said that to someone a couple of weeks ago, and he said, "Oh, I remember that. Those old bag phones!" And I replied, "No, BEFORE that!"

My dad says he wants his bag phone back. He said it would work anywhere anytime

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

My dad says he wants his bag phone back. He said it would work anywhere anytime

Ha! It won't work anywhere anymore! I doubt if there's an analog cellular network left anywhere in the world.

 

[riggermedic]

Battery cables and wiring

The PO did the glowplug resistor bypass. It was time for a battery cable upgrade and I noticed the solo power wire running across the firewall was old and beginning to crack. I didn’t like the idea of 1 single wire powering both the 12 volt side of the truck and the GP circuit so I decided that while replacing and upgrading this wire I would add a dedicated wire for the glowplug relay. (MarcusOReallyus has a really good thread on this)

I had a 50 ft roll of 6ga in the shop for these 2 wires and left some room to add a 100 amp circuit breaker for the GP wire, I don’t really know if I want to add one for the truck 12v system or how many amps it even draws (stock configuration).
All the battery cables were upgraded to 1/0 gauge, and I ran 12v 1/0 gauge back to the radio buss which will also have a circuit breaker on it. It makes the front battery positive kind of busy. New battery terminal lugs and covers all purchased on amazon.

 

[Another Ahab]

My dad says he wants his bag phone back. He said it would work anywhere anytime

Ha! It won't work anywhere anymore! I doubt if there's an analog cellular network left anywhere in the world.

Think how cool it'll be when we won't even need phones or devices of any kind anymore. It'll likely be cranial implants or something similar.

What do you think, 50 years? Not even!?

 

[CUCVLOVER]

Ha! It won't work anywhere anymore! I doubt if there's an analog cellular network left anywhere in the world.

Lol. I hear ya.
I took a Motorola timeport in to a Verizon store and asked to have it set up with a plan. The lady at the counter looked at it like it was space rock. She didn't have a clue what it was

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

I had a 50 ft roll of 6ga in the shop for these 2 wires and left some room to add a 100 amp circuit breaker for the GP wire,

You need some headroom there. It's a 100 amp draw, so go with a 120 CB or fuse, or it will be popping on you with annoying frequency. Like, almost every time you use it!

I don’t really know if I want to add one for the truck 12v system or how many amps it even draws (stock configuration).

Yes, I would add one. Dunno what the draw is, but at a random guess, I'd say you'd be safe with 50 amps or so. Go with a Mega fuse, so if you size it too low, you can just buy a bigger one for a few bucks. If you buy a CB and it's too low, you are out the bucks for the CB.

All the battery cables were upgraded to 1/0 gauge,

That's massive overkill!

New battery terminal lugs and covers all purchased on amazon.
View attachment 611021

Okay, it's official now. You do Good Work.

Really, really clean.

 

[ODFever]

From what I remember, CB's run at 4 watts max power output per FCC rules and regulations.

 

[riggermedic]

Sorry for the confusion, by CB we meant circuit breaker

 

[riggermedic]

Starter cable

Today I replaced my starter cable with 1/0 gauge wire. What a pain in the BUTT
On the bright side I did verify that the starter bracket was there and that I have a gear reduction starter with heat shield in place

 

[riggermedic]

Just for curiosity I measured the actual current draw on the main feed from the 12 volt battery that supplies power to the 12 volt side of the truck.

The ammeter was installed between the 12 volt side of the batteries and the small wire that feeds the diamond shaped terminals near the glow plug relay.

The engine was not running during measurements.

The glow plugs were disconnected at time of measurements.

The truck is not suffering from any electrical issues at time of measurements.

The truck being tested is a (mostly) stock 1984 M1009 with the resistor bypass done. I have installed new battery cables for improved reliability over the ones that were installed by previous owners.

Results:
Current draw
With nothing on --------------0 amps
Key in run position ----------3.4 amps
Parking lights only ---------4.75 amps
Headlights low beam --------9.8 amps
Headlights high beam ------13.5 amps

Heater fan on low ----------- 7 amps
Heater fan on medium ------9.4 amps
Heater fan on high --------14.8 amps

And the final one
Headlights on high beam and heater fan on high -----28.6 amps

Unfortunately I forgot to conduct a test on the wiper motor current draw. This would only add additional current draw under the final load testing.

So it is no wonder that the fuse holder is melting under high current loads.

I did order a headlight relay kit and ordered parts to build my own heater fan relay modifications. The glow plug relay will also get a dedicated wire run to it as well.
This vehicle will be test subject for future electrical modifications.

Karl
View attachment 470816View attachment 470817View attachment 470818View attachment 470819View attachment 470820

​Marcusoreallyus did you see this?

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Nope. Didn't see it.

If the total possible draw is ~30 amps, a 40 amp fuse should be good, but he didn't have the wiper motor on, so 50 is probably pretty close. Not bad for a wild guess, eh?

Do the headlight harness and you drop ~14 amps off of that load, since the harness powers the headlights directly from the battery.

I'd say a 50 amp slow acting fuse would be a good choice for that circuit, instead of the fusible link. Without the headlight harness, might want to go 60, but not more.



EDIT: Well, I went back and look at his original post, and noticed that I had thanked him for it (almost 2 years ago), so obviously I saw it. I didn't remember that, but my wild guess was probably influenced by it, without me remembering it consciously.

 

[riggermedic]

I finally got all my parts in for the center console I am building. 20mm ammo can with a ssb CB, scanner, and stereo mounted inside. What makes it special is all the wiring will be bulkhead connectors. Everything will plug into the ammo can so I can unplug it completely and the box is now mobile. I have 4 3.5 speakers for the dash and a bracket that converts the center 4x10 speaker into 2 3.5 speakers. I have 2 amplified external speakers for the CB and scanner that will mount on the nbc alarm/radio bracket on the dash, the CB mic will also mount there. Lockable, out of sight, yet easily unplugged and removed or placed in a different vehicle. I was also thinking of adding 2 motorcycle batteries inside so the unit could be powered away from the vehicle when camping and maybe a solar panel plug in to keep it charged when outside of a vehicle. Pretty much a portable base station... With cup holders. I will upload pics as I go.
Just bought a distressed M1010 that may take up some of my time and most of my wallet, so this project may be back burnered.
soon to come Riggermedics M1010 thread.

 

[ODFever]

Great ideas on the console. If you're going to that much trouble for a CB, you might as well exponentially increase your range by getting your amateur radio license and installing a dual band Yaesu, Icom, or Kenwood! The test is only 35 multiple choice questions. As I mentioned above, you're limited to 4 watts on CB. You can hit repeaters on the 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands, and talk to people all over a geographic area!! http://hamstudy.org is a great resource for studying. It's also FREE!! http://www.hamexam.com is another great site.

 

[cucvrus]

Just install Wi Fi and you can reach the world. And see pictures.

 

[Another Ahab]

Just install Wi Fi and you can reach the world. And see pictures.

It's a brand new world almost every day now.

Good or bad (maybe both), it's pretty amazing.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Eh....

It doesn't work that way. You can't just "install WiFi". You need a connection to the Internet to feed the WiFi. Since your intended installation point is mobile, that means a wireless device of some sort (smart phone or cellular hotspot), or a satellite dish on your roof. (Don't laugh - RVers do it.)

Then you can Skype to your heart's content as you cruise down the road, weaving in and out of traffic, running off the road, and generally wreaking havoc.

 

[cucvrus]

My new pickup has WiFi. I don't use but the rest of the family does. I think that is part of the XM/On Star system. I think its great when you have the stuff built in the vehicle as factory equipped.. Cuts down on the add ons. The built travel maps are about all I used in the past. I think the fin on the roof over the driver replaces the satellite dish. It has improved my driving. No more looking at maps.