| Author |
Message |
TomNPat
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 06, 2005 - 1:27 am: | |
Ok, hate to bother the gurus, but can anyone tell me the kind and source of diodes to use in wiring a toad to use its taillights instead of the magnetic ones I use now. Have the 24v to 12v thing handled, but can't find a reference to the type, amperage, and voltage of the diodes.
Thanks for the help.
TomNPat |
Bill Gerrie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 06, 2005 - 1:53 am: | |
Tom
I use diodes from Radio Shack. They are rated at 6 amps and 50 volts. They are small and are about $1 each. The end with the silver band is the positive end. Bill |
FAST FRED
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 06, 2005 - 5:24 am: | |
If you can't roll your own from radio shack parts , most trailer places (enclosed or boat) will sell the proper Adapter for about $20.
Comes with simple wiring instructions.
FAST FRED |
Chuck Newman (Chuck_newman)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 06, 2005 - 11:55 am: | |
TomNPat,
Bill is correct on voltage and current rating, but since solid state diodes came out in the '60's, the end with the circular band (regardless of color)is the cathode or negative end. On a schematic diagram of a diode represented by a filled in arrow with a sold bar perpendicular to the arrow, the bar is always the negative end. Wiring your lights, you would solder the circular band end together on two diodes. That end goes to the lamp. The other two leads: one goes back into the original wire feeding the lamp, the other goes to your voltage source on the bus -- brake, run lights, etc.
If you do your own, keep an eye on current draw. Typically, a brake lamp filament draws about 2 amps at 12 vdc. Some vehicles have several stop lamps. My wife's Ford Escort has 5 (10 amp draw) and our van has 4 (8 amp draw)as they came from the factory.
As Fred suggested, unless you're comfortable with rolling your own, it is easier to buy a prepackaged set of diodes built for the purpose.
Good luck,
Chuck Newman
Oroville, CA |
Gary Carter
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 07, 2005 - 12:36 am: | |
I have never figured out why you need to install diodes anyway. I have seperate turn and brake lights on both the coach and toad.
I just clip into the wires going to the turn signals and lights on the front of the car and to the brake light switch for the brakes.
Since all the circuits are open when the lights, turn signals and brakes are not actived there is no purpose to the diodes.
I also discovered that my steering wheel does not lock until the key is removed so now I tow with the key in the off position. |
Bill Gerrie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 07, 2005 - 5:07 am: | |
Chuck
You are right about the silver band. I was thinking about the wiring for the diodes on the relays to stop the spark on the contacts. The silver band goes to the positive term on the relay. It would be a short circut if the band was positive. The flow of the electricity is in the direction of the arrow for the schematic drawing and reverse flow is stopped by the band. Sorry about that. Good thing there is a lot of people answer the questions here and catch some of us that fall asleep once in awhile. Bill |
Stan
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 07, 2005 - 8:41 am: | |
Gary: The need for diodes in the light circuit is dependent on the car you have. Some cars switch the negative side of the line which means that feeding external voltage into the light can flow back through various circuits using the always on computer for a return to ground. If you have all the wring diagrams for your car and understand all the ramifications you may be OK to tie in direct.
If you have any doubts, ask a dealer for your particular make and model how they do it. Electronics on cars is way beyond the scope of most of us. For example, I have a Ford Windstar that requires an interface module in order to connect utility trailer lights. To get the module and harness you have to order the vehicle with a trailer tow package or pay a big price to have it dealer installed. |
CoryDaneRTS
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 07, 2005 - 12:41 pm: | |
If your toads light reflector is large enough, you can just instal a bulb holder into the reflector and forget the diodes.
Another fix I saw was they just had a bulb holder, same type as on car, and would take the car holder out, and put in the toad light.
RonTheBusGuy sells the LED type stop lights and they are pretty small, you could mount them permanently in the rear window and just forget about them as they will probably never burn out.
OR you could install a relay, wired to run the normal car wiring with the relay in the NC postion. Wire the relay to pick up when the bus lights come on, or when the toad is plugged into the bus..
Oh heck theres lots of ways to do this...
Good luck
cd |
Jim Bob
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 07, 2005 - 3:31 pm: | |
We tried using the diode type tail light adaptor (turns 5 wire bus to 4 wire "trailer") and setting regular trailer lights in the back window of the toad. But the toad has tinted windows & the diodes cut down the light voltage about 1 volt so the lights were so dim you could hardly see 'em AT NIGHT! Ended up removing the diode device & putting separate additional bulb sockets in the toad tail light assemblies. Works GREAT & no feedback to the toad's system!
What do you suppose possesed car makers to "fix" the DC systems that worked so well for so long? My new F150 is so user unfriendly I can't believe it. Everything is controlled by the computer. It won't even turn over if the computer says no. Head lights & dome light goes on if you turn the engine off. Key switch has no ACC position so how do you sit & listen to the radio, etc? Think you'll leave the doors open & listen to the radio while you work or..? Think again. The stupid bell won't quit dinging (is now buried WAY up in the dash so you can't unplug it!) And if you do leave the radio or ?? on the computer shuts off the power in about 10 minutes. Oh, by the way, they took away the passenger side door lock key hole.
Jim-Bob |
Brian (Bigbusguy)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2005 - 12:57 am: | |
One reason I stick with my old cars All simple.
On easy way is just get the magnet type the tow trucks use. I think they sell em at wal mart.
Or just sell the new car junk and buy some older simple to work with cars or trucks.
My towed is a 64 chevy 4X4 truck or my 54 chevy car.
Brian 4905 Klamath Falls Oregon |
Jim Bob
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2005 - 1:30 pm: | |
We started with the magnetic lights. But when you tow any distance behind a DD powered (maybe others too) bus, the oil & road grit get around the lights & scratch the paint. Also where the wire harness touches the car, it scratches the paint. I even made a terrycloth sleeve for the wires & that too scratched the paint as we drove through the rain. The terrycloth got wet & all the crud stuck to it. So now I have the wires run under/through the car. I store the bus end under the hood, so when I hook up, I pop the hood, unroll the 6 ft that goes to the bus & plug it in. Then I close the hood with the flat wire harness between the hood & the grill. It squeezes just enough to hold it from sliding back & forth.
If Momma doesn't trade cars again, when I get time I will wire it to the socket on the tow bar base plate. It's actually easier the way it is because I don't have to store a greasy tow light cable somewhere. I suppose I could figure out some storage tube on the rear of the bus.
Jim-Bob |
Chuck Newman (Chuck_newman)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2005 - 11:11 pm: | |
Stan, you're correct about the multitude of wiring schemes in different vehicles. I would guess your Windstar is one of the new vehicles where the ECM actually senses and measures the current to each lamp. It controls whether the lamp is on or off and can tell when the bulb is burned out. The added current draw from a towed or trailer would give a false error to the ECM without the interface. I suspect it is a full buffering type interface which presents no load to the original lamp line. Vehicles are becomming more electronic dependent every year. In most cars/turcks, the flashers are controlled electronically -- mostly gone is the thermal relay flasher.
I have wired four vehicles for towing at different times the last 15 years. Two use diodes and two use a 4 pole relay. I accomplish the same either way. My choice of diode or relay depends the tow vehicle, the electrical system on the towed, numbers and types of lights and how I want them to operate, and most importantly the design and layout of the towed's electrical system. The factory electrical wiring book for each cost me around $40.00 each, but has saved me many times more in troubleshooting/reparing a problem. Haynes and Chilton are great books and have their place, but their wiring diagrams don't cut it. You can get factory manuals at Helms.
With the voltage between 12 vdc to 14 vdc, the 800 millivolt drop accross a diode is un-noticable to most. Unless you have visual shading (dark lens or cover) or circuit trouble. Also, I've found most 4 way-to-3 way converters have additional voltage drop further reducing light level.
Chuck Newman
Oroville, CA |
CoryDaneRTS
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 08, 2005 - 11:59 pm: | |
Yeah, I found the Chiltons wiring diag's of little help.
I don't like to mess with the wiring of the new cars anymore. As mentioned above, the computer is into everything now. At $800 bucks to get a new computer, I don't cut wires unless I know what the computer is doing with it. I rarely cut the wires....
My usual fix is a pair of led tail lights and I place them in the rear window.
If you have some metal you can bend it to slip over the lower lip of the trunk, of course put some cloth or a manner of prevention to keep from scratching the paint. When the trunk lid is closed, the bracked is held inplace. Then attach the led tail light to the brackets.
I have come to like the LED tail lights and they can be on their own wiring to the bus.
In the old days, splicing into the car wire was ok but today the electronics are involved and easily damaged. Don't throw caution into the wind when dealing with your newer toad. Those electronics are expensive.
cd |
Stan
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 09, 2005 - 8:19 am: | |
An OT comment on the new car electronics. I bought a new Ford Taurus a few weeks ago and it sat for two weeks and the battery went completely dead. I boosted it with the Windstar and everything looked normal (no warning lights) so I drove it about 60 miles. I turned it off and then found the battery was still completely dead. I used Ford's emeregency number to have a two truck come and boost it. This time all the dash warning lights came on. When the dealer could find no fault with the battery (and no explantation for it going dead) I asked why it hadn't charged when driving. The service manager told me that the voltage regulator is now computer driven and when the battery went dead the computer lost its mememory and they had to reprogram it. It has ben OK for the last two weks so maybe the computer is a Bill Gates job. My XP does these kind of things on a regular basis. |
John that newguy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 09, 2005 - 9:25 am: | |
The RV shops sell a nice wiring package that consists of about
5 bulbs and sockets, and cabling to reach from the rear of the
car to beyond the front bumper.
You drill a hole in the car's present light assembly near the
present bulb and insert the new holder and bulb. There's no
reason you can't use 24v bulbs in the holder. The system leaves
your car's original system alone and does not interfere with
any of it's electronics. Using 24v bulbs would simplify the bus
hookup also. No other adapters would be needed, since
it'd only be an extension of the bus lights..
I did it in both vans. It's easy and foolproof. And cheap.
http://www.aemfg.com/Accessories/wiring.html
Item #BX8869
There are other easy ways also, if you're feeding 12v to the toad:
http://www2.northerntool.com/cat-1/113+4294963749.htm |