Mystery Wire

[Towtruck]

hopefully your trip to the airport is not the adventure it was when you brought her there.

[crabtruck]

Originally Posted by Towtruck

hopefully your trip to the airport is not the adventure it was when you brought her there.

Maybe Bernie should read this article I found:
Why-To-Get-Airport-Motel

[BernieB]

Nope, this trip was pretty uneventful. Still have a little shake from the wheels between 67-72 but nowhere near as bad as it was. Got hassled by the airport PD for parking my truck in the cell phone waiting area. Big sign, "No Commercial Vehicles" but we got it all worked out when I pointed out to them the truck has a private registration, not commercial.

[scavanger]

Is the wire flat, looks like three wires together and goes into a plastic jacket ? Goes along the top of the frame and goes under the block behind the exhaust pipe ?
I have a block heater and that is where the wire runs.

Scav.

[crabtruck]

Originally Posted by BernieB

....have a little shake from the wheels between 67-72 ....

very common with those older folks...

[BernieB]

Originally Posted by scavanger

Is the wire flat, looks like three wires together and goes into a plastic jacket ? Goes along the top of the frame and goes under the block behind the exhaust pipe ?
I have a block heater and that is where the wire runs.

Scav.

Well, I won't say "it can't be", but as I said earlier, the truck was a custom build for the county of West Palm Beach in Florida. I really can't see them specifying a block heater in a place just a few miles up the coast from Ft. Lauderdale... And, every block heater connection I've ever seen has been on the passenger side, not the drivers side.

I'm going to try to make time tomorrow to crawl under the truck on a blanket and see where the wires originate from, and try to determine colors. If I can figure out the colors I can try getting a wiring diagram for the truck and work from there.

[BernieB]

Well, I'm glad I said what I said above, because that's exactly what it is. First time I've ever seen a block heater mounted with the plug on the driver's side. Usually they're on the passenger side, so they're next to the curb when you park. And I find it really hard to believe that anyone thought a truck in Florida was going to need one!

I crawled underneath a little while ago, in between the series of rain showers we're getting, and sure enough, there's a block heater towards the rear of the block on the driver's side. Now all I need to do is replace the plug on it and see if it works. Could come in handy next time I visit the family out in Idaho.

[Wyley87]

well i just looked at dads limousine, i found nothing of the sort that looked like what you got there.

[BernieB]

What I'll probably do is just splice a new section of wire and a plug on there. Either make the splice in a waterproof box screwed to the frame, or use waterproof butt splices.

Tomorrow might be "work on the wiring" day for me, as I have a few other electrical chores to do on the truck.

The switchbox for the lightbar was only a four switch model, and I needed six to include the strobes. They had those wired to a pair of heavy duty switches screwed to the dang ashtray, right where the sharp edges would catch your shin if you rode in the middle seat, so I bought a six switch unit and got rid of those. Didn't hook up the backlights in the box though because the bulbs were blown. Instead, I stuck in a UV case light from one of my PC's, which actually looks pretty good, but it's "constant on". Just LED's though, so the draw on it is really minimal, but I got replacement bulbs yesterday so now I need to get under the dash and wire up the backlights to the parking lights or cluster lights.

I also picked up a really nice pair of mirrors to replace the stock ones. The new ones are stainless, lighted, heated and have the spot mirrors built-in. I need to wire those up to a switch on the dash for the heat, and decide if I want the lights connected to the markers or the turn signals. Excellent deal at $35 for the pair of them.

Then I need to replace the fan in the utility back, and add a switchbox back there for the fan, interior lights and the two floods I'm mounting above the doors. I'll probably use the old 4 switch box from the lightbar for that.

And last, but not least, I want to put a switch on the dash to control the backup alarm, so I don't drive my neighbors nuts when I back up the driveway at 2AM.

[crabtruck]

Originally Posted by BernieB

....., I stuck in a UV case light from one of my PC's, ......
And last, but not least, I want to put a switch on the dash to control the backup alarm,
so I don't drive my neighbors nuts when I back up the driveway at 2AM.

My pc didn't come with a light for finding trace.

Here's an idea my crazy brain burped up previously:
I sneaked a relay to the headlights to control the b/u alarm.
No headlights = run silent run dark.
Figured headlights were for going the other way.

I figure you will have a major income loss after all this work.
You can't make any money spending all your time at "shows".
That might be a little jealousy talking ....