# More wiring help for spreader



## Olderthandirt (Oct 9, 2005)

Wired up the spreader in the garage to make sure it worked before I mounted it. Instead of a battery I just used a small 10 amp charger to juice the hot wires, and everything worked great including the controller.
I wired it to the truck and everything works ok EXCEPT when I turn the controller down/slow, it wont turn. It acts like its not getting enough juice. If I leave it on high it runs fine but soon as I slow it down the motor quits.
I wired the small ignition wire to an upfitter switch fuse could that be the problem? or could the ignition wire be to small a gauge, it looks like it only powers the lite and reostate on the controller. ANY IDEAS?


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## Olderthandirt (Oct 9, 2005)

Anyone have an idea of the problem ???


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## Frozen001 (Oct 20, 2004)

What type of spreader??? Could be several things, but if it works on high, the wire diameter should be OK as high will have the largest current draw...


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## Olderthandirt (Oct 9, 2005)

Frozen001 said:


> What type of spreader??? Could be several things, but if it works on high, the wire diameter should be OK as high will have the largest current draw...


Its an old meyers brand approx. 10 yrs old so I'm not sure who made it. What is the small wire for? I thought that was to power the controller, which it does I'm just wondering if I need to wire it into something besides a 30 amp outfitter fuse. The outfitter switch does nothing, I mean I can turn the controller off and on no matter if the switch is on or not so I'm getting juice to the controller when I turn it on and it spins on high but when you go to slow it down it dies out, did'nt do that when I had it wired on the floor


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## Up North (May 4, 2004)

Hey Mac, 
First off, welcome to Plowsite! Good to finally have you over here. As for the spreader, I'm with Frozen on that one. I don't think it could be the wire gauge, as Frozen said that high speed should draw more juice so if anything the high speed shouldn't work and low speed should. I don't know, not a electrical whiz, but maybe check the controller again to make sure it didn't go bad on you. Drag the charger over to the truck and hook everything up the same as you did before and test it again to see what happens. 

You need to get Flykelley or Bad Luck to chime in on this one, they'd have an idea for sure.

Buck


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## Olderthandirt (Oct 9, 2005)

Thanks Buck I guess I'lll put out an s-o-s to those guys then


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## Bad Luck (Sep 30, 2004)

When you say you have it wired to an upfitter switch what do you mean? If I'm understanding what you did you wired a +12v ignition wire to a switch and then the switch to the controller? What wires are coming out of the controller?


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## Frozen001 (Oct 20, 2004)

One other thing I would be very carful using a battery charger as a power source. It might be putting out 12 volts, but it is not always a clean DC source. This can damage some electronics, I am not saying it always will, but there is a possibility. Good battery chargers typically charge initially as a constant current source to bring the battery back up to proper charge, which means the voltage typically is much higher than 12volts. After the battery is charged, it will enter a constant voltage mode where it supplies a "float" voltage (typically around 14 volts for a 12 volt lead acid battery) and a small amount of current to maintain the charge. This is why when you battery is low on you vehicle and the alternator is charging it the volt guage on you truck will read around 14 volts.


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## Olderthandirt (Oct 9, 2005)

Bad Luck said:


> When you say you have it wired to an upfitter switch what do you mean? If I'm understanding what you did you wired a +12v ignition wire to a switch and then the switch to the controller? What wires are coming out of the controller?


I have a 10ga. wire hot & ground wire and from the controller going to the battery. On the other sidfe of the controller is another 10 ga. hot and ground wire going direct to the spreader. and then I have a small 12 volt ignition wire that I ran to an upfitter switch 30amp fuse. The switch does nothing it's just where I grabbed a hot lead from to power the ignition wire. The spreader will start and run on high with no problems, its when I turn the dial to slow it down that it stops running. When I wired it to the battery charger to make sure it still worked it would slow down, but I had the ignition wire hooked to the battery wire so I could not turn the controller off. Just can't figure out why ?? any more ideas


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## Frozen001 (Oct 20, 2004)

Olderthandirt said:


> I have a 10ga. wire hot & ground wire and from the controller going to the battery. On the other sidfe of the controller is another 10 ga. hot and ground wire going direct to the spreader. and then I have a small 12 volt ignition wire that I ran to an upfitter switch 30amp fuse. The switch does nothing it's just where I grabbed a hot lead from to power the ignition wire. The spreader will start and run on high with no problems, its when I turn the dial to slow it down that it stops running. When I wired it to the battery charger to make sure it still worked it would slow down, but I had the ignition wire hooked to the battery wire so I could not turn the controller off. Just can't figure out why ?? any more ideas


Have you tried to re wire it to the battery charger??? I am not sure if you did that already... maybe something in the controller died after you initial try with the battery charger...


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## Olderthandirt (Oct 9, 2005)

Frozen001 said:


> Have you tried to re wire it to the battery charger??? I am not sure if you did that already... maybe something in the controller died after you initial try with the battery charger...


No have not tried that, was hoping not to have to since it took a few hrs to run all the wires. What does the ignition wire do or is for? Is it to only power the controller off & on and the reostate for the speed adjustment ? I know the electronics on a board can go out with out warning but dam all I did was take it from running off a charger for a cple. min. to wiring it up, I figured it would give more warning if it was starting to go bad.


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## Frozen001 (Oct 20, 2004)

The ignition wire most likely is so that the spreader will not work unless the truck is running or the key at least in the on position. Also probably help prevent battery run down since when the key is off the spreader will also be switched off. It really sounds like the controller is the problem.


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## flykelley (Dec 29, 2003)

O.L.D you have a PM

Mike


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## fernalddude (Feb 15, 2004)

have you tried cpw web site for the drawings ?
https://www.centralparts.com/Literature.aspx


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## Olderthandirt (Oct 9, 2005)

flykelley said:


> O.L.D you have a PM
> 
> Mike


Thanks Mike
I'm sure it has something to do with the ignition wire, everything else is wired pretty much idiot proof, hot to bat. hot to spreader + ground to each.
I'm gonna try and tie the ingnition wire in with the hot wire to the battery and see if that makes a dif. if it don't its time to let a pro figure it out or buy a new controller. If it works on the floor hooked that way it should work in the truck


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## fernalddude (Feb 15, 2004)

does the extra wire go to ground ? when i lose ground mine only run on high but i have burned out the scr's in the control box


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## Olderthandirt (Oct 9, 2005)

fernalddude said:


> does the extra wire go to ground ? when i lose ground mine only run on high but i have burned out the scr's in the control box


Extra wire? the only thing I have not done is run a seperate wire from the controller to ground on the truck. 
The controllers has 2 ground wires on the bottom and 2 hot wires in the back
1 ground goes direct to the battery and the other goes direct to the spreader
same with the hot wires. That leaves one smaller 18 gauge blue wire for the ignition. I hooked that up to a hot fuse. 
Everything works great on high it just can't be slowed down. The only thing I can think to do is run a seperate ground to a metal part on the truck and leave the 1 going to the battery ground alone.


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## Bad Luck (Sep 30, 2004)

Olderthandirt said:


> Extra wire? the only thing I have not done is run a seperate wire from the controller to ground on the truck.
> The controllers has 2 ground wires on the bottom and 2 hot wires in the back
> 1 ground goes direct to the battery and the other goes direct to the spreader
> same with the hot wires. That leaves one smaller 18 gauge blue wire for the ignition. I hooked that up to a hot fuse.
> Everything works great on high it just can't be slowed down. The only thing I can think to do is run a seperate ground to a metal part on the truck and leave the 1 going to the battery ground alone.


I'd move your ignition wire to a difference source and see what happens. If that doesn't work, it sounds like a contorller issue.


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## Frozen001 (Oct 20, 2004)

I really doubt it is the ignition wire as the controller does turn on. The ignition wire does not draw a lot of current, and basically all it does it provide power to the controller, and nothing else. I still think it is a controller issue...


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## stumper1620 (Dec 19, 2004)

Mac,
A reostat is basicily a variable resistor, I would hook a volt meter or test light to the power going to the spreader and see if the voltage is variable as you adjust or if voltage goes away once you touch the dial you know it is controller side problem, if power is variable you have a problem at the spreader motor, if not it is in the controller or the hookups to the controller, test the input wires for proper voltage and see that all is well, also, I would check for continuity from the controller to a body ground, if there is no continuity then I would add a ground wire from the controller mount to the spreader ground and from the spreader ground to a body ground.
guess work will get you nowhere, diagnostics is the key.
this sounds like a ground problem to me.


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## Olderthandirt (Oct 9, 2005)

stumper1620 said:


> Mac,
> A reostat is basicily a variable resistor, I would hook a volt meter or test light to the power going to the spreader and see if the voltage is variable as you adjust or if voltage goes away once you touch the dial you know it is controller side problem, if power is variable you have a problem at the spreader motor, if not it is in the controller or the hookups to the controller, test the input wires for proper voltage and see that all is well, also, I would check for continuity from the controller to a body ground, if there is no continuity then I would add a ground wire from the controller mount to the spreader ground and from the spreader ground to a body ground.
> guess work will get you nowhere, diagnostics is the key.
> this sounds like a ground problem to me.


Double grounded the controller and ran a test lite to it.
Supply from battery bright lite
Out of controller on high #10 almost as bright as supply side but when I slow it down the lite gets dimmer as it should, but I loose all lite at #7 and lower on the dial. did not check it at the spreader because the problem was at the controller.
Seems I need a new controller because I've checked eveything else.
Sounds like a controller thats bad to all you?


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## stumper1620 (Dec 19, 2004)

Olderthandirt said:


> Double grounded the controller and ran a test lite to it.
> Supply from battery bright lite
> Out of controller on high #10 almost as bright as supply side but when I slow it down the lite gets dimmer as it should, but I loose all lite at #7 and lower on the dial. did not check it at the spreader because the problem was at the controller.
> Seems I need a new controller because I've checked eveything else.
> Sounds like a controller thats bad to all you?


If it goes dead out at 7, I would say controller. it should slowly dim all the way to its lowest setting.
That really bites, since it worked testing it, I guess the best way to look at this is at least it did it now instead of during a big ice storm.


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## Up North (May 4, 2004)

Olderthandirt said:


> Double grounded the controller and ran a test lite to it.
> Supply from battery bright lite
> Out of controller on high #10 almost as bright as supply side but when I slow it down the lite gets dimmer as it should, but I loose all lite at #7 and lower on the dial. did not check it at the spreader because the problem was at the controller.
> Seems I need a new controller because I've checked eveything else.
> Sounds like a controller thats bad to all you?


That was my first guess as I said earlier. Me not being an electrical whiz and knowing that you are pretty sharp in that category I had a hunch it could be the controller.

Buck


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## Olderthandirt (Oct 9, 2005)

Put a new controller in and it works great. Thanks for all the replys and help


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## Up North (May 4, 2004)

Olderthandirt said:


> Put a new controller in and it works great. Thanks for all the replys and help


Good deal. Now go plow something! I'm going to plow a 10 pointer tomorrow with my .270 as our firearm season starts bright and early in the morning!:redbounce

Buck


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## kaznme (Nov 6, 2005)

*just a thought*



Olderthandirt said:


> Extra wire? the only thing I have not done is run a seperate wire from the controller to ground on the truck.
> The controllers has 2 ground wires on the bottom and 2 hot wires in the back
> 1 ground goes direct to the battery and the other goes direct to the spreader
> same with the hot wires. That leaves one smaller 18 gauge blue wire for the ignition. I hooked that up to a hot fuse.
> Everything works great on high it just can't be slowed down. The only thing I can think to do is run a seperate ground to a metal part on the truck and leave the 1 going to the battery ground alone.


being the new kid here just a question to think about did you make sure your ignition wire stayed on while vehicle running or key on only? because there are wires that are only hot when first starting then go ground or neutral after initial start up.this is to power up a relay etc momentary switch if you will.


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