# Bad Switch???



## harley hauler (Nov 20, 2003)

Hey guys and gals, Need some help figuring out this switch issue I have. Here we go, I installed a whelen 90 watt hide-a-way kit last winter. When I went to install it I realized it didn't come with a switch, so I called the place where I bought it and the guy say's "you can just use any 12v toggle switch that will be fine", so that's what I did and it works but it seems when I'm out in the storm and have the heat on floor/def the strobes shut down not right away but in time. If I shut the heat off and blow the a/c to the floor they come back one. So do you guys think that I should go out and buy the switches for my kit from whelen, or is it the placement of where I mounted the switch?? All I know is they work fine now, now that I'm not using the heat in the cab. Any and all feed back would be great 

Rick


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## Bad Luck (Sep 30, 2004)

How did you hook them up? Did you use a relay? Where is the switch powered from? Where is the power pack getting power from??


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## SnowGuy73 (Apr 7, 2003)

Bad Luck said:


> How did you hook them up? Did you use a relay? Where is the switch powered from? Where is the power pack getting power from??


Also, where is your power supply mounted, is the heater blowing on it? You don't want to have more than 15amps going to your switchs..


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## Blackwin (Mar 19, 2005)

I would think if the problem was the switch , then you would see heat damage etc. at the switch itself. 

The strobe packs themselves produce heat and having hot air blowing on them is probably causing them to heat to a point that a thermal overload device is causing them to shut off. :yow!:

Checked the product sheet for a typlical whelen 90 wat power supply, showed 9 amp input draw.


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## Frozen001 (Oct 20, 2004)

This is not a switch issue like Blackwin stated. The power pack is overheating causing it to shutdown. You have to move the power pack to a better location away from the heater air. Also this may be a sign something is wrong.. check with Whalen, they might be able to help you isolate the problem... could be something simple like a faulty wire.


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## JRKRACE (Feb 5, 2004)

I can bet it's the power pack also....But first, how is the pack wired? The main power leads should go directly to the battery( with a fuse at the battery, of course). The switch should be connected to the control wires on the pack, and these have very little draw. The packs have a regulated power supply which has to see a certain amount of current or voltage for it to work. Also.It helps if the pack is mounted on a metal surface to dissapate the heat..Just my .02


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## harley hauler (Nov 20, 2003)

Everything is wired as spec'd by whelen the power supply is mounted under my ext.cab seat and the drivers side no heat registers in the back anyone have any other ideas??


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## Bad Luck (Sep 30, 2004)

harley hauler said:


> Everything is wired as spec'd by whelen the power supply is mounted under my ext.cab seat and the drivers side no heat registers in the back anyone have any other ideas??


It can be a number of things. I think if it was a problem with your switch, the thing would burn up and you would not be able to turn the lights back on again....unless you have a regulated switch of some kind. We had these in some of our wreckers and sometimes with all the lights on and the heat on the resistors would heat up and momentarily turn the lights off until they cooled down.

My reccomendation would be to move the switch first. See what happens. If nothing then I would move the power pack. Also make sure your using a relay to power these things. Too much juice to the switch could do some serious damage.


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## RYDER (Sep 19, 2005)

It sounds like you need a bigger bat. or you need to add another bat to your truck.


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## flykelley (Dec 29, 2003)

harley hauler said:


> Everything is wired as spec'd by whelen the power supply is mounted under my ext.cab seat and the drivers side no heat registers in the back anyone have any other ideas??


Did you run the ground wire to the main feed all the way back to the battery? If not you need to do this per Whelen Tech support.

Regards Mike


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## Blackwin (Mar 19, 2005)

I still think it is a heat issue, not power or ground.

The switch could have a thermal overload built into it also. Has to be a fairly good switch though to have one.

Could be a problem with the power pack. 

Would be nice if you had a another power-pack available too swap and see if the problem continues.
I would think that the power pack would have an operational temperature range that wouldn't be set off with a truck heater.


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## bigjoe871 (Feb 2, 2005)

*Sho-Me*

I don't have whelen, but my Sho-Me pack was doing the same thing since new last year. I moved it to the rear of the cab as far back as possible and have not had trouble since.


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## Frozen001 (Oct 20, 2004)

I would move to power pack to someplace else where there is more air flow. This sounds like a heat problem, and the only way to solve it is more air flow, or put a fan on the powerpack...


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