Young Ed Posted April 16, 2010 Report Posted April 16, 2010 Late last fall I scored a functional 6v police siren. I'd like to install it in my truck. I've got a hole in my dash that I think a p15 starter button with install right into. What else will I need? Anyone know what gauge wire this thing requires? I suspect they draw a lot of amps. Will it require some sorta relay? Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted April 16, 2010 Report Posted April 16, 2010 Dang..I was expecting to see a very exciting woman ... put a amp guage inline...connect it stright up and get an ideal of the current..a relay is always a good idea..heavy guage wire will probably be a given... Quote
faucet47custom Posted April 16, 2010 Report Posted April 16, 2010 Dang..I was expecting to see a very exciting woman ...put a amp guage inline...connect it stright up and get an ideal of the current..a relay is always a good idea..heavy guage wire will probably be a given... that made me chuckle:) Quote
JerseyHarold Posted April 16, 2010 Report Posted April 16, 2010 I used to buy and sell used police cars and all the mechanical sirens used a relay. Many of them also had a 'siren-horn' switch that allowed you to press the horn button to sound the siren. It let you change from grounding the horn relay to grounding the siren relay. Something like that shouldn't be too difficult to wire. Quote
BeBop138 Posted April 16, 2010 Report Posted April 16, 2010 Ed, use at least wire 1/4 inch----and you can use a foot starting button similar as a high-low beam button. I had a 60 Buick ambulance with the same set up. Check with John Dorgan in Az he should have what you need. He is on the web and lives on Stella Road. A relay of some sort could be used also---you still need a heavy guage wire as sirens are just a starter. Quote
Young Ed Posted April 16, 2010 Author Report Posted April 16, 2010 So if its just like a starter could I use a starter relay/solenoid? I probably have some of those laying around. For how often I accidentally hit the high beam switch in my pickup I think I'd rather stick to the dash switch. Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted April 16, 2010 Report Posted April 16, 2010 (edited) Ed, the starter button should work fine. I didn't use a relay or anything, just wired it up to power & button. Works OK. I use a starter button for my oogah horn. Edited April 16, 2010 by BobT-47P15 Quote
LAKOTA169 Posted April 16, 2010 Report Posted April 16, 2010 Ed, the starter button should work fine. I didn't use a relay or anything, just wired it up to power & button. Works OK. I use a starter button for my oogah horn. Bob, could you tell me where each of the wires go on your siren? I have the same one, but it has 2 red and 2 white wires. Don't have the wiring instructions. By using this pic, where do the 2 wires on the right go and the 2 wires on the left? Thanks, Ed Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted April 16, 2010 Report Posted April 16, 2010 I'll have to go out and look to see what I did.......have forgotten the details. Wish I had made myself a diagram when installing it to use when someone asked later.... (Maybe that's why NASA never hired me as a rocket scientist.) Quote
Reg Evans Posted April 16, 2010 Report Posted April 16, 2010 I had one just like Bob's mounted on the railing of my patio boat. It only had 2 wires so I hooked one to ground and the other to a toggle switch on the pos. side.( no relay ) Worked for years. The grand kids loved it. The wife didn't. She didn't like my big truck air horns either. Quote
Young Ed Posted April 16, 2010 Author Report Posted April 16, 2010 The one I have has quite the motor in it. I just heard from john at the sirenman.com and he said it draws 30amps peak. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted April 16, 2010 Report Posted April 16, 2010 in my PM Ed...I would say my guess was fairly spot on...it is good to have the tech data behind a design/drawing...good info to have..if you start exceeding that limit look to bad bushings.. Quote
Young Ed Posted April 16, 2010 Author Report Posted April 16, 2010 Tim what size wire am I looking at for that draw? 10? 8? bigger yet? And yes Tim your PM was right on the mark for amp draw. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted April 16, 2010 Report Posted April 16, 2010 I had seen a few of these in the past..they beefy motors...matter of fact saw a couple at the last swap meet...if I was ever in the mind to do a squad..they are the ticket... 10 guage should safely carry the circuit but if you could snag #8 your voltage drop would be less...this is based on less than 12 feet of wire run.. Quote
Young Ed Posted April 16, 2010 Author Report Posted April 16, 2010 Tim I'll be shopping for this project so I can buys what I wants All I have on hand is 12 and 14. Will be from the grill to the firewall of a 46 dodge pickup. Shouldn't be 12ft in that span. Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted April 16, 2010 Report Posted April 16, 2010 Wellll......I just went out and looked about the siren. My wire isn't very heavy, but not sure what gauge. Probably should be a bit heftier, but it works. There is a kind of flat push button attached to bottom edge under the dash with two wires from it. Both, of course, go thru the firewall..... one attaches to the front stud of the solenoid to receive power. The other goes on up front to one side of the siren (there are two wires on it). The second wire from the siren goes to a small nut and bolt on the framework of the grille, for a ground. No relay is used. There may be a better system, but this works on mine. Hope this helps. Quote
JerseyHarold Posted April 18, 2010 Report Posted April 18, 2010 Ed, I've seen squad cars with Ford-style (actually Mopar-syle ...duh) starter relays to provide current to the siren. If it hasn't been mentioned before, don't forget a fuse or circuit breaker to protect the system. Quote
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