rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[rattle_snake]

My neighbor with an offroad lighting addiction went to the local Rigid parking lot sale. Found a few deals too good to pass up and grabbed some extra items for others including me. I Plan to install the D's behind the grill on my '72. The LED headlight are cheap junk, but still better than original, so some extra lighting is useful. Probably use the bar on the old truck as well, going through some options.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

My neighbor with an offroad lighting addiction went to the local Rigid parking lot sale. Found a few deals too good to pass up and grabbed some extra items for others including me. I Plan to install the D's behind the grill on my '72. The LED headlight are cheap junk, but still better than original, so some extra lighting is useful. Probably use the bar on the old truck as well, going through some options.

It's funny, I've had a 20" Rigid bar sitting on my shelf for probably 7 years. I have bunch of Chinese knock off Rigid lights I'm about to pull off a UTV I bought, so those will probably sit on my shelf for decades. I decided they're all going to be installed on trailers, but that's so far down the priority list that it will likely never happen.......

 

[ntsqd]

I guess that I didn't know that Rigid is in AZ. A friend who uses some BD Sport Pro's as landing lights got me started on them.

 

[rattle_snake]

Ya Rigid Industries is in Gilbert AZ (or Zil ber in French) My friend's machine shop was across the street from them. I struggle to pay premium for a product that isn't a basic 'need' for me. But at this discount, it sure is nice to work with a top quality product.

 

[zmotorsports]

For example, I kept these coil over 'shocks' from kid's quad. They don't actually function, don't move at all, yet have fake piggyback reservoirs. I replaced them with actual functioning shocks, but kept the imposters. I had wanted to use them on my GMG pellet smoker big tire chassis mods, but couldn't find them in the piles of junk. They magically popped up when I was downsizing my stash.


Knocked out the lower bushing to fit over axle and made some simple upper mounts to work with existing fasteners.


The coilovers did nothing for performance but go with the absurd theme well enough. Springs are even the right color. Glad I kept these...

Nice job Justin. Yes, goes with the theme well. You can just tell people that you don't like your meat "jiggling" while you are moving the smoker.

 

[PugetDude]

Nice job Justin. Yes, goes with the theme well. You can just tell people that you don't like your meat "jiggling" while you are moving the smoker.

That's shocking, Mike.

 

[calandrod]

I guess even robots like your thread.

 

[PugetDude]

I guess even robots like your thread.

Keyword search for nitrous.

 

[Monza Harry]

Justin while I'm not a fan of those "Blue Oval" things or their owners working on prestigious bow tie clad vehicles [LOL] I'm aware that the plastic parts used by all current makes aren't good for anyone except the builders of said products.
And as for lighting spend the money on these: https://www.google.com/search?q=Cib...msung-ss&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#ip=1
I am a fan, I spent more than a weeks pay when I was younger on the set for my Monza. Cibié or Lucas 1 you can see and the other invented darkness! [A little British Car humor!] Daniel Stern Lighting used to sell them but, I don't see them on his site anymore. They are on line from other sellers. Harry

 

[ntsqd]

It was a bitter pill, but the best halogen light can't compete with either an HID or an LED if either's supporting hardware is equally well developed.
That said, I still run H4 headlights. Mostly for their cold weather performance, but also because a 55/100W H4 bulb is enough light for normal pavement operation.

 

[PugetDude]

"if it wasn't for Lucas, the British might have ruled the automotive world."

 

[ntsqd]

Only the British could design a Mechanical Pencil with 47 moving parts that leaks oil.
-- me
[EDIT: I should qualify that statement by mentioning that I've spent more than a fair amount of time working things like Elva MkVIIs', Morgan +4's, and Cooper Sports Racers.)

Lucas is actually a very capable mfg firm. The problem is that they will build to the buyer's price-point. If you're Triumph and will only pay £10 per tail light you're going to get a tail light only worth £10, but if you're Rolls-Royce and are willing to pay whatever it takes to get tail lights worthy of going on a Rolls-Royce, then that is what you'll get but at something quite a lot more than £10.

 

[Monza Harry]

@ ntsqd I'm not a LED headlight fan. For tail, stop, and clearance they rule (best I'veseenso far), but I find they do not project well, and are blinding to oncoming traffic! Halogen for my win! Harry

 

[rattle_snake]

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I made no plans to accomplish anything over the long weekend, but did get a bit of time to tinker.

Still puttering on storage of 'stuff' I seem to need in my 72 Ford. Existing fire extinguisher was too big to fit anywhere in the cab. A friend had upgraded his gear so I bought his old stuff. Both are no-mess type.

Element | E100

Our industrial-sized model. Offering 100 seconds of fire fighting protection, E100 is recommended for industrial use. Element extinguishers are suitable for use on small fires and for protecting supplementary risks. Internationally tested and certified. FEATURES 100 SECOND DISCHARGEAlmost 10x...

elementfire.com

HalGuard Clean Agent Car Fire Extinguisher - 1.4 lb.

While dry chemical fire extinguishers leave behind a powdery residue that is hard to clean and can damage electronics, this HalGuard™ 1.4 lb. Car Fire Extinguisher uses a clear extinguishing agent that does not interfere with vision and will not leave a residue after use. It's also fully...

www.h3rperformance.com

The element it very small, good fit for mounting in the cab. The mount bracket needed fasteners no larger than #8, luckily I had recently purchased smaller riv-nut tool that would support. Perhaps I have a riv-nut fetish, don't like sharp screws sticking out.


Panels are easy to remove and work with. Spaced off back wall to allow riv-nuts and such.


Tucked in with tool roll behind seat. Easy to see and grab.


While the element is handy and small, it's discharge is not controllable. Once started, it goes until it's done. I wanted another that is, so mounted the H3R in the bed, accessible from the ground. Hope not to need either on my stuff or others.

 

[rattle_snake]

1st step on lighting project was to swap the transmission manual shift buttons out of ashtray for lighting. I couldn't decide where the best place was when trans was first installed. Now that I have some time on it, I have found I rarely use the manual buttons, and placement isn't that critical. Decided to use right side of steering column trim, with some smaller 12 mm switches. Blends in fairly well. The piece is cast alloy of some type.


I was able to stuff a 4 pin weatherpack connector inside to hide, as the switch leads are short.


Waiting on wiring parts and materials to continue.

 

[ntsqd]

@ ntsqd I'm not a LED headlight fan. For tail, stop, and clearance they rule (best I'veseenso far), but I find they do not project well, and are blinding to oncoming traffic! Halogen for my win! Harry

Didn't used to care for LED lights myself. The first set of Baja Designs Squadron Pros (Combo lens) changed my opinion. They do project well, the light does not feel 'hollow' like my earlier exposures to LEDs, and when they are aimed correctly I get no on-coming complaints. Early LED lights were treated like they were halogen light sources and those early reflectors did a very poor job of putting the light where it was needed. I suspect that this is the root cause of most bias' against LED lighting. Stern once had a 'white paper' on his page condemning them, but he has a vested interest in halogens, so consider the source.
Anyone who has driven a 2nd gen CTD knows how dismal those headlights are. With the SquadPro's lit, the HL's don't matter, can't see their light anyway. LED's do have a problem in not generating much heat. Turns out that this can be a real frost/snow/slush problem because they don't make enough heat to clear themselves. So H4 halogen headlights will be a feature of my vehicles until this issue is sorted out.

 

[rattle_snake]

.. can be a real frost/snow/slush problem....

Glad I don't have to deal with that

 

[ntsqd]

I don't normally either, but I do tend to go places where it can be a problem. A couple of other forum posters in Canada have commented that they've switched back to halogens because of this.

 

[PugetDude]

Turns out that this can be a real frost/snow/slush problem because they don't make enough heat to clear themselves.

Glad I don't have to deal with that

Just sayin'....

 

[rattle_snake]

Was a nice ride on motorcycle to work today

 

[rattle_snake]

Contemplated lighting wiring options and finalized a schematic for the system. Going to remove the existing rock light wiring and relay box, and integrate into the new combined lighting fuse/relay block. I wasn't quite happy with how that install came out, not scalable or integrated into anything.
New fuse/relay had 6 sockets, need 3 for lighting, leaves 3 for future expansion. 2 could be used for H/L headlights, but with LEDs current is low enough to not really matter. Going to use a single 6 conductor 18 ga cable from cab switches to control under hood relay box. One wire will be used to run power back to rock light wiring where old relay box was. Will clean things up behind instrument panel and support expansion.

 

[ntsqd]

Given your education/occupation I'm curious, will they switch high, or switch low?

 

[rattle_snake]

No sure I understand your question. High low as in headlight beam, or high/low as in switching side of power supply?

 

[ntsqd]

Power or ground switching for relays.

 

[rattle_snake]

Plan is to switch 12v side of relays. Fuse per relay. Electrons through LEDs first.
Coil grounded at relay, 12v to control switches as they are illuminated (3 pin).

 

[Ohmthis]

Justin, what do you use to draw your schematics? I have been wanting to learn to draw with a program, but I’m not paying for an expensive program I will only use sparingly. Do you have any knowledge of an inexpensive or free program that is decent to good? 12v auto wiring will be what I’d most likely use. I’m excited to see what you come up with on your project. Thanks!

 

[rattle_snake]

I use Altium at work and engineering paper at home. Done with screen time when I get home. I've used Eagle (no longer free) and some other free versions over the years. I don't really have recent free version to recommend.

It also depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If there is a lot of repetition then CAD makes sense. If simple and changing a piece of paper is quicker, and more likely to be edited/updated as you go. In the end I update the drawings/schematic and write 'as-built' with a date so I know what was actually done.

My flow is like this
-scribble nonsense in random places to get an idea of what I'm trying to accomplish.
-make a schematic (functional), revise as needed.
-make a physical representation. schematic-ish, but with wire color/gauge, pinouts, connector locations, high level routing. Complete recipe to build.
-see what needs to be procured.
-build and back annotate as needed.

 

[Ohmthis]

I use Altium at work and engineering paper at home. Done with screen time when I get home. I've used Eagle (no longer free) and some other free versions over the years. I don't really have recent free version to recommend.

It also depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If there is a lot of repetition then CAD makes sense. If simple and changing a piece of paper is quicker, and more likely to be edited/updated as you go. In the end I update the drawings/schematic and write 'as-built' with a date so I know what was actually done.

My flow is like this
-scribble nonsense in random places to get an idea of what I'm trying to accomplish.
-make a schematic (functional), revise as needed.
-make a physical representation. schematic-ish, but with wire color/gauge, pinouts, connector locations, high level routing. Complete recipe to build.
-see what needs to be procured.
-build and back annotate as needed.

Thanks for the quick reply. Editing and or updating is really my main objective. I’d love wire color and pin out, but not required. I usually hand draw everything, but if I want to change it, then I may have to draw a completely new schematic. I’ll do more research and see if there is anything els. Thanks again!

 

[rattle_snake]

For larger more complicated systems that require longer development and more changes CAD is the way.

 

[rattle_snake]

Flashlight mount, quickfist, riv nut in floor pan. I got the Rigid flashlight as a gift, it's a nice piece.


Decided to mount 2nd fuse/relay box next to battery. Made a bracket to sandwich on.


This common relay box does not have the same bolt locations in the X or Z plane, making it kind of odd. The mounting points are not that robust either, so I wouldn't use for mission critical systems.


Started wiring box. I have been switching over to silicon jacket wire, so now waiting on some more colors of the same.


The box came with fuse and relays. Given the total price they must be china's finest, so canned them and used Buss fuses and Bosch relays.

And that one odd 4 pin relay. Aghhh. I assume this was specific to some application and is now sold as a generic piece. The other style I used is much better but this has a handy side mount...

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Went and checked out the Quickfist lineup...may have to put an order in, those look handy.

 

[XJSuperman]

You don't have any Quickfists Marc? They're slick. I've got a whole bunch on the jeep, and the yota will get some as well

 

[OutlawDrifter]

You don't have any Quickfists Marc? They're slick. I've got a whole bunch on the jeep, and the yota will get some as well

Nope that's a new product to me, they aren't super spendy either. No reason not to have them!

 

[PhantomEB]

Love the application of where your fire extinguisher and flashlight are. Sure intend to copy.

 

[ntsqd]

I used that fuse/relay block on a previous project, but MISF turned me onto one that is similar that uses all sugar cubes. It does not mount the same, but that's a minor issue.

Amazon Link

The extinguisher in the Wagoneer is held in by a Quickfist. I'm not convinced that it is the best option for that particular use, but for now it works.

 

[Monza Harry]

Flashlight mount, quickfist, riv nut in floor pan. I got the Rigid flashlight as a gift, it's a nice piece.

...
Started wiring box. I have been switching over to silicon jacket wire, so now waiting on some more colors of the same.

...

Justin you SOB! I just know that highlighted line is going to liberate my life savings [all 7 cents of it] and then some from my tightly sealed wallet! Now will you Please expound on this must be expensive conductive miracle? "Must include links" this is a rule I just know it is written somewhere, I am sure. LOL!!! Oh Hey Justin, nice job on the placement and execution of those must haves in your truck! Harry

 

[WoodsTruck]

Nice job on the flashlight mount. I did something similar on my '88 F250 but hung it down from the seat frame so it slid with the seat. I also made a bracket under my right leg for the CB to mount on as the plastic dash didn't offer many clean options.

 

[ntsqd]

Solo Motorsports makes a fire extinguisher mount for the 90's Broncos that uses the two outer seat mount bolts. I leveraged one of those to also hold the Steamlight rechargeable.

 

[Ohmthis]

For larger more complicated systems that require longer development and more changes CAD is the way.

 

[Ohmthis]

I used that fuse/relay block on a previous project, but MISF turned me onto one that is similar that uses all sugar cubes. It does not mount the same, but that's a minor issue.

Amazon Link

The extinguisher in the Wagoneer is held in by a Quickfist. I'm not convinced that it is the best option for that particular use, but for now it works.

I agree fully on the product that you liked too. I’ve used that same setup on two side by sides and they worked flawlessly!