Help: 3 way switch to Aux

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raptorwarrior

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Hi guys,

I dropped my truck off at my shop to install a chase rack. The chase rack has an actuator bar that raises/lowers the lights.

The switch that came with the actuator is a 3 way switch. My installer is saying that they cannot wire it into the Aux switches because they are 2 way.

Does anyone have any idea on how the wiring for the actuator could be changed so I don't have to drill a hole for a new switch?

Thanks!
 

smurfslayer

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is it a wrong switch or what?

is it something like off / raise bar / light lights?
surely, you don’t mean there are 2 switches for a 3 way circuit?
Note: I did not call you Shirley.

link or pictures?
 

zombiekiller

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Hi guys,

I dropped my truck off at my shop to install a chase rack. The chase rack has an actuator bar that raises/lowers the lights.

The switch that came with the actuator is a 3 way switch. My installer is saying that they cannot wire it into the Aux switches because they are 2 way.

Does anyone have any idea on how the wiring for the actuator could be changed so I don't have to drill a hole for a new switch?

Thanks!

why is it 3 way? What does the third position do?

I'd figure that 2 way would be sufficient. Pos 1: Off , Pos 2: bar raised, lights on. Hell, If you REALLY want to split the Raise/lower and lights on/off, split the function into 2 switches.

Does your installer have a firm grasp on wiring accessories?

with a SPDT relay and some diodes, it is also not particularly difficult to wire in two seperate power sources/functions if necessary.
 

Gatica

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my guess the switch is similar to the shelby raptor.... its more of a hold up to raise and hold down to lower.. so u can stop the bar at different positions..
 

OriginalToken

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I wanted to do the same thing, I have a power lifting light bar, and I wanted to be able to control it with the built in upfitter switches. In my case I am using the bar to lift and lay down antennas, not lights. The goal is that with the antennas layed down the tallest part of the truck is still the stock AM/FM radio antenna. Hey, when you crawl the mall sometimes you have to park in a parking garage, or I might need to super size a meal, or grab a nitro cold brew decaf double latte mocha triple shot at a drive through....or something.

Antennas up:
167595695.WRpJTwB3.Truck_light_bar_up.jpg

Antennas down:
167595701.VQ6IDNdE.Truck_light_bar_down.jpg

In my case, the linear actuator for the power light bar has two inputs, a + and a -. The wires are red and black, but that does not matter. To drive the bar up you must provide + 12 VDC to the + input (red wire in my case) and chassis ground to the - input (black wire in my case). To drive it down you reverse that, and provide chassis ground to the + input and +12 VDC to the - input.

The upfitter switches provide + 12 VDC. But there is no way, without some kind of interface circuit, to turn that into controllable + and - inputs. Fortunately, that is a simple circuit, using relay/s, as has already been mentioned.

This simple circuit can be set up using a single DPDT (Double Pole, Double Throw) relay, or using a pair of SPDT (Single Pole, Double Throw) relays. I chose to do it with a pair of SPDT relays.

I chose the SPDT route because the relays are easy to find and very inexpensive, even for good brand named ones, and also I found a nice multi relay box that looked very at home under the hood.

Not this exact one, but like this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076HJ4VN2/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

This is what it looks like installed under the hood. Driver side fender, behind the air box.
167595674.hl3vabYz.Truck_light_bar_relays_box01.jpg

And here it is with the two relays installed, room left to drive a few other accessories with relays here.
167595675.ac033hug.Truck_light_bar_relays_box02.jpg

Below is the circuit I used. AUX 1 and AUX 2 are two of the upfitter switches. You use one switch at a time, one of them drives up, the other drives down. To drive the bar up I turn on AUX 1 switch. To drive the bar down I turn on AUX 2 switch. You turn off either switch after the bar gets to the position you want it to be in. You can stop the bar anyplace between full up and full down by just turning off the switch you have selected. It takes under 10 seconds to go from all the way up or down to the other extreme.

The design is fail safe, accidentally turning on both switches will do no damage, in this case it will drive the bar to the up position. If one or both of the relays fails you can still drive the bar down using AUX 2.

167595676.mFZpVMbf.Truck_light_bar_relays.jpg

You could do it with a single relay, a DPDT. As I said before, I chose to do it via two relays instead, but that was personal preference. It could be argued the single relay approach would be the more reliable as there is only one relay to fail.

Below is a schematic for a single relay:
167595677.MIaSJD9c.Truck_light_bar_one_relay.jpg

T!
 
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grumble

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I don't need the chase rack but dang I'd love to be able to roll my antennas back - are those for GMRS/FRS? That one looks like a comet ca-2x4sr for uhf/vhf/mars. If it's ham bands, well 73 de N5GER.
 

OriginalToken

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I don't need the chase rack but dang I'd love to be able to roll my antennas back - are those for GMRS/FRS? That one looks like a comet ca-2x4sr for uhf/vhf/mars. If it's ham bands, well 73 de N5GER.

The left antenna is a Diamond NR770 dual band 2m/70cm, the center antenna is a Diamond M685 6m, the right antenna is, as you have IDed, a Comet CA-2x4SR. I use the Comet as a scanner antenna (Uniden BCD536HP with GPS).

Not installed yet at the time of those pictures is a Tarheel 75A for HF. The Tarheel is not on the light bar, but on a separate mount. I wanted to use one of the other Tarheels, like the 200 or 300, but with those antennas the coil was just too long for how I wanted to mount it all up.

The radio used in this particular case, still not sure this is going to be the final solution though, is a Kenwood TS-2000 with an RC-2000 remote head. The TS2k is under the back seat and the remote head is in the sunglass holder of the overhead. The antenna drive control is mounted in the slideaway box at the front of the shift console. The Uniden scanner is mounted inside the center console, as is the microphone for the TS2k.

What this all means is that inside the truck you do not see any radio gear until you open the areas the gear is mounted in. This is not for "stealth", as the antennas are very obvious on the outside, rather this is just that I don't want to see it unless I want to turn it on.

So it all gives me 80 to 6 meters (the Tarheel 75A does not do 160), 2 meters, and 70 cm, all mode for all those bands. I also have a Kenwood TS2000x with 1.2 GHz (in another vehicle right now, can be shifted to this easily) that I can put in there if I decide I need 1.2 GHz in the truck. I have a pair of 6m and 2m horizontal loops behind the back seat that can be mounted in minutes if I want them. I have a segmented mast strapped to the Builtright side rack system, and some rolled up fan dipoles if I feel the need to throw up better antennas when I am out and about. And the Uniden scanner with GPS gives me location based scanning, so the radio will automatically load and activate new, local, frequencies as I travel.

73

T!
 
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grumble

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Outstanding - Saving this for future project(s) lol.

I like the idea of location based scanning to find activity. Intrested in how you're interfacing with the radio to update your memories as you go.

I running a Yaesu FTM-400XDR in the Raptor for now, but I'm finding I like D-Star digital better than System Fusion. In a pinch, when driving through unknown territory, I can fire up a raspberry pi-based hotspot and talk digital to familiar TG's anywhere I have cellular service.

It's all (wallet-sucking) fun!


The left antenna is a Diamond NR770 dual band 2m/70cm, the center antenna is a Diamond M685 6m, the right antenna is, as you have IDed, a Comet CA-2x4SR. I use the Comet as a scanner antenna (Uniden BCD536HP with GPS).

Not installed yet at the time of those pictures is a Tarheel 75A for HF. The Tarheel is not on the light bar, but on a separate mount. I would have like to use one of the other Tarheels, like the 200 or 300, but with those antennas the coil was just too long for how I wanted to mount it all up.

The radio used in this particular case, still not sure this is going to be the final solution though, is a Kenwood TS-2000 with an RC-2000 remote head. The TS2k is under the back seat and the remote head is in the sunglass holder of the overhead. The antenna drive control is mounted in the slideaway box at the front of the shift console. The Uniden scanner is mounted inside the center console, as is the microphone for the TS2k.

What this all means is that inside the truck you do not see any radio gear until you open the areas the gear is mounted in. This is not for "stealth", as the antennas are very obvious on the outside, rather this is just that I don't want to see it unless I want to turn it on.

So it all gives me 80 to 6 meters (the Tarheel 75A does not do 160), 2 meters, and 70 cm, all mode for all those bands. I also have a Kenwood TS2000x with 1.2 GHz (in another vehicle right now, can be shifted to this easily) that I can put in there if I decide I need 1.2 GHz in the truck. I have a pair of 6m and 2m horizontal loops behind the back seat that can be mounted in minutes if I want them. I have a segmented mast strapped to the Builtright side rack system, and some rolled up fan dipoles if I feel the need to throw up better antennas when I am out and about. And the Uniden scanner with GPS gives me location based scanning, so the radio will automatically load and activate new, local, frequencies as I travel.

73

T!
 

johndjmix

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There is a WAYYY easy way to do this. Simply use limit switches (Most likely built into your actuators) and a dual relay to reverse polarity.

This is how the electronics for our Motorized VHF antenna mount work....

This way, when you turn power on it goes up...power off it goes down. If you need help give us a call here, and ask for James, he will explain how to do it. 720-443-3231

--John
 
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