Jackalopee wiring pics,

[rickeieio]

55 minutes ago, phoenix2013 said:

 

I'm thinking about engineering change on the board to separate these a bit..

Hmmmm....  Why not offer the Jackalopee II with terminal strips instead of the tabs?  That way, folks like Phil and I, who wish to reduce the total number of connections, can have it our way, and the folks who wish the ability to add wires later can also.  A slightly larger case would be required.

[VegasFlyer]

1 hour ago, Jack Mayer said:

The purpose of the strips is to tap functions in the future. 

For example, on my drom boxes with LED light strips on top....I tap the separate stop BEFORE the Jackie so the the center of three light srips can function as an individual marker/stop (no turn). You cant do that with the Jackie alone. I've also tapped for various other purposes both on the input and output sides.  Of course, if you don't need these "functions" then just run a Jackie like Phil does. 

While I like the idea of the terminal strips pre and post of the Jackalopee, I believe that if you are not careful you could create another problem for yourself by tapping off of the terminal strips to power additional lights on the truck.

In working with the honorable David Dixon as we are designing a rather complex wiring harness for lighting of the new bed that I am building, it became apparent that there are two distinctive set of light circuits, with one being specifically intended for the truck and one for the trailer, with all being monitored for fault reporting.  

You could wind up with a situation where the fault monitor told you that there was a problem on the trailer running lights, when in fact it was on your truck dorm box, or whatever you powered from tapping at the pre-jackalopee terminal strip.

[phoenix2013]

1 hour ago, rickeieio said:

Hmmmm....  Why not offer the Jackalopee II with terminal strips instead of the tabs?  That way, folks like Phil and I, who wish to reduce the total number of connections, can have it our way, and the folks who wish the ability to add wires later can also.  A slightly larger case would be required.

Interesting thought, I went onto a search appropriately the the Phoenix connector site, then to others. Lots of connectors and terminal strips but tough to find something that accepts the wires vertically and cinches these vertically and for reliability you want to cinch them. The push in stuff into spring loaded jaws is not good for an application that will bounce around from the minute it's installed and used.

[rickeieio]

I am looking into the future...........a Jackalopee of modular design where the case is about double the current size, and the circuit board acts as the "mother" to whatever strips are installed on either side.  Multiple access ports on sides and bottom.

[Jack Mayer]

2 hours ago, VegasFlyer said:

You could wind up with a situation where the fault monitor told you that there was a problem on the trailer running lights, when in fact it was on your truck dorm box, or whatever you powered from tapping at the pre-jackalopee terminal strip.

No doubt that is true, at some point. But I've tapped a fair amount off the input side without an issue. Of course I use LEDs. But for sure it is something to be aware of. If you are going to go crazy with lights then I'd recommend that you use those junction strips as a signal wire, and use a relay.

[VegasFlyer]

15 minutes ago, Jack Mayer said:

No doubt that is true, at some point. But I've tapped a fair amount off the input side without an issue. Of course I use LEDs. But for sure it is something to be aware of. If you are going to go crazy with lights then I'd recommend that you use those junction strips as a signal wire, and use a relay.

The use of a relay would definitely be a possible solution, it is one of the options that Volvo lists.

If anyone wants specific information, there is great coverage about the Light Control Module (LCM), in the Volvo Body Builder Manual.

Another solution would be to run a separate feed of truck lighting, to a terminal strip located in the Jackalopee Bay, referred to as a Den or Nest depending on how sloppy your wiring job is....

Edited May 20, 2017 by VegasFlyer

[mike5511]

I trucked for over 30 years. My philosophy on lights has always been no more that what are required. It is sometimes a chore just to keep those working if you swap trailers a lot. I must say though, some of y'alls OCD tendencies will rival my own!😄 Some very nice installs shown on here! 

[rickeieio]

Welcome!

I'm not a fan of adding lights either, but we did install 4- 12" led strips to the back of the camper.  These are run/brake/turn. Original lights were minimal, and in a heavy rain, I felt they were inadequate.  We put the strips one and two feet above the original incandescents.  This gets them above the "fog" on the highway when it's pouring rain.  We may add two more, up near the top corners.

[vacationer]

Wow no iam really confused lol. I have a jackaloppe coming this week and direct link brake controller.

Hope the instructions are for a simple man or iam in trouble lol

[rickeieio]

1 hour ago, vacationer said:

Wow no iam really confused lol. I have a jackaloppe coming this week and direct link brake controller.

Hope the instructions are for a simple man or iam in trouble lol

When we wired our first truck (back in 2010), my wife looked at the Jackalopee instructions and said, "Heck, I could do this."

Fast forward to 2021, and we're doing the bed build on our current truck.  Jackalopee arrives and I never got a chance to play with it before DW had it done. The instructions are very well done.

[phoenix2013]

This is everything (minus truck and trailer 😁)

And inside

Such "perfection" is possible by following the manual, although I have seen this from those who didn't follow the manual.

[GeorgiaHybrid]

One other minor issue. There are some trucks that will back feed from the trailer batteries to the truck when you try to shut the truck off. The end result is you standing there looking at the truck keys in your hand with the engine still running. The addition of a power diode between the 12v output and the wiring to the trailer will solve that problem. I just tucked mine inside the Jackalopee case to keep everything neat and tidy.

 

[rickeieio]

Our Jackalopee box is getting a bit "busy".  I'll likely mount a similar box nearby in which to mount a couple buss bars.  Worst issue, at the moment, is too many ground wires, and multiple wires for different bed light circuits.

[mike5511]

If memory serves me correctly, the DirecLink will plug right up to the Prodigy wiring harness.

[jenandjon]

21 hours ago, vacationer said:

Wow no iam really confused lol. I have a jackaloppe coming this week and direct link brake controller.

Hope the instructions are for a simple man or iam in trouble lol

Its petty simple. That customer service guy is really good if you have trouble. 

[vacationer]

Thank you so much

[phoenix2013]

On 2/28/2023 at 5:02 PM, GeorgiaHybrid said:

One other minor issue. There are some trucks that will back feed from the trailer batteries to the truck when you try to shut the truck off. The end result is you standing there looking at the truck keys in your hand with the engine still running. The addition of a power diode between the 12v output and the wiring to the trailer will solve that problem. I just tucked mine inside the Jackalopee case to keep everything neat and tidy.

 

It was fun re-reading this almost six years old thread. What GeorgiaHybrid described was a subject of discussion with several Jackalopee installers standing in the parking lot with the keys in their hand and the truck running. The question was, "WHAT DO I DO?"! My answer was. "Unplug the trailer, the truck will stop". I got tired of these frantic calls, so with the installation manual you get a quick start page before you dive into the 16 pages of the manual. Guess what the third item is on that page?

You could do it on old trucks, I mean two decades ago, before ECUs. Now UCUs look at everything including the 12V auxiliary circuit which goes live with the key. The ECU has to make a decision when to starve the fuel flow to stop the engine running, it looks at that circuit. When the circuit goes dead that's the message, "he turned the key off, starve the engine". If you use it to charge the batteries in the trailer, the ECU is looking at the trailer batteries, "I still see +12V, he didn't turn it off, keep that sucker running". You disconnect the trailer batteries and the ECU says, "I think he wants me to stop the engine".

[jenandjon]

I posted this before but couldn't find it. Might have been on one of the Facebook pages.

Mine is plug and play however the placement was probably not a good choice. I have plenty of cord so I will be moving it into a box as some point. 

Been here for 5 years. A couple oil leaks (now fixed), and a few gravel roads make sure it stays good and grimy under there. 

 

[phoenix2013]

1 hour ago, jenandjon said:

I posted this before but couldn't find it. Might have been on one of the Facebook pages.

Mine is plug and play however the placement was probably not a good choice. I have plenty of cord so I will be moving it into a box as some point. 

Been here for 5 years. A couple oil leaks (now fixed), and a few gravel roads make sure it stays good and grimy under there. 

 

 

I love this picture, Jackalopee working in "challenging environment". I'm assuming it has been working throughout this five years period. I don't want to misquote you or the truth?

So that plan is to treat it like a homeless vagrant, get it off the street, clean it up and place it in the shelter. 😘

[jenandjon]

16 hours ago, phoenix2013 said:

I love this picture, Jackalopee working in "challenging environment". I'm assuming it has been working throughout this five years period. I don't want to misquote you or the truth?

So that plan is to treat it like a homeless vagrant, get it off the street, clean it up and place it in the shelter. 😘

I have had zero problems with it. Yes, that is the plan but, I have this nagging voice in my head saying if it isn't broke don't fix it. 

[phoenix2013]

2 hours ago, jenandjon said:

I have had zero problems with it. Yes, that is the plan but, I have this nagging voice in my head saying if it isn't broke don't fix it. 

Clean the glass cover and take peak inside. Look for sign of moisture inside. The PCB is epoxy coated, the relays are  sealed, but the tabs are soldered on, so these can be affected and corrode with moisture or water. If you don't see anything like that leave it alone. Big5er's Jackalopee was mounted way low on the frame by the ET hitch. When we looked at it it was half full of water AND STILL WORKING. He got a new one, free and moved it. Free, was a combat pay for performing in extreme conditions.

[jenandjon]

22 hours ago, phoenix2013 said:

Clean the glass cover and take peak inside. Look for sign of moisture inside. The PCB is epoxy coated, the relays are  sealed, but the tabs are soldered on, so these can be affected and corrode with moisture or water. If you don't see anything like that leave it alone. Big5er's Jackalopee was mounted way low on the frame by the ET hitch. When we looked at it it was half full of water AND STILL WORKING. He got a new one, free and moved it. Free, was a combat pay for performing in extreme conditions.

Ok I will try to get that done in the next couple days.