nf6x
Feral Engineer
- 1,630
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- 48
- Location
- Riverside, CA, USA
One of my recently-acquired M1009 CUCVs (and my favorite, and the one I'm most likely to keep) was an Army military police truck. A plain red light behind the grille and a 24V mechanical siren under the front end are still present, but the wires were cut in the engine compartment, and the controls were removed. It looks like a flasher relay might have been lashed in place on a metal clip that I found added in the engine compartment at the end of the light's wire.
The siren and light look like they were both locally-installed, not according to any standard kit or established method. Still, I'm hoping that somebody with some prior experience with Army MP trucks (particularly CUCVs) might give me some pointers about how the controls were most likely installed.
I didn't find any obvious place in the cab where the controls were clearly mounted, nor did I find where they made the firewall penetration for the wiring. Scratched paint suggests that the controls might have been attached to a 1/4" bolt that I found on the bottom of the dash, just right of the steering column. I think that bolt is also present in my other CUCVs.
Before I continue with my specific dumb questions, I'm aware that I will need to cover any police markings and emergency lights, and disable any sirens, before taking the truck on the road. I'd like to do something that can be easily removed for display, and replaced for driving. Covering the light might be tricky, since it looks like it'll take a bit of work to get the grille off to get at it. I'd probably cover any body markings with magnetic sheets painted 383 green. I could disable the siren by removing a fuse or something.
So, how were the controls for the siren and light most likely done? Would there be some off-the-shelf control box, or just some switches stuck on a locally fabricated bracket?
I assume that the light had an on-off switch and a flasher relay. Would the mechanical siren have had a plain toggle switch, or a momentary switch or button? Would it have something like a flasher relay to make the pitch rise and fall, or would the driver just flip it on and off manually?
Did MP trucks always just use red lights, or would they sometimes have blue lights like civilian police cars?
Thanks for bearing with my latest batch of dumb questions!
The siren and light look like they were both locally-installed, not according to any standard kit or established method. Still, I'm hoping that somebody with some prior experience with Army MP trucks (particularly CUCVs) might give me some pointers about how the controls were most likely installed.
I didn't find any obvious place in the cab where the controls were clearly mounted, nor did I find where they made the firewall penetration for the wiring. Scratched paint suggests that the controls might have been attached to a 1/4" bolt that I found on the bottom of the dash, just right of the steering column. I think that bolt is also present in my other CUCVs.
Before I continue with my specific dumb questions, I'm aware that I will need to cover any police markings and emergency lights, and disable any sirens, before taking the truck on the road. I'd like to do something that can be easily removed for display, and replaced for driving. Covering the light might be tricky, since it looks like it'll take a bit of work to get the grille off to get at it. I'd probably cover any body markings with magnetic sheets painted 383 green. I could disable the siren by removing a fuse or something.
So, how were the controls for the siren and light most likely done? Would there be some off-the-shelf control box, or just some switches stuck on a locally fabricated bracket?
I assume that the light had an on-off switch and a flasher relay. Would the mechanical siren have had a plain toggle switch, or a momentary switch or button? Would it have something like a flasher relay to make the pitch rise and fall, or would the driver just flip it on and off manually?
Did MP trucks always just use red lights, or would they sometimes have blue lights like civilian police cars?
Thanks for bearing with my latest batch of dumb questions!
. It is mounted under the front of the truck between the frame rails.Under a truck is a very tough on a siren. The only problem I have ever had with a had with one mounted under the hood is that they tend to be really loud in the cab. Th siren will have a lot of draw so as stated above you will need a relay. Momentary switches are good and you make the sound go up and down on your own. For the front lights look to see if they left a flasher for you. Some lights have built in flashers but that is rare. Normal toggle switch to activate the flasher for the lights is fine. If you are that worried about disabling them you could do like you said with a fuse or you could use a key switch. I have an electronic siren mounted and wired in my truck. Which I have hooked up to the horn button for hands free use. I use the electronic air horn from the siren. You shouldn't have to disconnect anything as long as you don't use them. The lights should be hidden enough to not cause any problems. But check with local PD. Personally I wouldn't worry about it and just not use it unless you are at a rally or in a parade or something like that. Just ask if you need any wiring help, I do alot of it for our fire company and some fo the other departments I have worked for.
