homemade high idle installed

[mongoose]

I started thinking about the high idle deal last night. This afternoon i went out to the shop and started digging through some old carbs. Found an old "GM" quadrajet at the bottom of the pile. pulled the "high idle" selonoid from it. Hooked up 12v to it and it seemed pretty stout. Started looking for a way to mount it. used a small piece of alum angle, a couple of holes, and some grinding later had it mounted. Now, i had installed a few switches in the overhead console but did not know for sure what i was going to use them for. Now i have a use for one of them. Hooked up the relay and provided power to the "high idle" and bang she works. One advantage to this selonoid is that with a 1/2 inch wrench you can adjust how far the plunger extends. It has about a 1/4 of travel, but you can adjust the length of the plunger.

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here is a link to the pic of the overhead console



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I've got it adjusted to 1250 RPM. The only down side is the selonoid is not strong enough to push the throttle open, so you have to crack the throttle open with the pedal then flip the switch. Turn the switch off and the selonoid releases.

 

[jthorpe]

COOL! Question. Does it matter if you leave the plastic cover off of there or were you able to mount it so you can put the cover back on? I am going to do this for sure if I can find one. What made you think of that anyway?





Jack

 

[mongoose]

I put the plastic cover back on. had to trim some of the bottom off. if i had trimmed some of the braket off of the selonoid i could have used the cover without modifying it. I had picked up a "soft shift" selonoid for a forklift a while back. Had tried it but it did not have enough umph to hold the throttle open. Since then i had even entertained the idea of using a cable for a high idle but i think this turned out better.

 

[mongoose]

here is a pic of the install

 

[dmurdock]

those switches!

How did you install those switches??

where did you run the wires??



Oh, i'm drooooooolin

 

[mongoose]

for the switches i drilled a pilot hole in the cover where the onboard computer would be and then worked out the square the size of the switch using a combination of files and a "nipper" Got the nipper at radio shack. drill a 3/8 hole (i think) and then insert the nipper and it will "chew" out a little at a time. worked good. used a file to get the exact finish for the switches. as far as wiring, used "Cat 5" phone wire. figured i was going to use relays on the power end so the small wire won't cause any problems. as far as the LED's, used a 200 ohm resistor and sent power to those after the switches. the three on the right are for each switch and are green, the two on the left are blue and will light with the heater grids. Run the wire down the windshield under the headliner and down the a-piller.

 

[David_VT]

Nice switch installation!! Bravo!!

I enjoyed your work of art on the overhead!!

Cat 5 is my choice of wiring also. To others, don't do that without the relays he used or poof it will likely glow.



As to high idle, I am waiting to see the new software upgrade that will keep our trucks warm via the computer system. (24v trucks) It will turn off pistons and change the idle to keep the engine off the 140degree mark!



Dave Fritz' post on the new software

 

[mongoose]

david, i had thought about the software, but we don't get below 32 and stay there for very long at a time. Generally we'll stay in the 40's for most of the time. If i read the post right it said that outside air temp would have to be below 32, right? If this checks out, maybe i'll have it done to just in case we do get that low and stay that low. We did stay below freezing last year for about 10 days when we had the big ice storm.



here is a pic of the switch panel.