2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Okay to leave ignition swith in on postion?

[kscheffler]

Does it hurt any thing, other than drain down batteries, to leave the ignition switch in the on postion without the truck running? E. G. does it allow the grid heaters to keep cycling or harm electronic?

 

[SRath]

I was told by the parts man at the Cummins dealership when I had to buy a new fuel shutoff solenoid that leaving the key on any longer than absolutely necessary without the engine running is the fastest way to burn out that solenoid.



The aggravating thing about it is that the key needs to be "ON" instead of just in "accessory" to run the power windows. I think I will be rewiring the power window circuit to get it's power on "accessory", too.

 

[Joe G.]

I doubt that. The fuel solenoid is held up by the run coil when the ignition switch is in the on position. That is a low current circuit. It's not going to burn out the fuel solenoid. If that was so we would have a lot of fuel solenoid failures because we run these trucks for a lot of continous hours on the road. The only time there is high current through the fuel solenoid is when the ignition switch is in the start position or something is stuck like the relay. If that happens it does not take long to burn up the fuel solenoid. Anyway, leaving it in the on position will not harm it.



The heater grids react to low temps. It will be obvious if they are on because the volt meter will be low.

 

[Boondocker]

I too find it annoying that power windows require key on instead of key accessory. However, it only takes a few seconds to open or close the windows, not enough annoyance to cause me to think about rewiring. But if you do rewire for that, it would make a good article.

 

[Thomas]

The original poster appears to have a 2001 Ram—no fuel solenoid.

 

[JFaughn]

The ing on is an issue from spark fired points engs , if you happen to have the distributor cam in the position that let the points close , it would burn up the points , coil & more on the primary ing circuit , that was ment for momentary load .

 

[kscheffler]

As Thomsa said no fuel relay so it should not be an issue. I left it on this weekend and it made me think about it. Just for the data I think I will put on amp meter and do it again and see what it draws compared to off position. I don't think it hurts any thing.

 

[rickhans]

As to the power window comment, I believe that certain auto safety laws require that all vehicles be built that way along with having to have a rear window lockout now due to some children being strangled when they had their head out the window and somehow rolled the window up. With the switch on, there supposedly is a responsible driver in the front seat to watch the kids.

I would check and see if re-wiring it would have any effect on your insurance. If kids got in the car unattended, and got injured playing with the windows, you probably would be liable. (I am an adjuster).

The other drawback is that it can make it easier to be stolen. A thief can run a coathanger down and snag the switch (depending on how it is set up) and roll down the window.

This used to be common on the 80's Chevy trucks and suburban. I did it on my '83 Suburban. On those, there was a switched fuse outlet on the power/fuse block. All that had to be done was to unsnap the power window connector from the switched connector to the connector that was always hot. I got into my truck several times when I locked my keys in it, using the coat hanger trick. It saved a lot of time and expense of calling a locksmith.

 

[RickL]

If you want to be safe, run a momentary switch in the circuit that you could push to close the windows without the key. Somewhere under the dash out of easy sight but handy from the drivers seat. It would eliminate the coat hanger trick, too.

 

[Alphacowboy]

actually, many other vehicles have the windows operable in the acc. position. Some even have the windows operable without the key in the ignition, but are timed, and only work for 30-60 sec or somthing like that.

 

[RickL]

As to locking yourself out, I carry a spare key to each vehicle in my wallet.

Nothing in my wallet has my address on it. Everything has a P/O box.

 

[SRath]

The old Hide-a-Key still works pretty good. I don't like carrying keys when I'm hunting or dirtbiking.



As for the kids getting their head stuck in the window or someone breaking into the truck more easily: The key would still have to be in the ignition and turned for it to be in the "accessory" position and sending power to the switch. No different than it is now with operating only in the "on or run" position.



Besides, with insurance companies and the government running everything in our lives these days, we can be a stupid as they treat us, can't we?



(Don't even get me started on insurance companies and their political lobbies! I just had to delete about 4 paragraphs as it is, and I was just getting warmed up!... )

 

[PRout]

I too find it annoying that power windows require key on instead of key accessory. However, it only takes a few seconds to open or close the windows, not enough annoyance to cause me to think about rewiring. But if you do rewire for that, it would make a good article.

On my last truck i had rewired the windows to work without needing the key. It was really nice. .

The justification was at that time (in the 80's) I was sort of an alarm nut and had everything imaginable on the truck at that time. . (imagine having 21 extra bosch relays hidden in your truck for example). Had home built remote start, solenoid bolt locks for the doors, the alarm was silent and went to my pager if I wanted depending on the combination of 6 mini toggle switches on the dash, all protecting the home brew 2kw amp for the ham radio - via 16 toshiba 2sc2879 finals, 1200 watt tripplite inverter to run the power tools, air compressor, etc) Thought I was reeeal cool. .

My neighbor (read creep) noticed me working on it one day and I mentioned my derringer alarm module took a dump so I was temporarily wiring a circuit to flash the LED's to look like it was armed. . (Stuuupid!!) My G/F at the time told me she didnt trust that guy at all and said he was pacing back & forth on his sidewalk looking at my truck and he was up to something. I told her this was normal behavior for this guy...

The next morning what I went out to hop in to go to work, I noticed a long stick laying next to my truck. . Thats when I noticed my complete dash RIPPED out of the truck and ALOT of equipment gone from the back in the camper. .

He had used the stick to roll down the drivers window from the slightly cracked open passenger window. .

Bottom line. . If you re-wire the power windows. . Use a temp switch as mentioned above, or come up with a good idea for protecting yourself from someone that KNOWS about it. . BTDT

 

[RickL]

I hope you had the evidence to nail him to the wall.

 

[PRout]

I only wish. Could never PROVE it was him. All I know is he came and went from living in that house. When he was around, things disappeared and he was one of the very few people that - A. ) Knew the windows were wired that way. and B. ) Knew the alarm was temporarily down.

So, It would be nice to be able to operate windows independant of the ignition. Mostly it comes down to not letting anyone know its wired that way, and maybe hiding an "accessories" switch somewhere where you can have the key out, but still run the radio, windows, etc. Use a relay to handle the load with 2 mini-toggles in series controlling it. One where people can see it (possibly), and one "hidden" as the master. Make it so if you kill the hidden one, the other one is disabled. .

I dont know... Just throwing out the idea. im sure there are alot of much better ideas out there. Some people use their cigarette lighter as part of a series circuit in where if the lighter is removed, the truck wont run. . Might be able to use that idea only for enabling the power windows. .

 

[RickL]

There was an episode a while back on CSI (Miami, I think) where the horn and the door lock switches would open a secret compartment. Something like that could work, but that's getting a little far from the original discussion.

Another anti-theft idea is to replace the fuse in the starter circuit with a blown one. Who would think to look there. It might keep the kids from borrowing the truck.

 

[rickhans]

I meant to say that I rewired my Suburban to work without any key in the ignition. I overlooked your reference to working in the aux position.



I think I would set up a trap for the neighbor. Go out and work on your truck when he is out, show off everything, and mention that your alarm is on the fritz again, then hide out in the Garage with a shotgun and a camera. He is probably dumb enough to take the bait. Or, with all the electronics, you could rig a remote locking device and lock him in the car. The police have a decoy car or two in Dallas that does that. Plus a camera inside that transmits wireless. They catch auto thieves in it all the time and only one has gotten away.

 

[PRout]

The police have a decoy car or two in Dallas that does that. Plus a camera inside that transmits wireless. They catch auto thieves in it all the time and only one has gotten away.

Oo. Oo. :-laf:-laf