2015 DX3 37BHHD Switch?

[murraym]

On the dash panel there is a momentary rocker switch under the clock and in between the RGEN switch to its left and the ENG/BRK to its right, It has a factory wire harness plugged into the back of it but I have no idea what it is for if anyone can advise. I have tried it and I don't hear any relays activating or anything coming on or shutting off either. I am perplexed.

[myhorse]

ejection seat

[halla]

I believe it is the emergency start, uses the coach batteries to start the truck. Or there is a switch there also that can switch radio power on when the truck is off.


2016 Dynamax Force. Just-Rite2

[murraym]

This is a totally different switch from the coach battery emergency start switch.

[halla]

Radio power for when the truck is off?


2016 Dynamax Force. Just-Rite2

[murraym]

Nope. Just tried it. No joy.

[rvsparky]

I sent a photo of my dash on my 2016
DX3 in and was told it had no function.
Don't know if your year model is the sane

[dlfishing]

I asked that same question, it as pair switch for additional accessories. I plan to use mine to turn off the side cameras when I want to as soon as I can figure out how to remove my entertainment center

[dlfishing]

Spare not pair

[murraym]

Originally Posted by dlfishing

I asked that same question, it as pair switch for additional accessories. I plan to use mine to turn off the side cameras when I want to as soon as I can figure out how to remove my entertainment center

To remove the Riverpark XSG2-X2 7" Infotainment System or similar on the Freightliner M2 106 Chassis on a Dynamax DX3.
Its easy.
Remove all of the Torx perimeter screws. There are around a dozen or less.
Once removed, lift the dash panel out over the steering wheel.

Ensure that the blower vent foam seals are in place or remain in place. One of mine was folded over from assembly so I had to position it flat between two books while working so that when I reinstalled it, it remained in place.

remove the remaining tor screws from the infotainment bracket. The radio/infotainment system will then just slide out. While you are in there....

Certain plugs have been taped together with electrical tape. Ensure that shortcuts weren't taken by the installer and that the black tape holding the plugs together is actually sufficient enough to hold the plugs together. Some of mine only had a small piece of tape holding them together and wasn't enough from my extensive experience of installing components with Motorola to hold over time. Some of them had the short piece of tape already pealing off due to the heat releasing the adhesive of the tape. So just retape if necessary.

As for the individual cameras, I can't recall if mine had an individual RCA plug for each of the video feeds of the 3 cameras, or if there was a single video feed RCA plug to the radio coming from a switching device controlled by inputs from the reverse sense, and turn signal sense wires.

If it is a single you will need to locate the camera switching device and tap into the video feed wires coming from the device. If there is an RCA jack / plug at the back of the unit for each of the camera video feeds, then you can interrupt the center pole of the wire coming out of the RCA plug using simple automotive switching relays if you just want to interrupt the video. If you want to keep them from telling the radio that there is video to be seen when activating the turn signals then you need to interrupt the wires coming from the turn signals that tell the radio that there is video to be seen.

Another mod you can do is find the wire that says park on it and tap into it and ground it to the chassis of the radio or tap it into the actual ground wire for the radio. This allows the DVD player to play movies for your copilot while driving.

When you go to reinstall the unit back into the hole, make SURE that you dress all of the wiring and cables so that they are bellow or to the side of the radio when sliding it in. Pay attention to where all of the wires and cables are when you first remove it. If they are in the way you will pull something out or crimp a wire.

ALSO!!! make sure that you screw the tor screws for the dash board down only hand tight until they make contact. Any tighter than the screw head just touching and you will pull the screw right through the plastic of the dash plastic and you will no longer have a secure point as the hole for that screw will be bigger than the head of the screw because you broke the plastic. Hope this helps.

[dlfishing]

It does help, thanks.
I had asked a RiverPark rep and he said to just cut the wires coming from the turn signal but no details. I appreciate the details you have listed, was hoping that there was a simpler way than pulling the whole dashboard off.
I want to be able to use them at times but not when I'm watching the gps for a turn. I would rather check my mirrors than look at the dash.

[murraym]

Originally Posted by dlfishing

It does help, thanks.
I had asked a RiverPark rep and he said to just cut the wires coming from the turn signal but no details. I appreciate the details you have listed, was hoping that there was a simpler way than pulling the whole dashboard off.
I want to be able to use them at times but not when I'm watching the gps for a turn. I would rather check my mirrors than look at the dash.

As far as using them intermittently, I can help you with that. Are you familiar with relays? If not I can walk you through how to install two relays to interrupt the turn signal wires. It will require two standard automotive relays from Autozone. Some 18 gauge wire (thin wire like 18ga will do since it is only low amp "sense" voltage) 8 blade connectors for the relay terminals, 4 butt connectors for the interruption of the turn signal wires, and two splice/tap terminals for the ground wire of the relays which you can just tap/clamp into the radio ground wires.

If you want to use a separate switch you will need a switch as well and some more terminals, etc.
if you want to use the existing OPT switch as long as it is actually not for something that we haven't realized yet, the next step would be to locate the "OPT" switch wires in the dash and determine where they are goIng. If there is a pigtail it will be easy. As far as locating it the best place to start is to turn the ignition to run which powers everything but don't start the engine. Then have someone turn the switch on and off and try to listen and locate a relay clicking. If there isn't anything clicking then look for the fuse in the many fuse blocks of the vehicle and put a 5-10 amp fuse in place then listen for clicking again.

Once you hear clicking try to find a coiled up or unused wire under the dash or under the hood.
Then put a voltage tester on the wires you locate if the voltage appears then disappears with the switch being flipped on and off then you have located the OPT switch wire that wire will be the new (2) automotive relays power wire that tells the relays to switch.

Blade terminal a wire to each of the # 85 terminals and run that wire to the newly found OPT wire.

Blade terminal both # 86 relay terminals to a single wire that will be clamp tapped into the existing radio ground wire.
Locate the turn signal wires that are telling the radio that the turn signal(s) are on which switches to video.

Left turn signal wire.
Cut the wire and crimp a butt terminal onto the ends. Cut two 8" pieces of new wire and crimp the wire to the but terminals.
In the other end of the 8" wires crimp blade terminals. Plug one of them to terminal 30.

Repeat the steps above for right turn signal wire.

Now you have to decide if you want them normally on/active meaning as the factory intended it, and turned off/disabled with the OPT switch, or off all of the time and activated/turned on with the OPT switch.
If you want "factory" plug each blade terminal into its left or right respective relay terminal #87A

If you want them to be an option to be activated and not switch to camera mode unless you need them to then plug each respective remaining left and right blade terminal into #87.
The 85, 86, 87, 87a, & 30 terminals are identified by the diagram that is either embossed or printed onto the relay itself as well as the packaging it comes in.
87 is normally open. 87a is normally closed. 85 & 86 are the actual circuit that when power is applied, the coil inside magnetizes and pulls the spring contact from 87a to 87. When power is removed the spring contact returns to 87a (normally closed)
All this sounds harder and more complicated than it really is. It only takes 5 minutes to remove the dash cover and radio from the dash board. It is REALLLLLLY easy. Let me know if you want a call to walk you through it. All told. Once you locate the OPT harness/wire stuffed somewhere or coiled up somewhere, the total install/conversion would take less than 30 minutes.

[dlfishing]

Wow, sounds like you either designed the system or have done what I want to do

[murraym]

Originally Posted by dlfishing

Wow, sounds like you either designed the system or have done what I want to do

I used to work for a company that built and fabricated all of the lineman truck bodies into the freightliner and international chassis'. I specifically did all of the electrical component installs and wired the bodies. Then I worked for Motorola installing all of the radios and police equipment into the police cars. Then got into law enforcement where I have been since 1998. While LE started a company that manufactures rifle slings and sells tactical gear.

[murraym]

Yesterday during an unusual heat wave of 62 degrees, I had the opportunity to partially trace and identify the mystery OPT switch wiring on the dashboard. I located the fuse to be in the fuse accessory block on top of the driver side wheel well. It is a 20amp fuse (location F25).
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The OPT switch is always hot so you will need to ensure if you use it for anything that you turn it off manually as it is not ignition switched. This also applies to the power windows of which I was not aware. You can roll them down with the engine off and the key out of the ignition.

I traced the wire out of the only gray plug from the fuse block. It is the tan wire # 1408 399.
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Fused always hot tan power wire 1408 399 runs out of the fuse block through the gray plug and up to the large white firewall passthrough plug near the center top of the firewall.
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The fused always hot tan power wire 1408 399 continues on the inside of the firewall and then to the accessory plug on the back of the OPT switch. It runs to 2B on the OPT switch plug.
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The OPT switch when engaged/activated then closes the circuit to port 3 on the same plug which is not the tan wire 1408 399A. This wire runs directly back to the firewall large white passthrough plug on the inside of the firewall. This tan wire #1408 399A then continues on the outside of the firewall and then to a yet undetermined location.
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It then got dark, and colder so I called it a day. Before going inside though, since I have heard that this OPT switch on Freightliners was typically used as a dock lights switch, I climbed under the rear of my DX3, and found the largest loom about 8 feet from the back of the unit and opened it up to see if this tan wire # 1408 399A was in there. it was not. So this wire does not go to the very back of the unit. It terminates somewhere in between the large white firewall plug and 8 feet forward of the rear cap and tow accessory wires at the hitch. I'm thinking that since it is a freighliner waring harness, it has to terminate to an actual plug and not just a freeballing wire loom coiled up somewhere. The trick now is to crawl around and look for that tan wire with the 1408 399A printed on it about every 8". I am however pretty sure at this point that it is currently not utilized as when we went to Kentucky this November for the Bourbon Trail I kept hitting it and my wife's seat did not eject.
I will try again sooner hopefully than later as I would like my new RIGID DuallyXL LED lights installed and working with the factory wiring harness instead of using the provided harness.

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You do have two options though if you need to use this OPT Switch. You can further trace or wait for me to finish tracing the tan wire 1408 399A, of you can locate 1408 399A that is located at the large white passthrough plug and clip it. Terminate the end that goes into the loom since it is not used or traced to its termination point yet, and then tap directly into the end of the tan 1408 399A wire that is coming from the large white plug and than now becomes your power wire for your accessory. It is capable of supporting up to 20Amps.

Yeah I know, That bumper is friggen SICK right!



.

[murraym]

So I finally finished the wire trace on the OPT switch wire harness, fuse location as well as your options. Posting now. Standby...

[murraym]

You can locate the large white passthrough plug with harness directly above the steering shaft and pull the loom off. You can locate the tan wire number 1408 399A and either tap into it, or cut it and splice a wire to run that 12v+ switched wire to your accessory and ground locally. It is a 20amp capable accessory wire.
If you use a wire clamp tap, then you don't need to do anything else. If you cut the wire, the wire that is coming from the white plug is the wire that you splice into as the wire that continues into the loom is not connected to anything.
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If you choose to utilize the termination point of the wire and leave the harness at the firewall passthrough intact, then you will just follow the directions below.
From the firewall passthrough white plug located just above the steering shaft on the firewall, the wire continues down into the loom then outboard behind the fuse block where the OPT 20a fuse F25 is located in the photos above and then that 1.5" diameter loom runs down into the frame rail on the driver's side mixed in with a whole lot of other loom and air lines. The loom then drops to a smaller size loom and continues along the inside driver side frame rail.
It is the smaller of the two main looms. It passes through the frame crossbeam just behind the transmission,
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then a small 1/4" diameter loom comes out of the loom just behind an airline junction.
Notice the 1/4" loom coming from the smaller of the two larger looms behind the air line junction.
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[murraym]

There is about a 12" pigtail with two wires in it.
The pigtail terminates among 3 one sided plugs that are just hanging in between the first crossbeam and the 2nd crossbeam behind the transmission. It is approximately 12" forward of the driveshaft carrier bearing on the driver side inner frame rail.
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This photo shows the group of plugs and the OPT wire in relation to the drive shaft carrier bearing that my hand is on.
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The wires are labeled OPT SW out 1a and OPT SW out 2a, and the 1408 399A wire that you are looking for is OPT SW OUT 1A inside this 1/4" loom and closed via shrink wrap.
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So if you don't want to have to run this OPT wire 399A back up to the front to power bumper lights, then the tapping or splicing at the white plug above the steering shaft is the best option. If you are using your OPT switch to power something at the back of the rig, then locate the above termination 1/4" loom and just extend it to your accessory. Be sure to ground locally near the accessory and make sure it is a good reliable ground.

[murraym]

The last thing that I did was to relocate the OPT switch closer to the steering wheel instead of commingling amongst the other more important switches that you don't want to accidentally hit.

I swapped it with the mirror heat switch. The cables are long enough to do this.

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Now it is next to the door lock switch, and under the window switches, closer to me when I drive as it is going to be Rigid auxiliary LED lights on my new bumper.

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[Ender]

This thread is just GOLD for wiring projects. Thank you MurryM!!