By D1gger
#4889967
I just got finished wiring up the new control panel for my Ecto-GMC. It came out very well. It consists of a radio shack project box, 10 16amp switches and 18guage wiring and connectors from Ebay, some left over caution tape and a chopped 1/2liter Nalgene bottle.
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Each row has 4 functions, plus a master switch that controls each row. One row for lights, one row for the siren's 4 different functions.

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I was going to wrap the wires in black spiral wrap until my son pointed out that twisting them would make them look like something right off a proton pack. You can see the blue plastic piece which is the bottom of a 1/2 liter Nalgene bottle, this locks the entire box into place in the car's center console rear cup holder as shown:
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All the convenience and feel of hard-mounted, yet still quickly and easily removable without leaving any trace. It came out great, I'm pretty proud of it.
By D1gger
#4890072
Here's the under-seat board at the other end of the switch box's wire harness. This contains the siren module, the power distribution block and the relays that provide power and sound to the roof rack.
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While perhaps not quite the same as an unlicensed nuclear accelerator, I DID have the time for a bench-test and it works perfectly, exactly as it should. Not too shabby for a custom project entirely completed with small hand tools on the dining room table!
By D1gger
#4890073
Here's a couple early pics of the switch box being created. It's just a 6" radio shack project box and some bulk 16amp switches from eBay.
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By puckcowboy
#4892689
Hey there D1gger! Great work on the switch box! Quick questions for you. What do all of your switches do? Are they for both lights and sounds? Do any of your switches play the theme song, or do you just run that through a stereo amp / external speakers? I see you have the StormPro for the siren, however do you plan on running music an siren simultaneously? Just want to get an idea of how to setup my switchbox. Any and all info is truly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!
By D1gger
#4892722
The switches are set up as follows: The top row is for lights, the red one is the master that controls the rest of the row so I can power them up or kill them all with one switch. The 4 remaining switches in the top row, from left to right, control the front light bar, then the blue LED strobe bars on the sides and back, then the amber strobe and rear amber mini lightbar. I also have a keychain remote wired into the top row so I can turn all the lights on or off by remote from a ridiculous distance away from the car.

The bottom row also has a master red that gives power to the remaining 4 switches as well as the relay, thus turning on the main power to the siren module. The remaining 4 switches of the bottom row control the 4 different functions of the siren, each one set to a different sound, currently from left to right: Ecto, Bad Boys, Yelp and finally air horn.

When I play the music, I do it currently by holding the siren's PA mic against my phone's speaker. Kind of ghetto, but it works. I plan to add a motorcycle sound unit to the rack consisting of a pair of chrome teardrop clamp-on speakers, a 600 watt AMP with either bluetooth or aux cable connection to an MP3 player. The I will be able to play both the siren and music at the same time, or at least have them independent of each other. Plus the chrome teardrops will almost mimic the chrome federal siren and propelloray unit on top the real Ecto-1.
By D1gger
#4892724
Here's how the control system currently looks:
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I upgraded the wiring to larger gauge and color coded it to match the switch box harness's wire colors. I also added a 3rd relay, one for the siren main power, one for the front light bar and one for the rear light bar. The remote is wired into the switch box and the brain box is tucked into the cupholder mount.
By puckcowboy
#4892725
Awesome, I truly appreciate the response and detailed breakdown. i think I'm going to try to achieve something similar to this.

Also, out of curiosity, do you know the exact shade of white that is used on the movie Ecto-1? I asked this in another thread, but no one has answered yet. Maybe know one knows for sure? Any info on that if you have it would also be appreciated!

Thank you again for the great reply!
By D1gger
#4892727
Sorry, but I have no idea on the shade of white used on the original car. It will probably come down to your own preference. Arctic white is nice and bright, but a bright off-white would give it a slightly aged look. Good luck in your search.
By puckcowboy
#4893214
Hello again D1gger,

Another quick question for you. Did you put any of the labels / stickers on the items on your roof rack? I'm looking for the stuff for the radar, white bullet antenna thing, and the sniffer specifically. Any and all info you could share is truly appreciated.

Thanks again!

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