Gadgets I'm Considering

Stuff that goes in your Chinook but isnt really part of your Chinook.
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Blue~Go
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Re: Gadgets I'm Considering

Post by Blue~Go »

Well, I guess the console wasn't cheap for nothing. I noticed it said it was dirty and needed to be cleaned, but it sounds like you had to fumigate it! Funny mental picture of it in the bathtub. Bubble bath, I hope. And a bonus Cracker Jack tattoo :D

On my added Chinook fuse block, the Beverage Mate is/was 7.5 amp fuse that is third down on the right. I confirmed this with the wires and a meter when removing it. The Chinook drawing of the Concourse fuse block in the 2000 manual agrees (although mine is a '99). Here's a photo of the Chinook added fuse block in my rig, plus the drawing from the 2000 manual.

BTW, the upper-right-hand 15-amp fuse is apparently the driving lights.
Chinook added fuse block.jpg
This shows the upper right 15-amp one is the driving lights, btw.
Chinook fuse block key 2000.jpg
1999 Concourse
Skillet
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Re: Gadgets I'm Considering

Post by Skillet »

Hot dog, the driving lights! Thanks, that was also a future project of trying to figure out why they didn't work. For the Beverage Mate, I guess I could just keep the fuse out and secure the wires, right?
'02 Concourse where there's always a project going on...
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Blue~Go
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Re: Gadgets I'm Considering

Post by Blue~Go »

Skillet wrote:Hot dog, the driving lights! Thanks, that was also a future project of trying to figure out why they didn't work.
I think there is some "condition requirement"..... if I remember correctly it is that the high beams be on (?). So just in case you hadn't checked them that way and they may actually work...
Skillet wrote:For the Beverage Mate, I guess I could just keep the fuse out and secure the wires, right?
That's what I did, which is why in that photo there is no fuse in the "7.5 amp" slot. I now see where another Chinooker used that wire to supply a charging station in the console. I think that's a great idea, although a couple of things to keep in mind or check (at least for me) are one, to have a way to release the wire, as the console/doghouse often need to come off for mechanical work; and, two, to check the supply wire size, as I think usually cigarette lighter sockets are fused to 15 amps. The Beverage Mate wire may be fine for the higher fuse size, but I need to check the wire gauge to know for sure (they may simply have sized it down to do double duty protecting the wire and the Beverage Mate) (or it may be a wire that is too small for 15 amps) (I keep meaning to check that!).

OTOH, there are also the Chinook pre-wired "hot taps," and I notice they say they are 14 gauge, 7.5 amps. I guess they liked their 7.5 amps fuses! (And hey, everyone wasn't running the world off their cigarette lighter plugs back then.)

Looking at my handy dandy ampacity chart and assuming the worst (wires bundled and running in engine space [heat], 14 gauge --- if it is rated to 105ºC, which all of the other Chinook wiring I have looked at is --- then it can be fused up to 20.8 amps, so I would think it would be safe to fuse a bit higher than 7.5, unless there is some hidden reason otherwise (not that I can immediately think of one). But just saying, you know, check it out for yourself, etc. etc. I think I might just go up to 10 amp since I don't normally plug in more than 10 amps at once (or really more than 7.5, but it might be close.... maybe just leaving the 7.5 is fine unless/until one blows it a few times and may want to move up).

BTW, here are the ampacity charts I use. The first one is single wires, not bundled. Most (all) of the wiring I have found in the Chinook is rated to 105ºC, but a friend's rig has some 90ºC so I always check. When I put in new wire I used fine stranded/tinned marine type wire (generally Ancor), which is also 105ºC rated. The "engine room" column is separate because it's presumed the area is warmer. But the threshold isn't that high, so for any hot area, I usually just use the engine room figure.
ABYC ampacity fuse chart.jpg
The second chart is for bundles of up to three wires. You can see it degrades the ampacity (heat again - or lack of dissipation - I believe). I have a chart somewhere for larger bundles, and it REALLY starts to degrade the ratings. The main Chinook trunk lines running forward above each upper cabinet are bundles of like 15-20 wires (ugh for the rating, although they are tidy I will say and there is not a lot of space up there).
ABYC allowable ampacity bundled.png
1999 Concourse
Skillet
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Re: Gadgets I'm Considering

Post by Skillet »

caconcourse wrote: Here's another picture showing our new console (which I managed to buy for $50 last December before the price gouging) and my new head unit, which integrates the radio, backup camera, and GPS on a single display/touch screen. I connected the backup camera feed to the head unit Aux video input as well as the backup camera input, so I can view it continuously, in addition to it automatically coming on in reverse. The charging ports are in the big cavity just below the cup holders.
IMAG0391.jpg
I'm looking to replace the radio up front. Is it a double DIN? I should have the original with the cd player on top and cassette player on the bottom.
'02 Concourse where there's always a project going on...
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Blue~Go
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Re: Gadgets I'm Considering

Post by Blue~Go »

Ford has a "special DIN" size. It's something like 1-3/4 DIN :? I've seen where quite a few van owners (same dash as ours of course) have carefully routered or filed around the edges and made a double DIN fit quite neatly, but it's not just a slide in.

Crutchfield etc. have a special frame wherein if you use a single DIN you get a little storage tray to go along with it to fill in the extra space. Double DIN is nice though if you don't mind a little customizing.
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Flame
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Re: Gadgets I'm Considering

Post by Flame »

Do these "new" consoles to replace our hot/cold consoles accept a larger cup? Seems like mine are too small for a bottle coke. Would these new ones hold it?
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Jlfchinook
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Re: Gadgets I'm Considering

Post by Jlfchinook »

Socket is a standard 1 1/16 inch, auto zone has tool loaners that you can get if you don’t want to buy tool. It’s a every few year check on hot water heater. Be sure to bleed off pressure before unscrewing it.
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caconcourse
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Re: Gadgets I'm Considering

Post by caconcourse »

Flame wrote: June 26th, 2020, 1:44 pm Do these "new" consoles to replace our hot/cold consoles accept a larger cup? Seems like mine are too small for a bottle coke. Would these new ones hold it?
Definitely. The new console was my second upgrade purchase after we got home with our Chinook. (The first was a coke bottle opener to replace the missing one!) The beverage mate seemed like a cool idea, but our phones were flying all over the cab when we put them on the console, and there was no useful storage.
Clay
2001 Concourse
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caconcourse
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Re: Gadgets I'm Considering

Post by caconcourse »

Jlfchinook wrote: June 26th, 2020, 2:11 pm Socket is a standard 1 1/16 inch, auto zone has tool loaners that you can get if you don’t want to buy tool. It’s a every few year check on hot water heater. Be sure to bleed off pressure before unscrewing it.
Not sure what this post was responding to, but I assume the socket to remove the hot water anode/drain. The 1 1/16 size also matches the wheel simulator lug nuts on most Chinooks, so you should carry one. If you have the wheel simulator wrench that came with the wheel covers, it is the same size, but may be wimpy for a rusty anode rod.

I have a set of plumbing "cowbell" wrenches, like these at Home Depot for about $10, which are useful as long sockets: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Eastman-5-P ... lsrc=aw.ds

One of these is the right size for the water heater and wheel simulator, so I carry that one with me, and that is the one i use to remove the anode rod.
Clay
2001 Concourse
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Blue~Go
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Re: Gadgets I'm Considering

Post by Blue~Go »

Just backing up what CAConcourse wrote. Except for one or two of the early "slim" Ford consoles*, they have great cupholders, that will hold a variety of cup or mug sizes, plus phones and any number of other things you might want to hand.

*The early "slim" ones, such as I had in a late 90's Ford van, have what I call "cup launchers." In that style they sort of merge two smaller cup holders to make a teardrop type shape. I would say avoid those. You can see and "shop" the various console styles in an early thread I started, way back in the beginning times.

Here is a link, coming to you from 2014:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=19
1999 Concourse
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