Whelen ALPHA5 User Manual

®

ENGINEERING COMPANY INC.

51 Winthrop Road
Chester, Connecticut 06412-0684

Alpha™5 Switch Assembly

Installation Guide:

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Internet: www.whelen.com
Sales e-mail: [e-mail]
Canadian Sales e-mail: [e-mail]
Customer Service e-mail: [e-mail]

DANGER! Sirens produces extremely loud emergency warning tones! Exposure to these

tones without proper and adequate hearing protection, could cause ear damage and/or hearing
loss! The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (www.osha.gov) provides information
necessary to determine safe exposure times in Occupational Noise Exposure Section 1910.95.
Until you have determined the safe exposure times for your specific application, operators and
anyone else in the immediate vicinity should be required to wear an approved hearing protection
device. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THIS RECOMMENDATION COULD CAUSE HEARING LOSS!

Safety First

This document provides all the necessary information to allow your Whelen product to be properly and safely installed.
Before beginning the installation and/or operation of your new product, the installation technician and operator must
read this manual completely. Important information is contained herein that could prevent serious injury or damage.

• Proper installation of this product requires the installer to have a good understanding of automotive electronics,
systems and procedures.

• If mounting this product requires drilling holes, the installer MUST be sure that no vehicle components or other
vital parts could be damaged by the drilling process. Check both sides of the mounting surface before drilling
begins. Also de-burr any holes and remove any metal shards or remnants. Install grommets into all wire
passage holes.

• If this manual states that this product may be mounted with suction cups, magnets, tape or Velcro®, clean the
mounting surface with a 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and water and dry thoroughly.

• Do not install this product or route any wires in the deployment area of your air bag. Equipment mounted or
located in the air bag deployment area will damage or reduce the effectiveness of the air bag, or become a
projectile that could cause serious personal injury or death. Refer to your vehicle owner’s manual for the air bag
deployment area. The User/Installer assumes full responsibility to determine proper mounting location, based
on providing ultimate safety to all passengers inside the vehicle.

• For this product to operate at optimum efficiency, a good electrical connection to chassis ground must be
made. The recommended procedure requires the product ground wire to be connected directly to the NEGATIVE
(-) battery post.

• If this product uses a remote device to activate or control this product, make sure this control is located in an
area that allows both the vehicle and the control to be operated safely in any driving condition. DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO ACTIVATE OR CONTROL THIS DEVICE IN A HAZARDOUS DRIVING SITUATION.

• It is recommended that these instructions be stored in a safe place and
referred to when performing maintenance and/or reinstallation of this
product.

• FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS AND
INSTRUCTIONS COULD RESULT IN DAMAGE TO THE PRODUCT OR
VEHICLE AND/OR SERIOUS INJURY TO YOU AND YOUR PASSENGERS!

ACTIVATION OF THIS
SIREN MAY DAMAGE
UNPROTECTED EARS!

CAUTION

Loud siren noise can cause
hearing damage and/or loss.

Wear

Refer to OSHA Section 1910.95 prior

Protection!

to putting ANY siren into service!

Automotive: Sirens/Switches

For warranty information regarding this product, visit www.whelen.com/warranty

©1998 Whelen Engineering Company Inc.
Form No.13314C (073007)

Page 1

WARNING!

DISCONNECTING THE VEHICLE BRAKE LAMP
CIRCUIT USING ANY SIRENS WITH RELAY OUTPUTS
OR SWITCH CONTROLLERS COULD CAUSE
VEHICLE OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, SERIOUS INJURY
OR EVEN DEATH.

DISABLING THIS CIRCUIT IS A VIOLATION OF THE
FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD
FOR THE THIRD BRAKE LIGHT, AS WELL AS REAR
BRAKE LIGHTS.

FUNCTIONS THAT BLACK OUT THE REAR BRAKE
LIGHTS (SOMETIMES CALLED “BRAKE LIGHT CUT
OUT”) MAY INTERFERE WITH THE BRAKE SHIFT
LOCK MECHANISM, AND CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO
MOVE UNEXPECTEDLY AND DANGEROUSLY.

DISCONNECTING THE BRAKE LIGHTS IN ANY WAY
IS AT YOUR OWN

RISK AND IS NOT RECOMMENDED

BY WHELEN.

Page 2

The Alpha™ 5 Switch - The three switch positions offer

a variety of activations when wired properly to a car horn,
horn ring, flashing headlights and other visual devices. It
can also control your siren’s Manual, Wail and Yelp
tones.

When wired as shown in the wiring diagram below the
functions will be as follows:

Position 1 -Enables horn ring to operate car horn.

Position 2 -Will activate the flashing headlights and will

also switch the horn ring from car horn to
manual siren.

Position 3 - Will activate Wail. Flashing lights will

continue and the horn ring will operate Yelp

override.

You will also need to make the following adjustments on
your remote amplifier, depending on which amplifier you
use:

Alpha™ or Beta™.........DIP SWITCHES 6, 7 and 8 UP.

WPA™ 112.....................CUT JUMPERS 6, 7 and 8.

(Consult your owner’s manual for more information.)

WARNING!

the positive terminal of the battery must be sized to
supply at least 125% of the maximum operating current
and FUSED
CIRCUIT BREAKERS WITH THIS PRODUCT!

All customer supplied wires that connect to

at the battery to carry that load. DO NOT USE

NOTE: The illustration below is of the the rear of the

switch. The orientation is not critical.

CUT

CAR

HORN

(Customer Supplied)

BATTERY

HEADLIGHT

FLASHER

UHF2150 (SHOWN)

OR SSF2150

1 AMP FUSE

ORANGE

FLASH

CONTROL

ALPHA, BETA,

W/GREEN

W/BROWN

W/ORANGE

HORN

RING

OR WPA 112

You may also custom configure your own installation. The schematic of the switch is shown below.
NOTE: The illustration below is of the rear of the switch. The orientation is not critical.
Switch contacts are rated at 30 Amps. It is up to the installer to be sure all circuits are properly fuse protected.

1 4 7 10

2 5 8 11

3 6 9 12

1

Page 3

3

2

4

6

7

5

SCHEMATIC OF SWITCH

9

10

12

8

11