Whelen HWLRB5 User Manual

®

ENGINEERING COMPANY INC.

51 Winthrop Road
Chester, Connecticut 06412-0684
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Howler™ Siren Speaker Bracket

Installation Guide:

Installation Guide:

2008 Suburban / Tahoe

Model:HWLRB5

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

DANGER! Sirens produce 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

©2008 Whelen Engineering Company Inc.
Form No.14213B (111610)

Page 1

Front bolt goes
through frame
rail

and secures

the

tow hook.

Secure siren
speaker

here

Use bolt on other
side

of frame rail.

Secure with substitute
gravel

shield bolt

IMPORTANT! READ THESE WARNINGS BEFORE CONTINUING!

Use

Existing

Mounting
Hardware

Siren speaker
attaches

here

Fig. 2

Secure with substitute
gravel

shield bolt

The Howler™ Supplemental Siren was designed for use in high-risk areas such as an intersection. It is not intended to be, nor should be
operated as, a replacement or alternative to the vehicle’s primary siren.

The low-frequency tones of the Howler™ demonstrate significantly different audio characteristics as compared to those of a traditional higher­frequency siren. While the low-frequency tones are better able to penetrate other vehicles, thus alerting drivers to the presence of the
responding emergency vehicle, these tones may also penetrate into the responding vehicle itself. This could potentially expose the operator to
increased noise levels.

To help eliminate overexposure, the Howler™ siren has been designed with a built-in timing circuit. The Occupational Safety & Health
Administration (OSHA) (www.osha.gov) provides information necessary to determine safe exposure times in Noise and Hearing Conservation,
Section 1910.95 (Occupational Noise Exposure). Until you have determined the safe exposure times for your specific application, this siren
should be configured for the minimum operating time and operators should be required to use an approved hearing protection device.
FAILURE TO FOLLOW THIS RECOMMENDATION COULD CAUSE HEARING LOSS!

Secure with substitute

Secure with substitute

gravel shield bolt

gravel shield bolt.

Secure siren

Secure siren

speaker here

speaker here

The passenger and driver side siren speaker brackets mount using an existing
bolt and the tow hook bolt, both located on the frame rail. You will also replace 2 of
the gravel shield bolts with supplied M10 X 1.5 X 30 bolts.

Installation: Passenger side

1. Remove the front bolt from the passenger side frame rail which holds the tow hook
on. Now remove the bolt (right behind the tow hook bolt) which threads into the
frame rail from the opposite side (Fig. 1).

Front bolt goes

Front bolt goes

through frame

through frame

rail and secures

rail and secures

the tow hook.

the tow hook.

FRAME RAIL

Use bolt on other

Use bolt on other
side of frame rail.

side of frame rail.

2. Secure the mounting bracket to the frame rail using the two bolts you removed in
step 2 (while remounting the tow hook).

3. Secure the front of the bracket by replacing the gravel shield bolt (indicated below)
with the supplied M10 X 1.5 X 30 bolt.

4. Partially secure the mounting strap to the siren speaker by installing the mounting
hardware into the single bolt side of the mounting strap.

5. Secure the siren speaker to the mounting bracket and tighten all hardware
securely. The slotted holes in the siren speaker must face toward the road

Fig. 1

after mounting for proper drainage.

6. Install the supplied wire cover (See below) to protect the wires. Now extend the

BLACK (-) negative and WH ITE (+) positive speaker wires to your siren amplifier and connect as described in the instructions that come with the siren amplifier.

5/16 -18 X 1-1/4
Hex Head Bolt

MOUNTING
STRAP
(QTY 2)

Brackets will bolt to these 2 holes. Replace the gravel

shield bolts with the supplied M10 X 1.5 X 30 bolts.

Front of Vehicle

GRAVEL SHIELD

5/16 -18 X 1-3/4
Hex Head Bolt

5/16 -18 X 1-1/4
Hex Head Bolt

BRACKET
Slides between
mounting strap
ends.

5/16 Flat
Washer

5/16 - 18
Elastic
Stop Nut

5/16 - 18
Elastic
Stop Nut

5/16 Flat
Washer

HOWLER™ Siren Speaker

SPEAKER
BRACKET

Install

wire

cover

Spacer

5/16 Flat
Washer

Installation: Driver side

1. Remove the front bolt from the driver side frame rail that holds the tow hook on.
Then remove the bolt right behind the tow hook bolt, which threads into the frame
rail (Fig. 2).

2. Secure the mounting bracket to the frame rail using the two bolts you removed in
step 2 (while remounting the tow hook).

3. Secure the front of the bracket by replacing the gravel shield bolt (indicated above)
with the supplied M10 X 1.5 X 30 bolt.

4. Partially secure the mounting strap to the siren speaker by installing the mounting
hardware and spacer into the single bolt side of the mounting strap.

5. Secure the siren speaker to the mounting bracket and tighten securely.

IMPORTANT! The slotted holes in the siren speaker must face toward the
road after mounting so that water will not be trapped inside.

6. Install wire cover (See above) then extend the BLACK (-) negative and WHITE (+)
positive speaker wires to your siren amplifier and connect as described in the
amplifiers instructions.

IMPORTANT! It is the responsibility of the installation technician to make sure that
the installation and operation of this product will not interfere with or compromise
the operation or efficiency of any vehicle equipment! Before returning the vehicle
to active service, confirm the proper operation of this product, as well as all
vehicle components/equipment.

5/16 - 18
Elastic
Stop Nut

Page 2

IMPORTANT! When routing wires, it is important to choose a path that will keep the
wires away from excessive heat and from any vehicle equipment that could
compromise their integrity such as trunk lids, door jams, etc... It is also recomended
that you secure any loose wires with ty-wraps.

Fig. 2

Fig. 2

Secure with substitute

Secure with substitute

gravel shield bolt

gravel shield bolt.

Siren speaker

Siren speaker

attaches here

attaches here

Use Existing

Use Existing

Mounting

Mounting

Hardware

Hardware