Whelen M4A24 User Manual

®

ENGINEERING COMPANY INC.

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

M4 Series LED Lighthead

Installation Guide:

2- & 5-Wire (24 Volt)

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

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.

• Failure to use specified installation parts and/or hardware will void the product warranty!

• 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 that 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.

• This product contains either strobe light(s), halogen light(s), high-intensity LEDs or a combination of these
lights. Do not stare directly into these lights. Momentary blindness and/or eye damage could result.

• Use only soap and water to clean the outer lens. Use of other chemicals could result in premature lens cracking
(crazing) and discoloration. Lenses in this condition have significantly reduced effectiveness and should be
replaced immediately. Inspect and operate this product regularly to confirm its proper operation and mounting
condition. Do not use a pressure washer to clean this product.

• 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!

Automotive: Lightheads

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

©2009 Whelen Engineering Company Inc.
Form No.14269D (013013)

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To +VBAT

M4

Lighthead

(2-Wire)

To Ground

LED Color

3A Fuse

SP/ST

To +VBAT

To +VBAT

To +VBAT

M4

Lighthead

(5-Wire)

To Ground

WHT/VIO

LED Color

VIOLET

BLK/WHT

BLK/WHT

GREY

SYNC

1A Fuse

1A Fuse

3A Fuse

SP/ST

SP/ST

MOM. SW

MOUNTING DIMENSIONS

4.20"

2.10"

0.25"

0.625"

0.25"

WIRING DIAGRAM

M
O
U
N
T

I
N
G

S
U
R
F
A
C
E

Gasket-

Use formed gasket on

flat, smooth surfaces

only.

#8 x 1"

PPHSMS

M4 Assembly

Slotted Hole
Screw Grommet

Pattern

SYNC? CA Title XIII?

Phase

1 SignalAlert™ CAL PH.1 YES YES
2 SignalAlert™ CAL PH.2 YES YES
3 CometFlash®75 PH.1 YES NO
4 CometFlash® 75 PH.2 YES NO
5 DoubleFlash 75 PH.1 YES YES
6 DoubleFlash 75 PH.2 YES YES
7 SingleFlash 75 PH.1 YES YES
8 SingleFlash 75 PH.2 YES YES
9 ComAlert™ 75 PH.1 YES NO
10 ComAlert™ 75 PH.2 YES NO
11 LongBurst™ 75 PH.1 YES NO
12 LongBurst™ 75 PH.2 YES NO
13 SingleFlash 60 PH.1 NO YES
14 SingleFlash 90 PH.1 NO YES
15 SingleFlash 120 PH.1 NO YES
16 SingleFlash 300 PH.1 NO YES
17 DoubleFlash 150 PH.1 NO NO
18 ComAlert™ 150 PH.1 NO NO
19 ActionFlash™50 PH.1 NO NO
20 ActionFlash™ 150 PH.1 NO NO
21 ModuFlash™ PH.1 NO NO
22 DoubleFlash 120 PH.1 NO YES
23 TripleFlash™75 PH.1 NO YES
24 TripleFlash™120 PH.1 NO YES
25 Action SF 60/120 PH.1 NO YES
26 Action SF 120/TF75 PH.1 NO YES
27 CalScan™ PH.1 NO YES
28 ActionScan™ PH.1 NO NO

29 SignalAlert™ Steady PH.1 NO NO
30 Steady PH.1 NO YES

*
*
*No low power for this pattern

CAUTION! DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THESE LEDS WHILE THEY ARE ON.
MOMENTARY BLINDNESS AND/OR EYE DAMAGE COULD RESULT!

IMPORTANT WARNING!

Installation and Wiring:

External Flasher Models: This product draws significantly less
current than a standard incandescent automotive bulb. If your
flasher does not operate properly, it may be necessary to replace
your flasher module with a Whelen® flasher module. Contact your
sales representative for application.

Caution: Permanent mounting of this product will require
drilling. It is absolutely necessary to make sure that no other
vehicle components could be damaged by this process.
Check both sides of the mounting surface before starting. If
damage is likely, select a different location.

WARNING! All customer supplied wires that connect to the
positive terminal of the battery must be sized to supply at
least 125% of the maximum operating current and FUSED
the battery to carry that load. DO NOT USE CIRCUIT
BREAKERS WITH THIS PRODUCT!

NOTE: The color of the Positive Wire is determined by the
color of the LED. In this manual, RED is used as a reference
color.

1. Using the dimensions below, mark the mounting and wire hole
locations onto the proposed mounting surface. Drill two, .250"
diameter mounting holes and a .625" (minimum) wire access
hole into the mounting surface.

2. Place the gasket into position on the rear of the M4 assembly.
Insert the slotted hole screw grommet through the mounting
holes on the M4/Gasket assembly. Feed the M4 wires through
the wire access hole in the mounting surface. Press the M4/
Gasket/Grommet assembly onto its mounting location so that it
is flat against the mounting surface.

3. With the assembly in position and using the hardware provided,
tighten the mounting screws until the lighthead assembly is
drawn firmly against the mounting surface. DO NOT
OVERTIGHTEN!

4. Using appropriately sized wires (minimum 18 AWG), extend the
M4 wires to their designated connections. Refer to the diagram
below for wiring and fusing information.

Operation:

Flash Mode / RED:

Apply +VBAT to the RED wire to activate the lighthead in “flash
mode”. With flash mode activated, you may change the flash
pattern using Scan-Lock™.

Low Power / VIOLET:

The type of switch used depends on how the operator wishes the
Low Power feature to function: Latching Mode: By applying +VBAT
to the VIO wire for less than 1 sec., the lighthead is “latched” into
low power. The unit must be turned off and then back on to restore
normal operation. (momentary switch) Level Mode: Applying
+VBAT to the VIO wire for more than 1 sec. holds the lighthead in
low power mode until voltage is removed. (toggle switch)

SYNC / GREY

To SYNC two lightheads, configure both lightheads to display the
same Phase 1 (Simultaneous) pattern. Turn the power off and con­nect the GREY wire from each lighthead together. When the light­heads are activated their patterns will be synchronized. To
configure two lightheads to alternate their patterns, advance the
pattern of either lighthead to Phase 2 (Alternating) of the current
pattern.

Scan-Lock™ / WHT/VIO / Flash Pattern Selection:

This feature allows the user to select from several available flash
patterns. The lighthead must be on for Scan-Lock™ to work.

TO CYCLE THROUGH ALL PATTERNS: Apply +VBAT to the WHT/VIO wire
for less than 1 second and release. To cycle backward through patterns apply
+VBAT to the WHT/VIO wire for over 1 second and release.

TO SET A PATTERN AS DEFAULT: Allow the pattern to run for more than 5
seconds. The lighthead will flicker slightly when the pattern locks in. This flicker
may be difficult to see with some patterns. The lighthead will now display this
pattern when activated.

TO RESET TO THE FACTORY DEFAULT PATTERN: Turn off power. While
applying +VBAT to the WHT/VIO wire, turn power on. This will reset the
lighthead to it’s factory default flash pattern.

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!

at

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