Whelen TA637A User Manual

®

ENGINEERING COMPANY INC.

CAUTION

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

Refer to OSHA Section 1910.95 prior
to putting ANY siren into service!

Wear

Protection!

ACTIVATION OF THIS
SIREN MAY DAMAGE
UNPROTECTED EARS!

51 Winthrop Road
Chester, Connecticut 06412-0684
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Internet: www.whelen.com

Installation and Operating Guide:

Traffic Advisor™ Control Head Models

TACTRL1A, TACTRL3A, TACTRL 4,

TACTRL4A, TACTRL21A, TACTRL23A,

TACTRL24A, TACTRL32

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.

• 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 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!

Automotive: Sirens/Switches

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

©2001 Whelen Engineering Company Inc.
Form No.13484F (072612)

Page 1

FRONT VIEW

LOW

HIGH

POWER

OFF

FLASH

SPLIT

RIGHT

LEFT

TRAFFIC ADVISOR

R

TM

FUNCTION

PATTERN SELECTION

ROTARY KNOB

HIGH / LOW / OFF

SWITCH

LED STATUS DISPLAY

DIRECTION INDICATOR

Important Note: This manual is used for both 12-volt and 24­volt versions of TACTRL Series control head. All 24-volt
versions are identical to their 12-volt counterparts in both
function & operation. However, any fusing and wiring
differences will be documented in the appropriate sections.

The TACTRL Series Control Head features a four-function rotary
switch that allows the user to select from left arrow, right arrow,
split arrow, or flash pattern. Dip switches on the rear panel
determine which of the following patterns will be displayed when
“flash” is selected (see “Dip Switch Programming” on page 3).

• One Lamp Sequence to TripleFlash™

• One Lamp Sequence to DoubleFlash

• Sequence to Solid

• Solid Arrow

• Two Lamp Sequences

• Three Lamp Sequences

• Four Lamp Sequences

• Sequence On / Sequence Off

• Remote Flash Control (TACTRL1A Only)

Remote Flash Control is the new feature on the TACTRL1A.

This allows for the remote activation of the flash function when
the T/A head is off. Turning on the control head overrides the
auxiliary control. This is ideal for activation with a slide switch
control.

2. Drill the mounting holes in the areas scribed in step 1. The
size of the drill bit should be determined by the size of the
mounting hardware (customer supplied) and thickness of the
mounting surface.

3. Using your mounting hardware, secure the bail strap to the
mounting location. NOTE: There are 2 sets of holes on the

bail strap for positioning the control head at 2 different
heights (see Page 3).

4. With the bail strap in place, insert the carriage bolt along with
the external tooth lock washer (supplied) into the assembly
hole from the inner side of the Bail Strap as shown.

5. Place the split lock washer and the acorn nut on the
protruding bolt on the outer side of the bail strap. Loosely
secure the acorn nut to the carriage bolt.

6. Now slide the control head onto the carriage bolts. Once it is
in the position that the customer has chosen, tighten the
acorn nuts until the unit is firmly secured.

Wiring the Traffic Advisor™ System

1. Plug the connector into the back of the control head unit (see
“Rear View” next page).

2. Extend the RED and BLACK wires to the battery.

3. Connect the RED wire to one end of a user supplied fuse
block. Do not connect this unit to the battery yet.

4. Connect the BLACK wire to the vehicle’s chassis ground

5. Extend and connect the WHITE wire to the accessory switch
for the back light controls (TACTRL1A only).

6. Route the cable from the TA to the control head.

7. Following the pin charts for your model on page 3, insert the
contact wires into their positions. Check that the wires are
fully inserted by pulling back on them firmly.

8. Plug the connector(s) into the back of the control head.

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 at
the battery to carry that load. DO NOT USE CIRCUIT
BREAKERS WITH THIS PRODUCT!

(See “Wire Chart” on page 3)

A Center-Off Rocker Switch is used to turn the unit on and off, in
either high or low power mode. The TACTRL has an LED status
display that provides a visual indication of the current light
pattern.

Installation: Mounting Control Head

1. Position the bail strap in the selected mounting location.
Using an awl or other suitable tool, scribe the surface where
the mounting hole are to be drilled.

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 mounting location.

The installation of your Traffic Advisor System will be complete
after the fuse block wire is connected to the POSITIVE (+)
terminal of the battery. After this connection has been made,
inspect the fuses at the control head and at the battery. If either of
these fuses are blown, carefully inspect all of the circuit wires and
make sure they are wired correctly. Replace blown fuses with one
of an identical amp rating as the original. If these fuses blow after
installation or activation, contact Whelen Engineering Technical
Support.

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, visually confirm the
proper operation of this product, as well as all vehicle
components/equipment.

Page 2