Whelen TAL85 User Manual

®

ENGINEERING COMPANY INC.

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

TAL85, TAL85**, TAL85W, TAL85W**,

Installation Guide:

LED Traffic Advisor™

TAL65, TAL65W

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.

• 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. Lens 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: Traffic Advisor

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

©2003 Whelen Engineering Company Inc.
Form No.13761C (082709)

Page 1

Mounting:

Read all warnings before starting installation.

Note: There are two ways to mount the light array. Both methods

require the unit to be secured to the mounting surface using
the supplied sheet metal screws. The cable harness can
either be routed directly into the mounting surface or routed
out the side of the end cap (see illustration below). When
facing the LED display, the cable harness should exit from the
right side of the bar.

Note: When routing the wires, it is important to choose a path that

will keep these wires away from excessive heat and from any
vehicle equipment that could compromise the integrity of the
wires (ex. trunk lids, door jams, etc.).

1. Position the unit in its proposed mounting location to ensure that it fits
properly. With the unit in place, use an awl or other suitable tool and
scribe the areas to be drilled, based on the desired style.

Style 1 - Remove the unit from its mounting area and, using a 5/8” drill bit,
drill a hole for the cable harness. Affix the 5/8” grommet to the hole and
feed the cable harness through the grommet.

Style 2 (OPTIONAL) - To route the cable harness through the end cap a 5/
8” passage hole must be drilled. Remove the endcap from the light array,
via. the machine screws, as to prevent damage to the cable harness and
drill the hole. Place the 5/8” grommet on the hole and feed the cable
through. Once this is done, secure the endcap back onto the light array.

2. Using an appropriately sized drill bit, drill a hole in each of the areas
scribed in the previous step.

3. Return the unit to its mounting location and using the supplied
hardware, mount the unit as shown below.

Note: Do not install the fuse required in the fuse block, until all wire

connections are completed.

Installation is now complete. Refer to the information for your model on the
wiring diagram below and the manual that comes with your control head.

Cable

Harness

Endcap
Seal

Lens

#10 X 3/4“ P.P.H.S.M.S.

PIN

1
2
3

FUNCTION

Lamp 1
Lamp 2
Lamp 3

COLOR

BROWN
RED
ORANGE

4

Lamp 4

5

Lamp 5

6

Lamp 6

YELLOW
GREEN
BLUE

7
8
9

Lamp 7
Lamp 8
Batt. / Pos

NOTE: Switches fuses and fuse blocks are not supplied

3 Amp Fuse

BACK LIGHT CONTROL: to +12VDC

POS 3 / WHITE

source that is activated with the vehicles ignition switch
BATTERY: Negative

BATTERY: Positive

POS 2 / BLACK

POS 1 / RED

10 Amp

Fuse

IMPORTANT WARNING!

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

REF. A.
Optional
Mounting

5/8“ Grommet
Shown here on wire harness
for illustration purposes.

VIOLET
GRAY
WHITE

CONTROL

DIP

SWITCH

3

4

21

10
11
12

5

N/C
N/C
Aux. Input

Requires SP/ST switch
fused at 3 Amps.

TAL85W/8LT/Switched Ground / Waterproof
1=

WHT/RED

2=

WHT/YEL

3=

WHT/BLU

4

=VIO

5

= WHT/GRN

6

= BLU/WHT

7

= GRN/WHT

8

= WHT/BRN

N/C
N/C
WHITE-BLUE

TACTLD1

REAR VIEW

20 AMP

TACTLD1

See
instructions
for programming
and function

9

= WHT/ORG

I0

= YEL

11

= BLUE

12

= WHT/VIO

goes in wire hole.

Cable equipped with 16 position connector

Cable equipped with 12 position connector

12 POSITION
CONNECTOR

10

7

124

11

5

8

12

9

63

OR

13

= GRN

14

= WHT/BLK

15

= GRN/BLK

16

= BLU/BLK

OPTIONAL MOUNTING

REF. A

#10 - 24 X 1.25
TORX PAN HEAD

Drill hole in endcap,
run cable through.

TAL65/6LIGHT

SW. GROUND

1 = BROWN

= RED

2

=N/C

3

= YELLOW

4

= GREEN

5

=N/C

6

= VIOLET

7

= GRAY

8

= WHITE

9

=N/C

IO

=N/C

11

=N/C

12

12 POSITION CONNECTOR

TAL85_ _ SERIES

SW. GROUND

1 = BROWN

= RED

2

=N/C

3

= YELLOW

4

= GREEN

5

=N/C

6

= VIOLET

7

= GRAY

8

= WHITE

9

=N/C

IO

=N/C

11

=N/C

12

TAL65W / 6 LIGHT / Switched Ground / Waterproof
1=

WHT/RED

2=

WHT/YEL

3=

N/C

4

=VIO

5

= WHT/GRN

6

=N/C

7

= GRN/WHT

8

= WHT/BRN

TAL85 / 8 LIGHT

SW. GROUND

1 = BROWN

= RED

2

= ORANGE

3

= YELLOW

4

= GREEN

5

= BLUE

6

= VIOLET

7

= GRAY

8

= WHITE

9

=N/C

IO

=N/C

11

=N/C

12

12 POS. CONN.

ORANGE

9

= WHT/ORG

I0

= YEL

11

=N/C

12

= WHT/VIO

BLUE

Flasher
wires only
on Model
TAL85_ _

POWER / +12V

GROUND

13

= GRN

14

=N/C

15

= GRN/BLK

16

= BLU/BLK

Page 2

16 POSITION CONNECTOR

16 POS.
CONN.