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Most Common Upfit Mistakes

Written by Law and Order Staff

LAW and ORDER spent some time with Jim Kelly of Police Department Services (PDS) in Mokena, IL. PDS is the upfitter for both Thomas Dodge and Sutton Ford. The company also does upfits for police departments in the greater Chicagoland area, performing about 500 emergency vehicle upfits a year. So, what are the most common errors that they have seen in upfits done by others and errors that they often have to correct on in-service police cars?

Improper Wire Size

“The wire size must be large enough to carry the amp load,” Kelly said. “I have seen 12-gauge wire spliced down to 16-gauge then spliced back up to 14-gauge. Use the same wire gauge that comes with the electrical device and run that exact size uniformly all the way to the power source.”

Don’t use smaller than specified wire gauges, ever. Smaller wires can’t carry the amp load and have more resistance than larger wires. They get hot, and of course, end up melting the insulation, shorting out, blowing a fuse, starting a fire or damaging equipment.

“We find a lot of burned wires with these kinds of upfits,” Kelly said.

Speaking of resistance, heat and fires, a related problem is loose terminals. These are terminal connections that were not properly tightened in the first place. Or, these are terminals that came loose by vibration or improper wire and cable dressing. Loose terminals cause heat or sparks, burned connections, and of course, intermittent power interruptions.

Crimp-Only vs. Crimp and Solder

“Not only do we crimp and solder all connections, we heat-shrink most of them. Solder prevents corrosion,” Kelly said. “Any crimp connection that is not soldered will fail.”

Mechanical crimping alone is simply not adequate. Some connections are under crimped, which means the wire strands are loose. This causes resistance and heat. In some cases, of course, wires pull completely out of a loose crimp. This always causes the electrical device to fail and sometimes causes a short and fire.”

Some connections are over-crimped, which crushes the strands. In some cases, these crushed strands break, which causes a power interruption or an increase in resistance. In other cases, the over-crimped connector holds some strands tight but deforms and spreads out to only loosely hold other strands. Again, this causes heat.

Even properly crimped connections, as rare as they are, still cause problems. Bare and exposed copper corrodes. This is especially evident for under-hood connections. Corrosion, of course, leads to failed connections.

The solution to all three crimping problems is soldering the connection. Solder fills the voids on a loose connection and produces a connection that will not pull apart. Solder joins the loose and crushed strands on an over-crimped connection and makes a single solid connection.

Finally, on a properly crimped connection, the exposed copper is covered with a layer of tin-lead. This prevents corrosion. Electrically-speaking, a soldered connection has less resistance than even a clean and properly crimped connection.

Improper Fusing

“Every individual electrical device should be separately fused,” Kelly said. “Use high-quality fuses and high-quality fuse holders.”

Stick with the major manufacturers of fuses. Cheap fuses can be defective right out of the box or blow right away. That means that the cheap fuse will mask the real problem. That causes a lot of frustration to save two cents per fuse. The fuse itself should be rated at 20% more than the amps the device is pulling. Less than that, and the fuse will be constantly blowing. More than that, and what is the point?

Some devices that are properly fused frequently blow fuses or pop circuit breakers. In police work, we call that a “clue.” Something is wrong! Installing a higher amp rated fuse does not fix the true problem.

For this exact reason, PDS does not use circuit breakers. They are too easy to reset, which means the true electrical problem (a fire-causing or device-ruining short) continues to go undiagnosed.

Excessive Electrical Loads

 “It is all about amps-at-idle. Don’t confuse amps-at-idle with total alternator output,” Kelly said. It is not the power draw during a lights-and-siren run that matters. What happens at idle is what matters.”

Many patrol cars are equipped with more electrical devices than the car’s charging system can handle. THAT is why alternators and batteries fail so often on a police car. They almost never fail on a retail car and almost never fail on a properly upfitted police car. If your police cars are killing alternators and batteries, they are simply not upfitted properly.

If your police cars need a second on-board battery, they are not upfitted properly. Mind you, that might mean they have too many electrical devices.

You must take time to research the electrical demand of every aftermarket device. Find the amp draw. If the manufacturer cannot tell you, then measure it for yourself. Factor in the amount of time the device is on or how frequently it is used. A halogen lightbar that pulls 75 amps (some do) during a pursuit, but only 15 amps in tick-tock flasher mode when the vehicle is stopped, is only 15 amps.

Think about all the gear that your officers are LIKELY to have on during extended idle periods, and add it all up...radar, in-car video, computer, emergency lights including wig-wags...everything.

Then, add what the vehicle itself needs to run. This includes both powertrain demands and vehicle accessories. The A/C is a big amp draw, and so is the electric radiator fan motors. Both are on at the same time, of course. The heater motor is a big amp draw and it is on at the same time as the biggest amp draw of all: the rear defroster.

Add the typical cop gear at idle to the long-term vehicle needs at idle. Compare that number to the amps produced by the alternator at idle. If the amp demand is greater than the amp supply, the power will come from the battery…draining it. The more the battery is deep cycled, the shorter it will last.

The solution to the need for more power for electronic police devices is to reduce demand elsewhere. It is not realistic (or even sensible) to reduce the communication and enforcement gear. However, it is easy to reduce the power draw elsewhere.

“Get rid of halogen and strobe lights,” Kelly said. “These are like running on arc welder in the car. LED lights are the solution to battery and alternator problems.”

LED lights are the solution to a heavy amp draw from emergency lights. And the question is no longer, “Are LED lights bright enough?” Instead, more common and relevant questions are, “Are LED lights too bright?” and “Is a partial output setting available?”

Poor Brackets & Mounting

“Brackets are projectiles. When mounted improperly—and many devices are—these are just waiting to be launched,” Kelly said. “You can’t just drill into plastic or cardboard and think it will hold.”

Many of the brackets supplied by aftermarket equipment manufacturers are not up to the task of police work...even if they are supposed to hold a piece of police gear. The bracket is too small, or too weak, or doesn’t support the device without vibration, or won’t hold the device in the proper position...or won’t fit the car. And some devices come without brackets with “one-size-fits-none” brackets. The upfitter must often make better brackets.

Even when good brackets are supplied, often the fasteners are not up to the task. Small, self-tapping screws are good for only mounting to plastic or cardboard, and nothing heavier than a radio mic should be mounted like that. If you must mount something to plastic or cardboard, put a piece of metal (or way oversized washers) on the opposite side. If you tighten a fastener into plastic, the plastic cracks. It is as simple as that.

The solution is to use machine screws and nuts. Obviously, you can’t put a nut on a bolt in some locations. The solution is a nutsert type of fastener rather than self-tapping or self-threading screws. Pop-rivet the nutsert in place and then tighten the device in place with a machine screw. This takes a little longer but makes the installation and removal for service easier.

“Just because you drill through plastic and use a 2-inch-long self-tapping screw, don’t think you hit metal somewhere back there,” Kelly said. “And don’t think the cardboard package tray will hold lights and radar antennas in place. These are just waiting to fly forward and hit the driver.” Instead of the thin, cardboard rear package tray, mount to the child restraint anchor points.

All fasteners exposed to the elements, including all trunk and under-hood fasteners, should be stainless steel. While slightly more expensive, stainless is much stronger, and of course, corrosion resistant. Stainless fasteners make it much easier to remove whatever it was you installed.

Speaking of weak fasteners, many brackets come with under-size fasteners, i.e., 8-32 machine screws when 10-24 or ¼-20 is a better size for the police application.

One final word on fasteners: Be sure they do not protrude to become a driver (or prisoner) hazard. This is especially true for prisoner partition fasteners, i.e., anything whatsoever bolted to the cage. Some spit screens have been bolted to the partition in such a way that the back of the driver’s head can be impaled by protruding bolts. In the same way, be sure that protruding bolts from aftermarket devices don’t interfere with the radiator, oil cooler and engine belts.

Devices cannot be mounted in a way to interfere with officers getting in or out of the vehicle, like rechargeable flashlights almost always are. Devices cannot hang down or stick out in such a way that gear taken in and out of the vehicle strikes them. This is especially true for rear lights on a SUV.

Mounting Inside Airbag Zone

“Aftermarket devices are routinely mounting inside airbag deployment zones. It is not the exception. It seems to be the rule,” Kelly said. “Don’t mount anything anywhere near the zones.”

In-car video cameras and radar antennas frequently get mounted inside this deployment zone. While computer displays almost always enter this zone, cops ignore the advice to drive with the display folded down. No one does that, even though a deployed airbag will “blow the laptop display clean off.”

More of a problem, the computer itself is mounted inside the zone. In a demonstration at the Police Fleet Expo, an airbag will blow the entire laptop off the mounting tree and toward the driver.

First, double check the airbag deployment zones, i.e., keep-out zones. This info is provided by all automakers. Second, check for side (thorax) airbags or side (head) curtain airbags. Of course, the side curtain airbag is not compatible with the old-style partition. Upfitters will find they have very little space that is not covered by the combination of airbags.

An aftermarket airbag cutoff is one answer. Later model sedans with seat sensors may not deploy an airbag unless the weight of a person is on that seat. Confirm that the vehicle uses that kind of weight sensor and staged airbag. More than just avoiding the airbag deployment zone, the upfitter must stay away from all of the airbag harness and tethers in the A-pillars and roof rails.

“Stay close to the centerline of the roofline,” Kelly said. “Route the wires behind the tethers or above them. Stay away from the airbag’s unique yellow wire.”

Poor Mounting Ergonomics

“The easiest way to mount something may not place that device in the easiest location to use it,” Kelly said. “And the easiest mounting location may not even be safe.”

The device the officer uses the most should be the easiest to reach. That will almost certainly be the radio mic...yet this often ends up in bizarre locations. The driver actually has to actually reach all this stuff without being a contortionist.

No device, it seems, is so routinely poorly mounted as the rechargeable flashlight. On the driver’s door where it falls off every time the door is closed. On the transmission hump where it falls off and rolls around under the gas and brake pedals. On the center console where the officer’s arm hits it two dozen times per shift. On the dash where it blocks the HVAC controls and cup holders. Put some thought into this...better yet, ask the drivers where they want them.

The prudent upfitter will do the complete install except for placement of the mic. The mic and mic holder get tie-wrapped in place until the department comes to pick up the car. Two screws later, the mic is exactly where the officer wants it...no guessing.

The in-car camera, radar antenna and dash, mirror and deck lights cannot be mounted in such a way that they severely restrict visibility. This means mounting the radar antenna on the dash near the A-pillar and buying the smallest car cam available. This means thin and low-profile LED deck lights and the minimum number of dash and rear view mirror lights.

Devices glued to glass always fall off. Devices mounted to glass, be definition, block the view out of the glass; they also drop free at the worst possible time. Don’t mount to glass. Very creative mounting may be required.

Poor Cable Routing or Dressing

“Split-loom is the cheapest way to protect the wiring and cable harness. Tie-wrap the cable every 12 inches, then put split-loom around it,” Kelly said. “Don’t use electrical tape.”

Don’t use electrical tape to wrap around the harness. In the heat, the gum on the tape melts, and in the cold, the tape itself cracks. The tape becomes a gummy mess, or the tape unravels. Accessing the wires in the cable requires untaping the whole harness, while adding wires requires retaping. With split-loom, simply slide the wire inside the loom.

Wiring inside the split-loom plastic conduit is protected from objects in the car that may damage the wires. This can be things thrown in the trunk, things kicked up the road and feet being placed on the wiring located under a mat. Properly dressed cables keep the connections from pulling loose or breaking off from the device. It also makes tracking easier because common wires are all bundled together and all branch off together.

Split-loom improves the appearance of the install and makes it look more professional because that is exactly what the factory uses around its harnesses. The split-loom prevents the wires from being damaged. This protection is not needed when routing behind the dash, inside the pillars, above the headliner or under the sills and kick panels. However, the split-loom should be used any time the wires are exposed to the interior of the passenger compartment, trunk or engine compartment.

Even after the wires are tie-wrapped and/or placed in a protective split-loom, they still need to be dressed or routed out of harm’s way. Run them well away from heat sources (exhaust manifolds) and moving parts (engine pulleys). Run them where road debris won’t kick up and damage them, and don’t let the cables dangle down to where they will catch on whatever the officer is running over at the time. This means the cables must be tie-wrapped to some body or chassis feature, period.

“When you run the wires, remember to leave a service loop. That is several inches of extra wire that allows you to pull the device out a bit for servicing,” Kelly said.

Improper Electrical Interface with the Vehicle

“Lots of upfitters look for the first red wire in the harness and splice into it. This is a huge problem,” Kelly said. “You just cannot tap into the vehicle wiring anymore. You simply must use a complete and separate harness. We make our own.”

The best example of improper access to a vehicle’s wiring harness was the upfitter who tapped into the brake lights to flash them with the wig-wags. The brake lights, however, were wired to the ABS system. The same power that flashed the rear bulbs also disrupted the ABS logic...a fact discovered after the accident.

Especially with today’s cars and their sophisticated busing and thin, flat, joined wiring, the only real solution is to run a stand-alone wiring harness. At least two sources make universal harnesses, MNStar and Power Patrol. However, some upfitters pride themselves on making custom harnesses specific to the car or police department. PDS, for example, makes its own and uses as many different wire color and stripe combinations as possible...separate wire colors for separate devices.

PDS starts with a 6-gauge main wire at the battery and builds its harness from there. It is fused at the battery and all main accessories are separately fused. Generally, three separate harnesses are assembled: one from the engine to the trunk, one from the engine to the console and one from the console to the trunk.

“I have seen red wires spliced to brown wires spliced to black wires in one long piece going to the device. And I have seen the whole upfit done in just black and red wires.” Kelly said. “Keep the same color the entire length of the connection. And color is supposed to mean something, i.e., color coded.”

Virtually all upfitters connect right to the battery, and run 100% of the aftermarket devices off this harness. They use almost none of the factory wiring. The exception may be the pre-wired, or pass-thru wiring, for the grille lights and siren speaker that comes on some police package vehicles.

Of course, hooking anything directly to the battery raises the concern of running the battery dead when the car is shut off. Many battery-saving devices exist. PDS uses the Comm-Net delay-off timer with relay. Hooked to the ignition switch through the fuse block, the timer can be preset to shut off battery power to the aftermarket devices in 15 minute intervals after the ignition is turned off.

“There is no reason the police car should eat batteries and alternators,” Kelly said. “That is just poor battery maintenance, and it starts with poor upfitting. Deep cycled batteries don’t come back.”

Battery life starts with the upfit. Overloaded electrical systems where the alternator can’t keep up draw power from the battery. If a lot of power is drawn from the battery, it needs a lot of recharging from the alternator. That is deep cycling. Unlike the batteries of old, today’s batteries last longer BUT are less tolerant of running completely down or even deep cycling. Some police-spec batteries have been ruined by as few as six full drains.

Battery life is also determined by how all the circuits are tied in. A proper upfit simply prevents the battery from being run dead by use of one of the battery protection devices. A proper upfit also includes some initial protection against corrosion for the battery terminals, be it grease or water-proof lacquer. Unprotected terminals will corrode.

Damage During Upfit

“Gas tanks get drilled all the time. Wires are run over airbags or around airbag tethers. Plastic trim gets cracked frequently,” Kelly said of careless upfitters. “You can’t just drill through floors without knowing exactly what is on the other side...and how far away from the floor that is.”

Gas tank damage is a common problem. Yet “keep out” or “do not mount” zones are clearly marked in the owner’s manual, supplemental owner’s manual or upfitters guide provided by all three manufacturers. The upfitter simply must read and follow these restrictions.

Physically and visually inspect the gas tank location, and the location of all the other under-chassis components. At one time or another, every car part under the chassis and near the floorboard has been drilled. This includes shocks, brake lines and the driveshaft. One of the best solutions is to fixture the drill for limited penetration drilling, i.e., just through the sheetmetal rather than 3 inches under the sheetmetal.

The solution damaged to sill plates, kick panels and other pieces of plastic trim during winter upfits is simply let the car warm up. Bring it in the shop a few hours before you need to take the trim pieces off.

Failure to Check References

“When you spend $3,500 or more per vehicle for the upfit, you want to check into the business!” Kelly said. “Don’t check just one reference. Check them all. And then ask around.”

Was the service timely? If they said two weeks or two days, were they reliable? Did they sort out request for quote issues or just make assumptions? Can they repair the gear as well as install it? Are they available to prioritize work, i.e., what if the unit is needed back immediately? Will they work on the vehicle while the officer waits?

Do they do a purely professional job, or take short cuts, i.e., failure to solder connections, and carelessly route wires? Did all of the gear actually work when the vehicle was delivered? Was there any damage whatsoever done to the vehicle? Have they actually ever upfitted a police vehicle? Have they actually installed the exact gear you are using, or will you be their first? Are they wrench-turners or problem-solvers? Have any of their cars gone down for an upfit-related reason? Is this a job or a hobby for them?

Incomplete Bids

 “Most requests for quotes are incomplete or inaccurate. Many reference outdated, obsolete or unavailable parts,” Kelly said. “Many simply specify an LED lightbar, but don’t say what colors, how many modules, whether they want take-down and/or alley lights, or if they want an arrow stick.”

Some fleet managers simply go to last year’s bid and change the date. Much more research is required. For example, the Dodge Intrepid required a separate headlight flasher for the wig-wags. This feature is built into the Dodge Charger. Not only is the flasher unnecessary, failure to include it (if specified) could be considered non-compliance.

“If you don’t follow the RFQ, your bid is rejected. If you give them what they want, not what they ask for, you have the liability,” Kelly said. That also means the bid may be too high, compared to those who quoted only what was asked, i.e., a 4-module LED bar versus a 6-module LED bar with take-downs, alleys, and arrow stick.

The only option is for the upfitter to call the police department for a clarification. This in turn may require an amended RFQ, a step which may be very involved, time consuming and even embarrassing. Short of a revised RFQ, the upfitter should insist on the clarification in writing and not rely on the phone call alone.

Many departments will want some gear to be reused, i.e., transferred from the out-of-service vehicle to the new one. While certainly prudent, this is even more problematic. Exactly what gets transferred? What gets inspected before transfer? What are the inspection standards?

For example, should the lenses on the lightbar be replaced, or should it just be put on the new car as-is? Should the rotator motors and nylon gears be replaced? Or even inspected? Should the push bumper be reused? What if it is bent? Should the wiring harness be reused? Of course not if it has corroded terminals. But should the terminals be replaced, or the entire harness discarded? If in doubt, call, ask and document the answer.

Thanks to Jim Kelly, Police Department Services, 8940 W. 192nd St., Suite O, Mokena, IL 60448, phone (708) 478-7711, for the time and the advice.

Maybe your upfitters know all this. Perhaps they do. Or maybe yours are the cars with the drilled gas tanks and an insatiable appetite for batteries and alternators…

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