Another one of our customers just put up a great video showing how he wired his Factory Five GTM with ISIS. He replaced the stock wire harness with our 3-Cell Kit. He also added our inMOTION motor controller for his windows and for the tilt & telescope mechanism on the column. He added inLINK for wireless control and security plus he added inRESERVE to protect his battery.
Check out the video below. Joe walks you through the ISIS wiring in his GTM, shows where he mounted the components and lights up his LS1 using the ISIS one-button start.
The car looks great. As soon as he gets his Mendiola transaxle, he'll be out there go-karting with the chassis.
Thanks for the video Joe!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
ISIS Power Case Study- Herr Display Vans
This case study looks at Tim Herr and his team at Herr Display Vans out of Steger, Illinois. Herr builds a broad range of vehicles including rapid-response trucks and command vehicles but their main business is building tool trucks. Their customers are distributors of tools for companies like Matco, Cornwell and Mac Tools. These trucks are rolling stores and offices. Their customers demand a lot from them.
The Herr team installs one MASTERCELL, two POWERCELLs, inLINK and the ISIS inTOUCH MAX touch screen in all of their trucks. They purchase their system with harnesses manufactured to specific lengths for their trucks.
The inTOUCH MAX touch screen is the heart of the vehicle. The owner and operator of the truck uses this to control everything from the interior lighting, display lighting, scene lights, overhead fans, the hot water heater, and door locks. The screen also displays the voltage on the batteries so the customer knows when he needs to start the truck’s engine to charge them up again. The screens are also customized with the Herr logo to help promote their brand.
The inTOUCH MAX screen eliminates almost all of the switches in the truck that Herr has to add. This dramatically reduces the time that it takes to wire the truck plus it saves a significant amount of space.
Depending on the truck body that the customer specifies, they mount the front and rear POWERCELL in locations that reduce the length of wire running to the functions.
By adding the inLINK wireless module to their system, Herr gets all of the security, immobilizer and alarm functions that they were getting from their old supplier. The big difference is that all of this is integrated into ISIS and this requires no additional wiring. When the customer locks the truck from the ISIS inLINK keyfob, the front POWERCELL engages a solenoid that disables the start circuit on the truck. At the same time, the MASTERCELL monitors inputs tied to switches on the doors and hood plus a motion sensor. If any of these inputs are tripped while security is activated on the ISIS system, an output on the front POWERCELL energizes the siren to alert the owner that someone may be trying to break into the truck. Considering the value of the tools in the back of these trucks, these features help to protect their customers’ investments in inventory.
The ISIS inLINK upgrade also gives Herr’s customers the ability to lock and unlock the doors plus control the lighting remotely from the key fob. This is a feature that they couldn’t implement before with their existing alarm system.
What they save in each truck:
• Individually wired switch panels
• Remote fuse and relay panels
• Aftermarket security & immobilizer systems
• External voltage displays
• Reduction in wiring time
What they gain with ISIS in their trucks:
• A universal wiring system that works on any of the truck bodies that a customer may order
• A unique touch screen interface that sets their trucks apart from their competition
• More robust security, immobilizer and alarm functions
• Wireless control of truck functions
• Diagnostic capabilities for troubleshooting
• The flexibility to add other functions easily and quickly
You can learn more about Herr Display Vans at their website by visiting www.herrdisplayvans.com. Or you can contact them at:
800-758-4377
708-755-7926
708-755-7948 fax
3328 Louis Sherman Dr.
Steger, IL 60475
You can download the complete application note at the ISIS Power website by clicking here.
Plastikote in Action...
Okay Guys,
The rear-end of our 1955 F100 Ford F100 panel truck is ready to get assembled to the chassis. The last thing that we needed to do was paint it. As I've mentioned before, we're using Plastikote's Chassis & Grille Guard Epoxy Paint for all of our chassis components. We picked the matte black finish.
We want a durable, maintenance free finish under the ISIS Power truck. This is a working truck for us and we it as reliable as possible. The Plastikote line of products work great for our application. They go on easily with no specialized equipment. Our paint booth and spray capabilities are pretty limited so the fact that these finishes come in a spray can makes this brainless for us.
We took one last swing at the rear-end with the wire wheel and some Scotch Brite to clean up any surface rust that popped up. We hit it with a tack cloth and went to town with the paint. Check out the action.
Stay tuned for more. We have a little more paint work to do on the chassis then we start assembling the Heidts Superide II IFS and their Classic Truck 4-Link Rear. We also need to get the engine and transmission mounted plus set up the drive shaft.
You can catch our entire video series of us wiring our truck with our ISIS Intelligent Multiplex System at this blog or at our website by clicking here. You can also catch the videos for the Heidts hardware and more about Plastikote.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Keith Bentzel's GTM in Vette Magazine & Kit Car Magazine...
Yes, you have seen this car before. It was the centerpiece of the episode of Two Guys Garage that featured our ISIS Intelligent Multiplex System in early 2009. This is a beautiful Factory Five GTM that was built by Keith Bentzel. He was one of our earliest ISIS customers and he did a great install in this car.
I was flipping through the latest issue of Kit Car Magazine and caught this car out of the corner of my eye. It really stands out so it is hard to miss. After a little digging, I figured out that this was a reprint of an article that originally appeared in the July 2010 issue of Vette Magazine. There are a ton of great pictures of the car and Christopher Phillip wrote a great article documenting Keith's baby.
Keith wired the GTM with our standard 3-Cell Kit with inLINK. He is using the stock GTM configuration with the one-button start function.
You can check out the full article on the Vette Magazine website by clicking this link.
Monday, October 3, 2011
ISIS Power F100 Paint Time...
We're done with the suspension & chassis work on our 1955 F100 panel truck. The Heidts Superide II IFS and their 4-link are installed. All of the metal surfaces have been wire-wheeled and cleaned. Now it is time to paint the chassis and the transmission. We want this to be as durable as possible and we don't want to have to worry about the finish once the truck is assembled.
Not knowing a lot about paint, I reached out to my pal Tony D' at Valspar for some help. We told him that we wanted paint for the chassis and for the transmission. We don't have a really advanced paint booth so we need to be able to apply it with simple tools. We also want something that will handle daily driving for our truck.
For the transmission, he recommended the Plastikote Engine Enamel. It is designed for high temperature applications up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and will not be damaged by gasoline, oil or any other chemical exposure. It applies easily from a can. We picked the aluminum finish to match the look of our engine. Check out this video talking about painting the transmission.
For the chassis and all of the other parts on the chassis, Tony D' recommended Plastikote's Chassis & Grille Guard Epoxy Paint. This is a super-durable epoxy paint that resists cracking, chips and peeling. It is sprayed from a can and it creates a professional look. We went with the matte black finish. Check out this video for more.
You can learn more about the Plastikote line of professional automotive finishes at their website by clicking here. Stray tuned for more posts on paint and videos showing off applying the paint and showing off the finished product.
ISIS & PWM...
Okay Folks,
Our ISIS Intelligent Multiplex System is far different from a traditional fuse & relay based wire harness. There are things that ISIS can do that you couldn't even begin to imagine with a good-old bundle of wire. One of our biggest goals when we educate people about our ISIS Power products is to de-mystify some of the potentially scary terms that we use. One that we use a lot is Pulse Width Modulation or PWM. This is a fancy term for turning something on and off very fast to control power.
We don't use relays in our ISIS POWERCELLs. Instead, we use MOSFETs. Yes, I know that is another scary term that we'll talk about later. For now, all you need to know is that MOSFETs are solid state stitches. Unlike relays, there are no mechanical parts in them. You can turn a MOSFET on and off literally millions of times per second. You can do that with a relay 2 to 3 times per second before you have to worry about burning up the contacts.
The ability to turn a MOSFET on and off very quickly allows us to control the amount of power coming out of a POWERCELL output. We do this by using something called Pulse Width Modulation. PWM is the process of turning an output on and off quickly. The effective power coming out of the output is proportional to the amount of on time as compared to the off time. The ratio of the on time versus the off time is called the duty cycle. So for example, if we turn the output on for half of the cycle time and off for the other half, your duty cycle is 50%. The effective voltage of your output is approximately 50%. This picture shows you what we mean.
The three different graphs are 10%, 50% and 90% duty cycle.
Check out this video showing you more about PWM. If you haven't seen Colin's Lab on You Tube before, it is a worthwhile watch. He is a geek's geek but who isn't. As part of Make Magazine, his stuff is filled with tons of useful electronics projects, tips and tricks.
So you're asking yourself, "what does this mean to me"? "I'm wiring a car, not building circuits." Pulse Width Modulation is a very effective and efficient way to control the brightness of lights and the speed of motors. There is very little heat lost with PWM as compared to using resistors or rheostats.
ISIS has PWM capability built into the POWERCELL outputs. We can effortlessly dim lights, create daytime running lights, theatre dim interior lights and control motor speeds. For those who need that advanced control, it is built right into your system. No external modules or hardware are required.
Stay tuned for more on the benefits of wiring your car or truck with our ISIS Intelligent Multiplex System.
Our ISIS Intelligent Multiplex System is far different from a traditional fuse & relay based wire harness. There are things that ISIS can do that you couldn't even begin to imagine with a good-old bundle of wire. One of our biggest goals when we educate people about our ISIS Power products is to de-mystify some of the potentially scary terms that we use. One that we use a lot is Pulse Width Modulation or PWM. This is a fancy term for turning something on and off very fast to control power.
We don't use relays in our ISIS POWERCELLs. Instead, we use MOSFETs. Yes, I know that is another scary term that we'll talk about later. For now, all you need to know is that MOSFETs are solid state stitches. Unlike relays, there are no mechanical parts in them. You can turn a MOSFET on and off literally millions of times per second. You can do that with a relay 2 to 3 times per second before you have to worry about burning up the contacts.
The ability to turn a MOSFET on and off very quickly allows us to control the amount of power coming out of a POWERCELL output. We do this by using something called Pulse Width Modulation. PWM is the process of turning an output on and off quickly. The effective power coming out of the output is proportional to the amount of on time as compared to the off time. The ratio of the on time versus the off time is called the duty cycle. So for example, if we turn the output on for half of the cycle time and off for the other half, your duty cycle is 50%. The effective voltage of your output is approximately 50%. This picture shows you what we mean.
The three different graphs are 10%, 50% and 90% duty cycle.
Check out this video showing you more about PWM. If you haven't seen Colin's Lab on You Tube before, it is a worthwhile watch. He is a geek's geek but who isn't. As part of Make Magazine, his stuff is filled with tons of useful electronics projects, tips and tricks.
So you're asking yourself, "what does this mean to me"? "I'm wiring a car, not building circuits." Pulse Width Modulation is a very effective and efficient way to control the brightness of lights and the speed of motors. There is very little heat lost with PWM as compared to using resistors or rheostats.
ISIS has PWM capability built into the POWERCELL outputs. We can effortlessly dim lights, create daytime running lights, theatre dim interior lights and control motor speeds. For those who need that advanced control, it is built right into your system. No external modules or hardware are required.
Stay tuned for more on the benefits of wiring your car or truck with our ISIS Intelligent Multiplex System.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
ISIS Power in Hot Rod Magazine
Marlan Davis wrote up an awesome article in the January 2010 issue of Hot Rod Magazine. To help get an idea of how installing ISIS compares to a traditional fuse and relay harness, he turned to Kevin McMillan at McMillan Speed & Fab. Kevin and his crew wired a no-holds bared 1957 Chevy 210 hardtop.
The last paragraph in that article is really good. Marlan makes the point that at first blush, ISIS looks to be twice the price of a typical harness in the aftermarket. But when you start to consider that ISIS gives you, that it replaces and what you need to add to a traditional harness, ISIS is actually cheaper than the traditional harness.
You can check out the article on the Hot Rod Magazine website by clicking this link. There are also some great pictures of the wiring job that Kevin did as part of the article.
You can also check out Kevin McMillan's website and look at some of his other projects by clicking this link.
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