Our gray market Hitachi's didn't come with travel alarms. The rental yard we bought our Zaxis 120 from drilled a hole in the body of a pressure switch in the pilot manifold (it's called something else) and JB welded another switch to opperate a cheap backup alarm. Well it surprisingly lasted two weeks and the JB weld let go and the machine got douched with hydraulic. Anyway I found the connector the alarm harness is supposed to plug into but I'm wondering if anyone here has come up with another way to install an alarm? The stock alarm cost about $300.
Could a micro switch or switches be installed under the cab and be activated / tripped when the travel levers are moved.
That's the way we used to do it Rob but with the pilot system, there's just a valve under the foot pedals- no moving parts beneath the cab.
What's throwing me is the connector has 4 or 5 wires and alarm is supposed to have some internal relay. Maybe I could take a test light and see if one of those wires becomes hot when the machine is moved. If I got 24V and a ground I should be able to wire an alarm. What do you think?
Yep, sorry, stupid me didnt think about that, I am just picturing the scene under my cab..................dumbass :Banghead I took it that the connector you are talking about is the loom end !
Not sure what you mean by the "loom" end? The connector comes out of a harness just behind the swing drive and is just hanging there with a plug in it. Someone told me it ran to the computer. BTW, you're no "dumbass".
Yes thats what I mean, wiring loom/ harness end. In which case you need the sendor to activate it. Think about a wiring loom in your car/truck and you dont have the electric windows in your model. The wiring loom will be there as its common to the make and model. If you purchase/aquire/steal an electric motor and the winding gear you could fit it to you door and plug it straight into the loom. You would then locate the plug in the arm rest or centre consul that the switch connects to. If you purchased the genuine "cost you an arm and a leg" travel alarm sendor it should plug straight into the loom. The jury is still out on that one
As I recall the pressure switches are already in the system and all you have to do is plug in any alarm you want. Like you said, check the wires out with a test light with the machine at idle. Barely moving the pedals should get a hot wire with out running over someone under the machine checking it. Good Luck!