The Hurt Locker - 2003 E350 v7.3 Crestline Ambulance Build Thread

[Todsleeman]

For the last 2 years I have been waiting for the right time to leave work and take some time to explore whilst working remotely. Throughout that time I have been researching options and ever since I saw some of the ambulance build outs that had been done it always seemed like a great option-- I really wanted to do the build out myself rather than buying something previously transformed.

Last month the stars aligned and the week before I left work the ideal E350 7.3 came up. It came with the name so I think it sticks... introducing The Hurt Locker. The previous owner used it as a mobile work shop, he put a decent amount of money into the engine with a focus on reliability but didn't do much on the inside.



I've driven from Vancouver to Revelstoke, BC as my spot to do the build out so this is now my full time job. I definitely wouldn't say I'm any expert mechanic but a big part of the appeal was getting stuck in and figure it out along the way.

Loose plan of attack:

- Strip out the inside back to the box (done)
- Tidy up the electrics
- Add solar
- Build out bed, seating and storage
- Potential 4x4 conversion

I'm knee deep in the electrics at the moment and have been getting a huge amount of info from the build threads on this site so I thought I should start my own. My current electrics knowledge is incredibly basic but I'm currently stripping out all the unnecessary wiring, I then want to separate the two deep cycle batteries from the starter batteries and move all the wiring to a closet behind the drivers seat.

If anyone had a good structure of how best to rewire this I would greatly appreciate it-- I have a Blue Sea ACR to separate the two banks but other than that I'm shooting in the dark!

 

[Abitibi]

Welcome in the group! All I can say is you're going in the right direction by stripping it and getting rid of all the electrical that aren't needed. Save all your relays and wires, they'll come handy! A few of us with the same or similar ambos have done it all so don't be afraid to go look at our old posts or ask for specifics.

If you're nearby Vancouver stop by to say hi!

Cheers
David

 

[Todsleeman]

Thanks David! I've been looking through your 3 build threads which have been great references so far. I'm sure the specifics will come as I get into the thick of things... I think I've got an alright understanding now of how the current setup is working so now I've got a better idea of what to keep and what to remove.

I'll definitely let you know when I'm passing through Vancouver next!

 

[iggi]

Welcome to the Crestline club! I spoke with the former owner a few times over instagram. Great van to start your build with.
Based on what I can see, your starting and aux batteries are already separated though.
If you don't already have a wiring diagram for it let me know.
I'm in the process of cleaning up the wiring on mine. The circuits for the ceiling lights took up an amazing amount of wire.(about 5-6 lbs worth)
I'm leaving some of the emergency light wiring in place to repurpose for fans and other accessories. I also repurposed two of the rear emergency lights as brake lights, was quick, simple and really keeps the tailgaters off my butt.

 

[Todsleeman]

Thanks! Very impressed with the Crestline build quality so far-- Luckily the previous owner kept all the wiring diagrams so I am getting to grips with that. It's quite satisfying repurposing and stripping out all the excess, I'm going to keep the ceiling lights but will link them into one circuit and if I had any left over scene lights I'd definitely do the same as you.

Do you think they are separated with the blue battery isolator on the left? Is this worth keeping and somehow adding my solar charger into where the alternator comes in (middle pin?)

 

[iggi]

Yes, they are separated by the battery isolator. The alt charges all the batteries but the aux batteries will not discharge the starting batteries or vice versa. You can put the solar controller output direct to the aux batteries or you use the solar controller as a switch for the aux power. I've done both in my build. The big relay at the top is a giant power suck and should be replaced with a manual switch. Between that relay and the heater relay I was losing 3 amps. If you are sticking with lead acid (or AGM batteries) then keep the isolator. If you are replacing the aux batteries with Lithium then you'll need a DC to DC charger instead of the isolator.

 

[Todsleeman]

Thanks for the info, I think I'm going to keep the lead batteries for the time being and see if I need to upgrade them down the line. I'll replace the ambulance connect relay at the top with a manual switch so I can connect up the aux batteries without having the engine on and hopefully remove that drain-- I'll do some research into using the solar controller as a switch.

I think I'm going to have a lot of dumb questions in this thread so I appreciate all the input... part of the fun is being clueless I guess!

 

[iggi]

>>I think I'm going to have a lot of dumb questions in this thread so I appreciate all the input... part of the fun is being clueless I guess!

Been there done that. Just trying to pass on what other people were patient enough to share with me in the past.

 

[Todsleeman]

Good progress today with stripping out all the extra wiring from the main harness-- it felt like I was making things a lot more confusing before I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and it got a whole lot simpler with it all taken out. My checkpoint is having the van still running at the end of the day so it means I haven't messed up too badly.

Tomorrow I'll be cleaning up the front console and then tidying up the main ECC board ready to be moved. Thursday I'll be working on the solar and figuring out where that piece of the puzzle slots in.

 

[marret]

Wow, that is a lot of wiring. Must feel good to get all that out of there.

 

[Abitibi]

Good progress today with stripping out all the extra wiring from the main harness-- it felt like I was making things a lot more confusing before I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and it got a whole lot simpler with it all taken out. My checkpoint is having the van still running at the end of the day so it means I haven't messed up too badly.

Tomorrow I'll be cleaning up the front console and then tidying up the main ECC board ready to be moved. Thursday I'll be working on the solar and figuring out where that piece of the puzzle slots in.

View attachment 657678

Great picture. Lol

Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

 

[Todsleeman]

Okay I'm ready to relocate the ECC board to behind the drivers seat... I lost my power lock capability and my left and right option lights so I'll have to track down those issues. I thought I was going to lose a lot more than that so over all I'm pretty happy and it's nice knowing how everything is all connected.

Once I have relocated the relays and fuses I'll add in the solar. Every forum I've read talks about removing the diode battery isolator and replacing it with the Blue Sea 500A ACR but @iggi said to leave it, I found this from @Bikersmurf in that build thread: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...crestline-ambulance-build.204912/post-2627176

Here's some questions hopefully someone can answer:

1) Should I remove the battery isolator and replace it with the ACR?
2) Is the wire (marked ignition power) connected at position 3 of the isolator the alternator?
3a) Should I connect the alternator to charge both battery banks (starter and house)?
3b) Does this connect to the ACR?
4) Does the solar charge controller connect to the ACR or direct to the house batteries?
5) Confused about what @iggi said about using the charge controller as a switch-- what would the point of this be?

I would appreciate any and all help!

 

[iggi]

1) In my experience no, you don't need to replace the battery isolator with an ACR. If you were starting from scratch an ACR would offer you some options like connecting all batteries together for starting but that's already present. Some people were reporting that the diode based isolators were causing issues with batteries but I've not experienced that.

2) The manual for the isolator is online. Consult that.

3) Why wouldn't you want the alternator to charge both your battery banks? That's the purpose of the battery isolator and it was already configured by Crestline to work correctly.

4) In my experience, solar should go straight to the battery bank or be routed through solar charge controller. Maybe it would work connected to the ACR but I've not tested or researched this.

5) So the power management and monitoring options in your solar controller work. This won't apply to cheaper controllers. If you consult my thread I explain it better there.

Bonus answer: The power locks are powered by the aux battery bank. Not 100% sure which lights you are referring to but it's likely they are also powered from the aux battery bank.
Also, you'll notice the wires are numbered. That's not random. You can look them up in the wiring diagram to see how they were connected.

Pardon the shortness, trying answer before my steak turns to boot leather on the bbq.

 

[Todsleeman]

Steak should take priority so thanks for taking the time! I'll give it a shot with the battery isolator, if it can work with the current setup then I might as well save the money.

I misspoke in number 3 since my mind is a bit fried-- I meant to ask if I should connect the solar to charge both banks, not the alternator. If position 3 on the isolator is the alternator then it is configured to charge then I could connect the solar controller there for convenience (laziness) but I don't know if that is wasted on the starter batteries (probably I imagine as you said in 4).

As for number 5, I think I get you now... If you have a decent solar charge controller it should go there first and then to the batteries to report the charge data, I just didn't understand what it would be "switching".

As for the bonus, I've already routed around the ambulance connect switch (before replacing with a manual cut off like you suggested) so they are getting aux power. I've got the wiring list and a diagram of the relay/fuse board so hopefully I'll be able to track down the issue. This will be my first success of adding functionality back in rather than controlled destruction.

Definitely got enough on my plate for tomorrow... Maybe I'll treat myself to steak if I get it all working nicely together.

 

[Todsleeman]

I feel like today was a bit of a turning point in my adventure with auto electrics... It's sounds pretty amateurish but I finally got comfortable with my multimeter to debug issues which in turn made me more knowledgeable about how everything works. Baby steps but I'm pretty happy!

The good news:

- Fixed my left and right scene lights-- the issue was a missing light bar power wire controlling the switches.
- Fixed aftermarket fog lights that weren't functioning when I bought the vehicle-- loose connection at the switch I didn't even realize was a switch until I found it!
- Linked the relays for my left and right cot lights into one bank of lights.
- Tracked down the issue with my power door locks to a blown fuse at the circuit breakers.

The bad news:

- I have no idea why my power door locks are pulling so many amps to blow the fuse. I didn't end up changing anything with this circuit when deconstructing everything else. I tried two different fuses up to a 40 amp and it still blew when I connected the battery. If anyone has any insights into what might be going here I would be happy to hear!

I've been saying this for the last few days but everything always takes longer that I estimate... tomorrow might be solar day if it's sunny out!