Push button light switch

[Goodpedro]

There is now a 2nd design of these made by NARTON that have thermal overload protection. They are physically different than the advanced micro original or 2nd generation. These switches are extra deep and fit the hmmwv dash perfectly with no modification to tabs. Pictures and more info on my thread Juan's M998.
I have one I acquired brand spanking new with no issue.

I also have the older one in my 5 ton with no issues.

Anything electrical can fail and release the magic smoke. I think the first ones did have problems and were corrected. Why would the military still use or have a 2nd design and manufacture if they were not happy? I have seen plenty of push buttons on different current military platforms.

can you offer the Narton link? Will it fit my 1996 M1084?

 

[Action]

can you offer the Narton link? Will it fit my 1996 M1084?

You can find it easier by searching for “nartron” instead of “narton”.

 

[Milcommoguy]

That's a lot of technology in that switch just to turn on the lights IMO.

Clap on...Clap off, CAMO

 

[Goodpedro]

You can find it easier by searching for “nartron” instead of “narton”.

Did so...can t find the thing on their site

 

[Guyfang]

This is the answer I got from TACOM.

Push Button M-Series Light Switch
In April of 2002, TACOM and the Defense Supply Center in Columbus, Ohio began a retrofit program to replace the standard three lever light switch on American M-Series military vehicles with a new design based on electronic push buttons. The new switch was required due to maintenance problems with the old, mechanical switch plus the fact that it had no illumination at night.

 

[Action]

This is the answer I got from TACOM.

Push Button M-Series Light Switch
In April of 2002, TACOM and the Defense Supply Center in Columbus, Ohio began a retrofit program to replace the standard three lever light switch on American M-Series military vehicles with a new design based on electronic push buttons. The new switch was required due to maintenance problems with the old, mechanical switch plus the fact that it had no illumination at night.

lol you dont need to see the three lever switch at night. But with a push button, you will have to.
i could see a convoy thatneeds to blackout quickly. There will be one driver that cant figure the buttons out fast enough.

 

[Mullaney]

lol you dont need to see the three lever switch at night. But with a push button, you will have to.
i could see a convoy thatneeds to blackout quickly. There will be one driver that cant figure the buttons out fast enough.

.
Agreed and maybe that driver doesn't need to be behind the wheel.
Have seen LOTS of conversations about the potential fire hazard and these switches too.

Can't personally speak to it, but there really is a lot of folks who are BENT on going back to a 3-Lever switch. After about the 3rd of 4th time in the truck in the dark - you don't need a flashlight to turn on your lights. Just like everything on these vehicles time in the seat will create knowledge. If it doesn't maybe you should hire a driver?

 

[G744]

That light switch is just another modern succumbing to the "bigger, faster, better" trope.

Follows the trail of computers in everything.

If you ask me, the less dependence on electronic crap in MV's, the better.

I've yet to see LED headlights with the correct color illumination (too blue, fuzzy focus, and just plain rude at night).

The entire electrical system in M-series vehicles was VERY well thought out in the early 50's, with lots of data from WW2 showing the lack of standardization and function in combat. It was built with beautiful engineering and high quality components, meant to last many years in service. That 3-lever switch was no exception.

Whilst the later addition of turn signals was a good modification, the fielding of solid-state 25A regulators was the first ride on the slippery slope of technical malfeasance.

Call me a Luddite, but my stuff works when lots of friends "upgraded" rigs are down from electrical failures.

DG

 

[Mullaney]

That light switch is just another modern succumbing to the "bigger, faster, better" trope.

Follows the trail of computers in everything.

If you ask me, the less dependence on electronic crap in MV's, the better.

I've yet to see LED headlights with the correct color illumination (too blue, fuzzy focus, and just plain rude at night).

The entire electrical system in M-series vehicles was VERY well thought out in the early 50's, with lots of data from WW2 showing the lack of standardization and function in combat. It was built with beautiful engineering and high quality components, meant to last many years in service. That 3-lever switch was no exception.

Whilst the later addition of turn signals was a good modification, the fielding of solid-state 25A regulators was the first ride on the slippery slope of technical malfeasance.

Call me a Luddite, but my stuff works when lots of friends "upgraded" rigs are down from electrical failures.

DG

.
Nicely worded G744 !

I was pretty shocked when I spent 20 years doing other things - to come back to find automatic transmissions had taken over everything. Again, another something that was working just fine (the manual gearbox) and was "upgraded". I personally believe that if you can't drive a vehicle with clutch then you shouldn't be driving. Only exception to that should be someone with a physical condition - and - it shouldn't be between the ears!

 

[Guyfang]

Too many Americans never learned to drive a stick. That's one reason to go from standard to automatic.

Ramping up for the first Sand Box war, a unit came to Germany, to pick up equipment for down range. A fellow CWO and I were helping them pick up POMCUS, ( Prepositioning Of Materiel Configured in Unit Sets) equipment. They were a NG unit, but would have made no difference if they were RA. The equipment was older and the trucks were all standard transmission. The grinding of gears was heard in the next county. Trucks jumping, chugging and dying all over. We walked over to the rail head, to watch the goings on. Better then TV. There was and old wrecker, think it was a M62. There was about 20 people crowed around it, and the sound of the poor trucks engine roaring was simply heart rending. But that baby was not moving an inch. People screaming and yelling. People giving orders. people giving advice, that was contradicting. Yep. Better then TV. We walked over and asked what the problem was. Well, these people only had the newer vehicles at home in the states. None of them had ever seen a Standard Transmission truck before. So we asked them to get out of the truck, and my buddy hopped up in the cab. He looked around for a bit, then told me to go in back, and shift the truck back in gear. And indeed, in the rear, the lever to shift the truck transmission in and out of üperation, allowing you to shift the wrecker portion into gear, was in the middle. So the truck would not move. A quick look in the glove box turned up the -10 TM, and we suggested that maybe someone should read it, before leaving the A.O. We waited until we were back over the Railroad track before we sat down and laughed a while.

 

[Mullaney]

Too many Americans never learned to drive a stick. That's one reason to go from standard to automatic.

Ramping up for the first Sand Box war, a unit came to Germany, to pick up equipment for down range. A fellow CWO and I were helping them pick up POMCUS, ( Prepositioning Of Materiel Configured in Unit Sets) equipment. They were a NG unit, but would have made no difference if they were RA. The equipment was older and the trucks were all standard transmission. The grinding of gears was heard in the next county. Trucks jumping, chugging and dying all over. We walked over to the rail head, to watch the goings on. Better then TV. There was and old wrecker, think it was a M62. There was about 20 people crowed around it, and the sound of the poor trucks engine roaring was simply heart rending. But that baby was not moving an inch. People screaming and yelling. People giving orders. people giving advice, that was contradicting. Yep. Better then TV. We walked over and asked what the problem was. Well, these people only had the newer vehicles at home in the states. None of them had ever seen a Standard Transmission truck before. So we asked them to get out of the truck, and my buddy hopped up in the cab. He looked around for a bit, then told me to go in back, and shift the truck back in gear. And indeed, in the rear, the lever to shift the truck transmission in and out of üperation, allowing you to shift the wrecker portion into gear, was in the middle. So the truck would not move. A quick look in the glove box turned up the -10 TM, and we suggested that maybe someone should read it, before leaving the A.O. We waited until we were back over the Railroad track before we sat down and laughed a while.

.
That is sad. I guess my dad was smarter than the average bear. He figured that if I wanted to drive, I would learn to drive a stick. It wasn't really an option. Here it is, go figure out how to drive it.

With all these young'uns and their whizzbang gadgetry, you would have thought that maybe a ranking NCO might have looked on YouTube for instructions. Of course that would have required thought. AND what would the search have been? How to drive a truck with three peddles? Or maybe how to drive a truck with two gas peddles or a truck with two brake peddles?

Afraid I would have been right there beside you watching and laughing.

Even with an automatic, the transfer case in neutral might be a good anti-theft deterrent.

 

[Guyfang]

.
That is sad. I guess my dad was smarter than the average bear. He figured that if I wanted to drive, I would learn to drive a stick. It wasn't really an option. Here it is, go figure out how to drive it.

With all these young'uns and their whizzbang gadgetry, you would have thought that maybe a ranking NCO might have looked on YouTube for instructions. Man, this was before the internet/Youtube thing. The first desert war!! Of course that would have required thought. AND what would the search have been? How to drive a truck with three peddles? Or maybe how to drive a truck with two gas peddles or a truck with two brake peddles?

Dont know if you ever drove a M62 wrecker before, but up front, in the cab, You had to push in the clutch, shift the transfer out of gear, then pull a lever located to the left of the drivers seat to engage the crane in the back. Then go to the back, and shift the crane portion in gear, and then engage the transfer to operate the crane. So if the rear transfer lever was not in the right position, no truck movement.

Too many NCO's got promoted before learning enough from the old timers. Or they only served in units with HEMTT's and the "new" 900 series trucks.

Got to admit, the first time I drove a HEMTT wrecker, I had a ball!

Afraid I would have been right there beside you watching and laughing.

Even with an automatic, the transfer case in neutral might be a good anti-theft deterrent.

Open to see comments

 

[Mullaney]

Open to see comments

.
No sir. Never been in a M62. Lots of things older and a lot of the old Internationals had PTO driven winches that were that way. Where the lever on the back was disengaged so "Joe Operator" wouldn't rip the back of the truck off. I remember before hydraulics that everything required pulling a bunch of levers to "make motion".

I guess the timeline for G1 was 1990 and 1991, so Al Gore hadn't invented the Internet yet Yep, I got my timeline crossed up for sure. For whatever reason, after my one enlistment I was done. For whatever reason about 8 years before G1 but by then I was done playing Navy. Played a lot of "what if" back then - but I wouldn't have changed a thing - looking back at it today.

I have a M936 and a M1089 - both wreckers. The stinger boom and the spades on the M1089 are pretty impressive and a whole lot of fun! A pair of 30,000# winches will drag most things up a hill without breathing hard. The spades on the M936 are manual as are the outriggers, but that truck is tough too!

The HEMTT wrecker is definitely on my list.
Maybe one day I will run across one.

 

[Guyfang]

I drove the HEMTT wrecker for the first time in Fort Bliss, Texas. The driver, one of my "Thugs" from 3rd shop auto, asked me if I wanted to drive. We were in the middle of no place on earth. Nothing man made to be seen, but aircraft and this sunken dirt road we were on. The road was about 9-10 feet deep. As it almost never rains, when a truck drives over it, the dust cloud is simply Incredible. The road just sinks deeper and deeper. So I got behind the wheel and off we went. The SP/4 driver yells over at me to "giver er gas Chief!" and so I did! We were flying along, and topped a rise, only to see the road in front of us, about 4-5 feet deep in water. There had been a downpour, and the road was flooded. The young SP/4 told me to "Give er Hell Chief!" as there is no way to turn out of this road. Its simply a big, two lane ditch. We were doing mach 2, and then we saw a 5 ton truck, stopped on the right side of the road. It had probably sucked some water. The driver was sun bathing on the cab canvas. I asked if we should stop, and the SP/4 told me "Hell no! Give it gas!" So as we blew by this poor guy, with a wave of water being sent up on both sides of the wrecker, about 20 feet high, I felt a little rotten. The look on his face was the look of someone before the firing squad. There was nothing he could do to not stay out of the coming storm. Oh well.

 

[Mullaney]

I drove the HEMTT wrecker for the first time in Fort Bliss, Texas. The driver, one of my "Thugs" from 3rd shop auto, asked me if I wanted to drive. We were in the middle of no place on earth. Nothing man made to be seen, but aircraft and this sunken dirt road we were on. The road was about 9-10 feet deep. As it almost never rains, when a truck drives over it, the dust cloud is simply Incredible. The road just sinks deeper and deeper. So I got behind the wheel and off we went. The SP/4 driver yells over at me to "giver er gas Chief!" and so I did! We were flying along, and topped a rise, only to see the road in front of us, about 4-5 feet deep in water. There had been a downpour, and the road was flooded. The young SP/4 told me to "Give er Hell Chief!" as there is no way to turn out of this road. Its simply a big, two lane ditch. We were doing mach 2, and then we saw a 5 ton truck, stopped on the right side of the road. It had probably sucked some water. The driver was sun bathing on the cab canvas. I asked if we should stop, and the SP/4 told me "Hell no! Give it gas!" So as we blew by this poor guy, with a wave of water being sent up on both sides of the wrecker, about 20 feet high, I felt a little rotten. The look on his face was the look of someone before the firing squad. There was nothing he could do to not stay out of the coming storm. Oh well.

.
Yes Sir Sergeant! It was one of those big green trucks.
The really big ones.
Yes, it was green.
Taller than my truck too!
No, I didn't see the number on the bumper.
All I saw was a wall of water!

There just is no experience like being a kid again - even when you are 18 or 20.