Working On The M561 Gama Goat

[mkcoen]

Here's a little quad copter video from the air show this weekend. It was pretty windy but I had a limited window of flight time while the RC Model club was flying theirs. You can tell from the flags what I was fighting against. Next time I'd like to take a lower level fly by. If someone else knows how to embed the video that'd be great. Until then this is just the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8wBFgCl9IU&feature=em-upload_owner

 

[Another Ahab]

Here's a little quad copter video from the air show this weekend.

That's very cool.

Does the noise of the quad-copter sound as loud down on the ground, as it does in the video?

 

[mkcoen]

That's very cool.

Does the noise of the quad-copter sound as loud down on the ground, as it does in the video?

No. The camera picks up the sound and since it's just a couple of inches from the rotars you get all of it. You can hear the blades on the ground even from 60-80' but once it gets very high you can barely hear it at all.

 

[M813rc]

Your video makes me look fat! Other than that, the RPV is really cool. Flies well, the wind wasn't just strong, it was gusty.

By my count, we had 21 vehicles and 5 trailers at the show (not all present in the video).

The Goat got a good workout, driven a lot, and I am very impressed with what you did in the few weeks between when we picked it up and now.

Cheers

 

[mkcoen]

Now that the 2 big events are over for the year I figured I could move back into the "slow as she goes" repairs. I'd like to have everything street ready by the time I get back with the wheels/tires at the end of June so that means getting all the lights up and working. Right now the headlights are fine but the front markers only come on in Black Out mode. Since I haven't fiddled with any of the wiring to speak of I'm guessing the Forest Service got something crossed at some point.

I don't have a Soldier B to help during the week so I couldn't check the brake lights just the tail and turns.

When I got the Goat they had cut the stock tail light wires and hooked up some aftermarket lights. My guess is they wanted something that didn't stick out from the carrier indention so they could put the wire mesh over it. Since I don't have access to a lot of milspec wiring do-dads I had to either cut the wire coming from the new lights (which I didn't want to do) or make a connector between the harness and the lamp plugs.

I was able to find a couple of connector ends and couplers from working on the M37 and think they may work out. In the pics you can see the wire from the FS mutilation, the type of ends on the original lamps and the 3rd and 4th pic are of my work around. I only had small pieces of wire with the ends connected so I simply stripped them and put a crip connection on the wire. Then I took couplers from the M37 and put them on the wire ends. These connectors then simply plug into the lamp fittings.

Everything was hooked up and the test on the left side showed I had a good tail light but no turn. I was concerned that not having them both finished might affect the turn signal so I moved on to the right side. Everything went together, turned on the Service Drive and nothing. No tail light or turn signal (either side). Next step was to pull the lens and make sure everything was good inside. It was easy to see the issue with the tail light as the bulb was obviously burnt. So I made a quick trip to NAPA thinking I'd get a couple of replacements but they only had 1 bulb. After getting back to the house and blowing that 1 bulb I figured I've got bigger issues. Anyone have a suggestion as to why the bulbs blowing? Since it's raining now I've given up for the day and will try digging in more when it's drier out.

 

[NDT]

Napa had 24 volt bulbs?

 

[mkcoen]

Napa had 24 volt bulbs?

Yes

 

[m38inmaine]

If you have the old mechanical flasher box that may be the problem. Sounds like the hot is going to ground and toasting the bulb.

 

[mkcoen]

If you have the old mechanical flasher box that may be the problem. Sounds like the hot is going to ground and toasting the bulb.

Do you know what the replacement for it is?

Soldier B got home from work this evening and kept a watch while I tried the brakes. Nothing. I hate electrical issues. Can't be too many grounds with an aluminum vehicle so hopefully I can chase them all down and clean them.

 

[m38inmaine]

The TM states replace with the solid state flasher which is the common one found on all M series trucks now. You will also have to replace the flasher wiring harness and wand. The -20 shows how to do the conversion, mine shows it on page 2-154. It may not be the flasher unit and just a shorted to ground wire. You will have to do some thorough multi meter checks to figure it out. I would also encourage you to get a supply of military wire and the wire connection kit along with some shrink tube. Erik's has a kit #SK6 you may want to look at. It will make the job a lot easier and sound.

 

[mkcoen]

I would also encourage you to get a wire connection kit along with some shrink tube. Erik's has a kit #SK6 you may want to look at. It will make the job a lot easier and sound.

I missed one last weekend. A friend bought 2 at a military surplus (mostly milspec tools) shop but he sold the 2nd one before I talked to him.

I believe I know someone that was parting a deuce out and he may still have the flasher, wand, and loom.

 

[mkcoen]

So is the old flasher unit integrated in the Distribution Box? The TM goes through which wires to disconnect and reconnect to the new flasher unit but doesn't really go in to much detail regarding the stock unit.

Here's a couple of pics of what I found when I opened the panel. I said there would be 3 things that I would continue to find as long as I owned this: yellow paint, red NC mud, and sand from the blaster. I found all three just by opening this up.

 

[m38inmaine]

That is the old style mechanical box, that box is the flasher, a big old beast. The solid state unit is much smaller and uses a round connector. The new style flasher/wand harness appears to be the same for most MV's, I see several places on line has them and the deuce parts should work just fine. The manual says to disconnect all the wires from the old box and remove the old wand and wiring loom. Some of the wiring that was on the old box which is part of the main loom, not the flasher loom will be re used. This is where you will need the new mil style connectors to attach your old wires to the new flasher harness. I read through the manual and it seems pretty straight forward. Just be sure to leave all the number tags in place on the wires, and be sure to tag the old wires with the letter code from the old flasher box, you will need these letter/numbers to match up to the new solid state harness.

 

[popacom]

Those old mech. flashers were true p.o.s.
The early M-715 series as well as early M151
used these and I have converted a bunch yrs. ago....I have lots of good servicable t/o
stuff along these lines if you find you need them......still looking for tow shackles & pins........drives me nuts....I know I have 20-30 pairs......but they are hiding....lol....Bill in Ky.

 

[mkcoen]

Those old mech. flashers were true p.o.s.
The early M-715 series as well as early M151
used these and I have converted a bunch yrs. ago....I have lots of good servicable t/o
stuff along these lines if you find you need them......still looking for tow shackles & pins........drives me nuts....I know I have 20-30 pairs......but they are hiding....lol....Bill in Ky.

I've got a friend pulling everything out of a M35 he's parting so hopefully covered. Worst case scenario Erik's has new wands and flasher units for $48 each. I think the hard part to find would be the wire loom between them.

The shackles and pins aren't that big a priority just whenever you find them but would like the mirror brackets and lifting rings when you get the chance.

 

[m38inmaine]

The harness, 11630528 is a common part, most on line parts suppliers have them.

 

[mkcoen]

Just doing some web surfing on the Goat and came across a document by the NJ State Forestry Dept and thought this conclusion of theirs was fairly accurate:
Summary of Advantages: Summary of Disadvantages:
High ground clearance (15 inches). Difficult for operators to enter.
Excellent gradability. High noise levels (hearing protection required).
Superior traction in rugged terrain Poor availability of parts and operator's manuals
Excellent underbody protection (except fuel line) Maintenance and repair different than other vehicles
Good riding comfort in rough terrain.
High mobility.

EDIT

I don't know why the formating will not hold. I even tried it in Word then pasted here and it still wouldn't hold. You can probably figure out the advantages/disadvantages by the wording though.

 

[muthkw25]

Excellent Build so Far!

 

[Keith_J]

Hindsight 20/20, DOT3 brake fluid and pressure washer to remove paint? After this spring, those chips would be buried in tall grass .

 

[mkcoen]

We've gotten 5.5" of rain since Thursday so no chance to do any more tinkering on the Goat. The next big project is redoing the turn signals once I've got all the pieces together.