Looking to hotwire my own truck

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caseyladelle

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5.7 hemi
I have an '04 2500 with the 5.7 hemi, the truck is completely stock other than than two sets of strobe lights, and some LED backup lights that I added to it. To run them I have a 4 switch relay box that pulls power off the battery and can handle 25 amps off of each switch. What I'm looking to do is wire one of the spare switches to the ignition so that I can keep the truck and accessories running while turning off and removing the key. How I picture it working is while running, I would activate the switch to keep power to the ignition, then I could turn off and remove the key to lock the steering column in place, and transmission in park. Then with the switch in the off position, everything would work as normal. My truck is used for quite a few purposes at work, one of them being a pilot car for oversize loads where I have to constantly jump in and out for traffic control or to steer the rear of trailers around corners. I can be out of the truck anywhere from one minute to an hour over and over again and I don't want to keep shutting it completely off and restarting it every time, and I also don't want it sitting there off while the headlights and strobe lights are running for an hour, especially when it's freezing cold or burning hot outside.

How I'm doing it right now is leaving the key in the ignition with it running, then locking and unlocking the doors with the remote in my pocket, but I'm looking for a little more security when we're doing city work. My two questions are, what wire(s) on the ignition harness would I tap into, and would 25 amps handle it, or should I add a bigger relay under the hood to activate with the switch??

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crash68

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I thought of doing something similar for a diesel pick-up a few years ago. I was going to use a three pole relay(3PDT) along with a push button to make a latching relay and power both the Run and Auxiliary circuts. You would also need another relay wired to the brake pedal to open the latching relay.
Look up how to wire a push button start/stop for a motor starter for the latching relay. The power for the latching circut should be taken from after the ignition switch so the push button will only activate when the key is on.
Another idea is to look into an aftermarket remote start, I know there used to be some that you could push the button while the vehicle was running and then turn the key off, the vehicle would keep running. Several friends had them for their trucks.
 
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caseyladelle

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I don't want to start the truck with it, just keep it running, so I shouldn't have to worry about the brake pedal switch. I basically need to start it up like normal in the morning, then leave it running all day till I get home that night.

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crash68

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That what the circut was intended for, it won't start the truck The latching part of the relay will only energize when the truck is already running. The brake is used to turn the truck off if the key isn't in the ignition.
Using just a switch, someone could break you steering lock and be on their way.
 
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caseyladelle

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That might be a little fancier than I want to get. All I want to do is know which wires to hook a switch to so the truck stays running when I pull the key out. Right now I'm leaving the key in it and using the remote to lock and unlock the door, so it would be a huge step up.

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justin13703

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Go to the12volt.com and look up remote start install instructions for your truck. It will have all the wires and wire colors in your ignition harness listed. You will need to power all of the ignition and accessory wires. There may be more than one of each.
 

usaf2006

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Maybe look into how police cars do it. I drove one once that has a button by the ignition that you pressed, keeping the car running when you took the key out. If you tried to put it in gear it turned the car off, unless if you reinserted the key.
 
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caseyladelle

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That's exactly what I'm looking to do

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caseyladelle

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Yes but I'm not worried about the brake relay killing the truck. All I want is to keep it running with the accessories on while I jump out with the keys

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justin13703

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When you said that exactly what I wanted to do, I figured you meant what usaf2006 said which included the vehicle shutting off when it is put in gear
 
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caseyladelle

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It would be handy, but not something I'm worried about. I just want to know what wires in the ignition I need to hook power to for the truck and accessories to stay running when I turn the key off

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