I know a few guys have done this already but here's my spin on it. Instead of trying to replacing the Norgren valves and more importantly, my leaky piston that moves the step cover (which is a pain to do), I wanted a normally closed valve on the air supply that feeds all of that. Per Roger's suggestion, I wired it to an on/off/on switch so that I could choose between always on, only on with the ignition, or off. It was actually a pretty painful job due to all the head scratching and evolving need for different bits of hardware and ultimately took three evenings to get done.
The switch I used is actually intended to feed two different devices from one power source so I had to wire it up "backwards" which took a little bit of futzing. I did it at my work bench first and then marked my wires for when I was ready to install it, which turned out to be a good idea.
Power came from one of the two solenoids behind the kick panel at the passenger's feet. They both behave the same from what I could tell and are a little tricky to work with because there isn't much space or wire to spare. Basically the front side of these solenoids is the power from your batteries and the back side has power when the ignition is turned on. Behind this panel is also where I fed the wire to the outside. It was actually pretty difficult to find a spot I felt comfortable drilling a new hole but I eventually found a screw that FT put in that ran all the way through to the outside so used that as a guide and just drilled next to it.
The bracket is just 1 1/2" angle aluminum from Home Depot that I threw on the drill press. I used a little bit of Loctite with the bolts that hold the solenoid on and it's not going to go anywhere. I found it easiest to mount the solenoid to the bracket, screw on the new airline connectors on each end, and then mount the bracket to the chassis. Then I just cut my new airline to length and pushed it into the already attached connectors.
Parts list- Solenoid: HFS (R) 12v Dc Electric Solenoid Valve Water Air Gas, Fuels N/c - 1/4IN,... (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018WRJYPY)
- Switch: Amazon.com: HOKAAER Waterproof Rocker Switch Toggle On-Off-On 12V/20A... (https://www.amazon.com/HOKAAER-Waterproof-Rocker-Trailer-Caravan/dp/B099X49C3L/) (not the same one but functionally the same. And probably nicer at about half the price.
- (2) 5/8" 10-32 bolts & washers for attaching solenoid to bracket
- 1.5" angle iron/aluminum (any smaller and the solenoid won't fit)
- Extra 1/4" airline. You'll need to add some to the existing line
- (1) 1/4" airline straight union connector
- (3) 1/4" airline male push connectors
- Fork spade connectors for connecting to the solenoid
- Quick splice connectors for connecting to the ignition side of the solenoid. There isn't much space to work at the actual solenoid so I had to tap into those wires further away
- Heat shrink, wire, wire connectors, conduit, etc...
- A good wire stripper because you're going to be doing a lot of it. This one is awesome: IRWIN VISE-GRIP Wire Stripper, Self-Adjusting, 8-Inch (2078300) - Wire... (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OQ21CA)
Nice work Elliott ,when your done replace those old Bilstein shocks with some Koni FSD Gold.....they will amaze you with the ride quality.
Hans
Thanks. We are a little "bouncy" right now so it's on the list... somewhere after air leaks and a desk. I haven't even looked at how big of a job the shocks are yet tbh.
Got job, Elliott, the solenoid valve reduces leaks that are hard to fix. I put the switch near the door. It works in either place.
Nice, professional job Elliott. You do nice work.
I personally would wire it so the ignition always overrides it. Replaced lots of steps, because the door switch failed, and the step was out.For me, it would be easy to forget.
Just sayin'
Chris
Here is our fix that we also recommend...
From Norgren Valves (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=41908.msg424837#msg424837)
"We have not replaced our Norgren valve with a new one in the last 10 years. Our last slow operating outside step was fixed by taking the Norgren apart cleaning and putting back in service. That was a year ago and it still works fine.
Actually, I am a believer that our repairs do work as the valve is very simple inside. Just need to adjust the valve's exhaust ports. Most problems are caused by a sluggish piston inside the valve. A little cleaning and lubrication seems to give it new life
FYI on the subject of the step slide:
Because the step slide solenoid is a pain to change and not a critical device, we figured that the step slide piston does not need to maintain air pressure to keep it open or closed. Just needs air pressure to move in one direction or the other. So we installed a 12v actuated 3-way pneumatic valve on that Norgren's input air line, with a new inside switch. New-Switch on, move step slide in or out, new-switch off, move in-out switch off."
- More... (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=41908.msg424837)
- Quote (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?action=post;quote=424837;topic=41908.0;last_msg=434857)