As the truck is parked and the COVID restrictions force us to leave it parked. It was time to work on the electrical stuff. Everything was functional, but stuff could be optimised or prepared for future functions as always.

Now three years ago I only did a quick cleanup of the electrical compartment. As there was more important stuff to work on. Now it was time to do a deeper clean and sort some of the cabling out. Label everything correctly and wire out some signals like D+ and switched contact (15) to be used for additional switching operations.

• A DT 'lights on warning' buzzer was installed. No excuses anymore to forget to switch the lights off when parking...
• The winch remote is fixed to the plate and wired in to the original harnas so as to be easily replaced in case of malfunction. It remains an eBay product :-)
• The 80's dash cigaret lighters, which where already replaced by maritime grade USB sockets where rewired from permanent power to switched circuit (15). Less worries about gear draining the battery while being parked.
• The the accessory socket in the back seatbench, to which the fridge or other power hungry devices can be connected. Is now powered only when the motor is running using a D+ switched relais. No worries draining the start battery anymore when not switching it off actively as previously.

Still there was a hunt for two additions to the current electrics. First and foremost a programmable windshield wiper interval setting. Now the Hella relay only has a fixed ~5 second interval. This drives you crazy when driving in light rain or foggy conditions, as the interval is always off and you keep doing whites manually to correspond them.

The forum had already provided me with a lead for the programmable interval. But that was a very expensive digital relay in the SAE 9 pin form factor. So for sure no 1:1 swap. After some initial mail conversations with CARSIG directly and two telephone calls. The more then kind CS lady established contact with their Dutch sales partner. And with good news ! There is a replacement part in the correct form factor with a programmable interval 2-20 seconds.

For the lane change upgrade I struggled for very long. All searches that I did only yielded 12V suitable systems. Most connections ultimately lead via eBay or Amazon to 2 companies in Germany. Till then most of my search queries where in Dutch or German.

Then I found out the the function is called lane assist or One Touch Turn Signal (O-TTS). That lead to a connection in the USA making retrofit units for the American aftermarket, manly being older muscle cars.

The kit can be hooked up in the electrics of the Steyr with an optional failsafe blind plug in case it faults. That way you can always revert to the original situation without having to do complicated field fixes on the road. Or insert a new one by means of some simple crimps on a connector with a replacement part.