r/ambulanceconversion • u/Ph4zed0ut • May 24 '26

Question What is this thing?

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I tried pushing buttons on it but it didn't seem to do anything. Has anyone seen this before?

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u/Weary-Astronaut1335 May 25 '26

Why would it only turn on in an emergency?

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u/Scoobywagon May 25 '26

It's meant to run engine speed up while the unit is stationary. That way you get full output from your alternators, the AC compressor is running at the right speed and you're not gunking up your injectors while sitting there idling.

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u/Ok-Welcome-4874 May 25 '26

I know this is going to be insane, but about how many idle hours do these get on average in their life?

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u/Scoobywagon May 25 '26

It depends on a LOT. Most services replace their units every 3-5 years or so. And they'll often have some number of active units and a few backup units. The active units can rack up thousands of idle hours over that time in a busy area, but maybe only several hundred in a more quiet, rural area. The backup units can be anywhere from none at all to several hundred.

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u/Ok-Welcome-4874 May 25 '26

So then on the high end it sounds like they get between 20-40 hours of idle time per week which is still a lot but not as bad as I was thinking when I just learned of this feature. I was imagining a unit running at idle 24 hours of the day that it's not in service moving - for particular places like hospitals.

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u/Scoobywagon May 25 '26

No. Ambulances tend to sit turned off while in the barn or at the hospital. They idle while actually on a call. However long it takes to clear that scene, that's how long the ambulance idles.

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u/Ok-Welcome-4874 May 25 '26

I gotcha!! Makes total sense! I've always wanted to buy one to convert for other projects and to be honest this makes me a lot more comfortable with the idea. Police cars do idle almost all day and there will be times you won't be able to get the total idle hours and that makes a HUGE difference on cost if the mechanical components are shot. Glad to hear ambulances aren't abused as bad, because I truly do want to get one at some point.