an easy negative battery disconnect

[Boise69]

After reading about someones truck catching fire and then another spoke about that our trucks can catch fire even while its turned off, it got me wondering and worried about my truck catching fire while in the garage while i'm sleeping...

I think its time to have a battery disconnect.

who has one and what does it look like exactly. Pictures would be very helpful. Do i have to pop the hood everytime and unscrew a knob or is there one that can operate inside the cab?

[boraxman]

Ive got one on my truck, its the blade handle type. will get a pic up later.

[ClassicRedneck05]

there is ont in Jegs where the Switch is under the hood but has a lefter u can run inside the cab to kill it

[pat]

Im putting this one on the positive cable going from my battery under the bed to the starter. It is going to stick through the floor of my cab under the seat.

[Boise69]

Originally Posted by pat

Im putting this one on the positive cable going from my battery under the bed to the starter. It is going to stick through the floor of my cab under the seat.

very cool. i will look into this. I just wonder if that red plastic handle will withstand the constant switching ?

[grebus1]

Here is the one that I'm considering (side terminal), just not sure if it will fit OK. My goal is to find one that is easily adapted to my current setup with a side terminal battery.

[Boog]

I don't know about these mounted on the batteries. It looks like just that many more places for corrosion to attack and cause starting/charging problems. For now while mine is under construction I just remove the positive cable when I leave it.

[krue]

Keeps the battery from draining while it sits.

[FarmTruk]

I have used this type on tractors before with good results.

[bad_turbo]

Originally Posted by pat

Im putting this one on the positive cable going from my battery under the bed to the starter. It is going to stick through the floor of my cab under the seat.

use this one on alot of race cars. Mount them on the back by the trunk and taillights. Hide it in the cab and it doubles as a theft-deterrent.

[corn]

I used one like this on my old chevelle. Sure makes sleeping easier, problem wise & theft wise. Disconnecting the battery works fine too...

[project1971]

They also use those style switchs on ambulances for all the load of radios and lights.

[68C15]

what about the solenoid type that motorhomes use? it uses a remote switch. (ie. auxillary power)

[corn]

Originally Posted by 68C15

what about the solenoid type that motorhomes use? it uses a remote switch. (ie. auxillary power)

That would just kill the start position wouldnt it?

[pritch]

You can hook up a simple soleniod real easy. I always do this on demo derby cars. I have a diagram around here somewhere, but it kinda goes like this:
Hook up your positive or negitive cable from the battery to the big post on the soleniod, then to ground or starter, whichever wire your on. I always use the positive side. Then control the solenoid with a small toggle switch. On the demo cars, this switch is obvious and handy, but it would be easy to hide somewhere. One drawback-you need to run a wire directly from the battery to the solenoid to power the solenoid. If you feed the solenoid from the fusebox or somewhere, as soon as you activate it to kill your main power, it kills the power to keep the solenoid open.

I guess someone will know if this would be too much of a battery draw to use for a long time, but it should work good for short trips into bad neighborhoods.