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I am starting to wire up my 78 restomod project and after reading lots of threads here about electrical fires, I am trying to be as pro-active as I can. I am thinking of an electric solenoid type battery disconnect, and I don't want any of those blade type devices. Painless has a set up that draws power while it's engaged. Doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Ron Francis has a latching solenoid that does NOT draw any juice while engaged. I am also looking at the Battery Brain set up. I also know I will need a bypass for the TPI computer that I am putting in the car. Any experiences with these things or something similar ( like a simple Ford starter solenoid) would be appreciated. Thanks.
Just a word of caution, If the battery is inadvertently cut out while the engine is running, the alternator will regulate high rail to its max voltage. (~18volts or higher) Can be dangerous to electronics. I.e. EFI computers etc. Personally why I am not a fan of battery cutout switches.
Just a word of caution, If the battery is inadvertently cut out while the engine is running, the alternator will regulate high rail to its max voltage. (~18volts or higher) Can be dangerous to electronics. I.e. EFI computers etc. Personally why I am not a fan of battery cutout switches.
I didn't know this. Does this happen on stock type alternators only. I have a single wire 105 amp powermaster and it seems to stay at 14.6 with no battery. I have raced with out a battery to save weight and just jumped it to fire up the motor. It actually all started with a tech inspection guy who claimed that my battery wasn't secured enough with the bottom block bracket. So I had to remove the battery as the fix
I didn't know this. Does this happen on stock type alternators only. I have a single wire 105 amp powermaster and it seems to stay at 14.6 with no battery. I have raced with out a battery to save weight and just jumped it to fire up the motor. It actually all started with a tech inspection guy who claimed that my battery wasn't secured enough with the bottom block bracket. So I had to remove the battery as the fix
I've never heard of this either. I have removed the battery from running cars with stock alternators and never seen any issues.
I didn't realize it could happen either but I did learn about it while looking at some of these switches. A few of them have extra terminals on them to wire into your battery feed line, which will also cut off the alternator. As for Richard, Mr KISS with the projects you have had,ha ha, thanks. I noticed one of those fuses on a truck I just bought and thought it was a great idea but had forgotten about it. That does seem the best idea since I am not interested in this for an anti theft item, but a safety one. No extra switches or wires to deal with, or places to put them. That was one reason I wanted to stay away from the racer type switches that Duke mentioned above. Thanks to you all, another item I can cross of my list.
A fuse at the battery post is simple -inexpensive- draws no power and works if there is a short-
On my race and family boats I used this type battery post without the fuse and replaced the nut with a simple wing nut.
I'm using the same set up as I did on my boats, on my 73.
When I park the car in the garage or if I want to make the electrical tamper proof, I simply open the battery box and remove the wing nut and either put it in my gun safe with the keys or in my pocket for the day.
Really simple theft deterrent.
electric battery disconnect
