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I have a 73 and am looking to add a hidden kill switch. Am thinking of using the clutch safety wiring. I have identified the two wires, one being purple and the other purple with a white stripe under the driver's side dash near the clutch but am not sure which one to cut and wire in the switch. Would prefer to not make a mistake that I have to fix immediately! So which one is the correct one? Thanks in advance!
(Also open to other ideas for a kill switch and could use guidance since my electrical systems isn't my strong suit!)
I am betting that this was part of a kill system, it's a key cylinder mounted under the floor mat on the passenger side floor. I never investigated it further than knowing I had a key that works it, and seeing under the car that it was not longer wired to anything.
Back in the day I worked for a couple alarm companies (Code-Alarm and Clifford)-
The best design was to use a relay- as most small "hidden" switches will wear out do the the current pulled through them.
Use a Bosch SPDT relay- the normally closed switch that can be hidden- some thought it was cool idea back in the day to use the cigarette lighter as a switch- there a ton of different ideas on hiding them.
And these days for less than $15 you can control the hidden switch with your phone!!!
The way it is wired- only when the ignition is on and the car is it attempted to be started will the relay engage- that way no power is used while the car is off and a sort of fail safe.
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Last edited by Richard454; Mar 14, 2020 at 10:44 PM.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
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I have a huge battery disconnect that I have wired directly between the batter and starter. Its just above the center console and can be hidden by may armrest cushion. If you dont know its there you cant see it while you are sitting in the car. I have the radio and clock bypass in the cutoff so I dont lose time or memory. The only way to steal it is by towing it, Hopefully I can catch the thieves beffore then.
I did have a plastic switch that the lever came out of than I liked alot but the amperage was too much for the plastic and it melted. Good idea, bad execution
Nearly every add-on RKE (remote keyless entry) system has an output sufficient to drive a relay coil that you can use for killing the ignition. Even if you don't have power locks you can arm and disarm the system via the fob. The relay coil will be energized when the system is armed but modern encapsulated relay coils draw very little current and it will take days/weeks to significantly drain a battery. If you're really worried about battery drainage you can use a normally-closed solid state relay. It won't draw current from the "trigger" (similar to the coil of a mechanical relay) until you turn the key and power is applied to the input upon which the normally closed relay will open. Here's an example. While solid state relays can build up considerable heat when conducting high amperage (thus they are normally mounted to a heat sink) you don't have to worry about this in the starting circuit because it used only for very short periods.
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Wiring Question
