battery disconnect

[Tom_S]

Now that I have gotten my '36 on the road, I would feel better to disconnect the battery when it is garaged. Of course it is not feasable to remove the front seat each time to do this. I have looked at Flaming River "The big Switch" The Big Switch - The Big Switch - The Big Switch - No Mounting Bracket

and thought about something like this and mounting it in the engine compartment sort of tucked back under the firewall.

Has anyone had any experience in doing something like this?

Wife and I took a 40 mile ride yesterday morning to town and she is riding very good after all the front end work I did. Got lots of waves and honks!

Thanks,

Tom

[Joe Cocuzza]

Tom,

It is a good idea. How about mounting it in the glove box, if possible, so all you would have to do is reach in and turn it off instead of always opening and closing the hood? Or even tucked up under the dash. If that switch is too large for that there are others available.

Joe

[Guest Jeff_Miller]

When I got my car it had a big keyed disconnect switch mounted high on the firewall so cables had to come out from under the cab and up the the sidewall and to actuate I had to reach under the glove box to turn the key. This was a bit of a pain, aesthetically it was horrid, and the worst of it was that when it got put in they butchered both the firewall and the firewall insulator.

I redid the wiring and replaced the firewall insulator this past year and in doing so I made fixing the ease of use and aesthetics a top priority. I looked at the Flaming River stuff and numerous others and although it took stuff out of the cab it was still ugly on the firewall and although this allows removing if from the firewall insulator in the car it still was kind of an ugly wart under the hood.

I through about using a keyed one and mounting it on the panels in the foot well. This would only leave the key exposed down there and being closer then the firewall I thought it might be easier to use. However that area is very shallow and in the end I couldn't convince myself that I could put it in there and still be safe.

My end solution was to get a latching relay disconnect. These are often used on RVs but I see them used for cars as a secret way to protect your car. Cole Hersee and Intellitec both make one and I see others on ebay and RV places as well. I used the Intellitec version. I mounted the disconnect switch with the battery completely out of site. The extra cables are in the battery tray and the cables to the engine bay look normal. I ran a small DPDT rocker switch to the top of the foot well panel where it is out of site and I can easily trigger it to disconnect the battery.

The bad news about the latching relays is that they I could only find versions that required 12 volts to actuate although I found a full 6 volt battery did indeed actuate it but I wasn't ready to trust that 100%. I happen to have a jump start battery in my car that I use for the radio and I use that as the source to power the disconnect switch. The latch draws less than an amp to switch so I looked at possibly using a small 6 to 12 volt converter but I gave up on that idea because the cheap ones just didn't inspire confidence. I did recently replace my generator with an alternator and I found a decent lower cost 6 to 12 volt converter on ebay so I may rethink the jump start battery when the winter projects start.

In any event, I am a huge believer in disconnect switches so I hope you find a solution that works for you.

Jeff

[60FlatTop]

Back when I serviced collector cars I had a customer who though he should be able to reach under the edge of his seat and just open the disconnect switch. I agreed. His cars had wood floor boards about 1/2" thick. I bought a Forstner bit and made a recessed hole to mount the switch flush with the floor. A couple of cables to the switch made it all work easily.

One of the cars was a particular concern because it had a Startix starting system.

Bernie

[Mark Shaw]

I think Bernie has the right answer here. Why run cables all the way to the dash or engine when you can mount a switch near the battery?

The front of the seat just above the floor is a good spot too.

[Tom_S]

The 36 Buick front seat goes all the way to the floor. It has to be romoved to get to the battery, so mounting to the seat is not feasable. I have purchased a new repro front floor mat and not about to drill that for a switch. The battery cable runs to the starter and I thought about disconnecting it and run to the switch. I looked some more today and it can be tucked nicely back behind the lower fire wall in an out of the way place. I would need only a short cable from it to the starter. The only problem with this is that I would have to open the hood each time. Still thinking.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Tom

[Guest Barneys_Bud]

Several ways to do that. You can interrupt the Positive side or if the ground wire is easier to access, you can interrupt that one. On our Franklin the ground side is interrupted and the switch is mounted under the floorboard. You stick the red switch key through a small hole in the carpet and activate the switch. When you remove the key it acts like a theft/fire deterrent. I have also seen the line to the starter (the heavy gage wire) interrupted with a switch. A popular way is to put a battery post switch on but that is not practical in your application.

[hchris]

Now that I have gotten my '36 on the road, I would feel better to disconnect the battery when it is garaged. Of course it is not feasable to remove the front seat each time to do this. I have looked at Flaming River "The big Switch" The Big Switch - The Big Switch - The Big Switch - No Mounting Bracket

and thought about something like this and mounting it in the engine compartment sort of tucked back under the firewall.

Has anyone had any experience in doing something like this?

Wife and I took a 40 mile ride yesterday morning to town and she is riding very good after all the front end work I did. Got lots of waves and honks!

Thanks,

Tom

FWIW an absolute must is that it be within easy reach of you whilst in the car, no point in watching the smoke billow as you try and remove covers or get out of the car and run around to open the hood to gain access; by then the damage has well and truly been done. Look at saving the battery when not in use as an added bonus, not a priority.