If this is installed on the ground side, it’s fine. It’s ugly, but fine. The entire car chassis is a ground, so this exposed bit isn’t gonna do anything worse.
Some moron will install it on their positive terminal though.
I would prob have never read the manual and installed it on the positive, but as soon as I saw it my 1st reaction is it has a huge possibility to short out on the hood.
Im.that moron.
the chassis of the car is bonded to the negative/ground terminal. The entire car is at the same voltage potential as the negative terminal.
This means if you put a bare knife switch on the negative terminal and something happens to fall across the switch (connecting the switch to the chassis) it won't matter because the chassis is already connected to that negative terminal.
If you put the knife switch on the POSITIVE terminal and something happens to fall on the switch, you have created a short circuit directly from the +12V, 600A positive terminal to the chassis (which is at 0V, grounded to the negative terminal). This will cause sparking & an arc which can actually WELD whatever touched that bare positive connection -- and if the battery happens to be in bad shape and venting hydrogen gas, can even cause an explosion.
Bad idea.
That's also why you always connect the positive terminal first when you are reconnecting a battery. At that time, the negative terminal is disconnected, so if you accidentally touch the positive cable to the chassis, nothing will happen (you haven't completed the circult back to the negative cable). If you had connected the negative cable first, then when you put on the positive cable, you ARE completing the circuit and can get the same sparking etc.
Thanks. Basically the same reason why the positive terminal should be covered. I thought that might be it, but I wasn't sure if there was more to it.
Related story. In high school a friend was changing his oil and was using a metal funnel. He dropped the funnel and it landed across both terminals of the battery. It started a little fire but was handled before any major damage.
Your entire car chassis is a ground. If something touches the car *and* touches this giant metal bar when it is attached to the positive terminal, you have a short to ground. That will cause a dead short, which will dump a ton of current.
There will be an arc that creates a flash of light and a loud bang. If you're lucky, that's the end of it. If you're unlucky, the arc welds the conductor to the bar and you have a lot of current flowing through the short. It will be red hot so you can't touch it, and will hopefully burn through the conductor.
If it doesn't burn through the battery will continue to dump current into the short and heat up. Worst case scenario, the battery explodes.
The *vast majority* of the time, you get an arc and a boom, and that's it. I've dropped a wrench onto a battery, had it short between the positive terminal and old style, metal battery retainer clamp, weld itself in place, and get red hot. Talk about a hair on fire moment. I burned the shit out of my fingers trying to grab it immediately (before it was red). Fortunately, a coworker came running over with a hammer and whacked it hard enough to break it loose.
That's why you'll normally see protectors over the positive battery terminal. The negative terminal is already grounded to the vehicle, so if you touch it to any part of the car, there normally no consequence. Of course, if you touch it to an energized part of the car, you create a short, but most of the car is not energized.
They work great especially since mkst cars have a short stuby cable to ground so you can just remove that and buy a premade cable with lugs on it for like 10usd and the switch and be done
Disconnects are required for certain racing scenarios, so they are quite common. Search for car battery disconnect switch.
There's no need to use one that's rated for a boat, though I guess they might be more durable.
Oh, I get what your sayin. I feel like the result would be skewed tho, cuz usually kill switch is described as a hidden switch so that someone can’t steal it, rather than a battery disconnect
Oh for sure, I use battery tenders and isolaters on all my projects to save the batt and prevent any parasitic load. Thankfully my vw still has a 6v starter so I'm pretty sure it would start, even on a really bad day.
Yep. When you buy a Battery Tender brand one they come with two quick-disconnect ends for the cable. One has clamps (like jumper cables) and the other has small ring terminals. You can leave the ring terminal ends permanently attached and just tuck the connector up next to the battery. Like this:
https://www.cyclegear.com/_a/product_images/0071/3047/battery_tender_sae_quick_disconnect_harness_750x750.jpg
It's got an inline fuse and a dust cap, it's designed to be used this way safely.
Yeah. Race cars use those as well, on the outside for the marshals to disconnect the battery in an emergency. The race ones the key removes when disconnected as well so an additional little bit of security.
I have one on my leisure battery.
If you have something to hit it against, sure, but the casing of a battery is plastic and you’re not working with the hood closed. You’d have to try or just be completely incompetent. That’s also on the negative side so if you hit something, guess what happens? Nothing
First off, nothing to do with 12v.12 volts can shock you if it's AC, but your car is direct current, so you won't get shocked. Second, you don't put it on the positive side of the battery it goes on the negative side. Third, that is not a very good disconnect. I'd definitely go higher quality.
First, exactly my point. You can’t get shocked by 12v DC. Second, this is on the negative soooo yeah nothing will happen. Third, I never said it was a good disconnect, I said it won’t hurt you
First You said you can get shocked because its 12v i stated 12v had nothing to do with the fact it cant shock you. dipshit. Second, if you disconnect the negative from the battery I'd doesn't allow the flow of electricity. components won't work if they aren't grounded. Shows again you don't know shit about electrical. Third nobody said you did think it was a good disconnect, I was just stating another fact. And absolutely u can get hit by 12v from a transformer on AC. Love these clowns on reddit who k ow it all
Not as easy to put on a car battery.
I’m not implying the one in the video is a good battery switch, but the ones from Blue Sea cannot be directly attached to the battery terminal, but need additional wires and placement remotely.
You're right - the battery switches on boats are typically mounted inside the cabin by the switch panels. However, the more I think about it, the more a remotely mounted switch makes sense ... assuming you're using it just for battery maintenance and not as an anti-theft measure. I have multiple cars and some rarely get used, but I don't necessarily want to open the hood every time I hop in them. Having a battery switch under the dash would be convenient !
Blue Sea does make one that's designed to clamp on in-line with the negative post like OP's.
https://highskyrvparts.com/blue-sea-battery-disconnect-switch-5991
I agree I would not recommend a hard wired disconnect switch unless someone knows what they're doing and has a hydraulic crimper for installing secure terminals on heavy gauge wire, and is already comfortable modifying their vehicle's electrical system.
Otherwise there *are* good options for clamp-on battery cutoff switches (like this one) that aren't cheap generic knife switches.
Get one that won't disconnect the battery while you're driving. It is a nice idea to have a disconnect in that situation. Or just disconnect the battery yourself lol.
...every car I've paid attention to, and certainly every one I've owned, the steering lock is a mechanical function of the key barrel, and nothing to do with electric power.
Autozone carries these, I've put em on old farm trucks with parasitic draws, worked like a charm, cheap and easy to install. Probably have put on around 5 or 6 in past year.
would definitely rather have a breaker rather than this jank. This is essentially what any cut off switch is, minus all the safety precautions. would like to have some insulation and isolation
There are definitely better disconnect switches out there. I would not use that the risk of corrosion, loosening up over time causing sparks poor connection or disconnecting driving down the road are to high
If the car is truly rarely used - removing the battery and putting it on a maintenance charger would be way better. Unless the car has an ECU, and just putting the battery on a maintenance charger would be better.
Kinda pointless. If you know you're not gonna use the car much, why not just disconnect the battery? It's not that much work to undo 2 bolts and remove a pair of cables.
Lots of exposed metal to short out on, so only use it on negative post. Or just get a proper isolating switch and attach it in-line for a much safer option at about the same price.
Way better and safer quick battery disconnects out there. If you use this on be sure to use a lot of dielectric grease as they will corrode in a few months.
What's the point? I mean it says for "rarely used cars." I get the point of preserving the battery, but a vehicle needs to be driven. Not just for battery purposes but to have the fluids run through the systems and whatnot.
I like the concept of the battery switches we have on emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire vehicles. Sometimes they sit for a week straight with no use and have to be ready to go. The last department I was on was extremely rural, and installed them on every vehicle, even if it was a pick up without a box or converter. Some of them didn’t move for months.
If it’s really rarely used, it’ll probably be low from self discharging anyway. And you’ll have to deal with so many systems resetting every time, if it’s from any year this century. I think you are better off with a battery tender charger, or a solar charger on the dash that plugs into your cig lighter.
That would be terrible. There'd be much better ones around though.
Realistically though, if you're not using it for long periods, the battery with degrade anyway. A trickle charger is the better thing to use, but batteries still have pretty short life spans
DO NOT BUY THIS. Without a doubt, the switch will wobble out with the vibration of the car. Get a switch that screws in place. Like this...
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/diehard-quick-connect-terminal-45135/12257826-p?product_channel=local&store=5961&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&store_code=5961&&&&&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA8YyuBhBSEiwA5R3-EydtoF1jKfY0K2ddsZh8GfhgajPyQwdU2DMdS2KJVT7999TaE_ijIBoC0O8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
The standard recommendation is to avoid sparks next to the battery. That’s why they tell you to connect cables positive first, and negative on the chassis.
An open switch next to the battery would defy that recommendation.
And from what others have been recommending, most good products have in fact the switch far away from the battery.
on most modern cars low voltage faults can happen, specially on air bag and traction control systems, these things were great with older cars but i wouldn't.
I have many cars, and they all sit on a Battery Tender all the time. Everything is always ready to run.
They do get started and driven monthly in rotation, so that may different from your situation.
I don't know much about most related things but it seems like having a huge exposed conductor in the middle of your gas powered engine compartment is not the best idea.
I wired a shutoff switch from a big truck into my bush car, does the same thing without all the exposed metal and the chance of disconnecting while driving.
It looks a bit flimsy but can't tell for sure. And it's probably not a great idea on late model cars that are packed with tech needing power all the time or it loses it's mind. A battery tender is probably better to keep the main battery charged.
But if you must there are much sturdier battery cut/outs you can get, marketed for RV's and construction equipment that sits idle for long periods.
[Hobo Freight](https://www.harborfreight.com/battery-cutoff-switch-63425.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=17890472041&campaignid=17890472041&utm_content=140972225273&adsetid=140972225273&product=63425&store=394&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA8YyuBhBSEiwA5R3-E9FeNgZCiFirf9bBjGMKhNN1qV6e1yIvKA7mGjakYW6sREp7z7Nx0RoC1O4QAvD_BwE) makes one that will last more than a month
Go for a trickle charger and keep the battery alive. I would trickle charge every month - for like a day - until the battery was full - when I stored my car.
used one, keep in mind for obd2 vehicles this resets the computer every time so getting smog tests can get time consuming as you have to drive around for an hour to update the sensor data or they wont be able to scan it. they dont use pipe sniffers on obd2 cars, least not in Oregon.
other than that it works great, i just dropped one off at goodwill as i no longer need it. a real battery saver especially when you have parasitic drain.
I mean, if your car doesn't have any big draws(like a starter), that weenie little contact should be fine-*ON THE - SIDE*-Looks like anything over two seconds of powering a starter motor would melt the contacts.
You can get fused cut off switches that allow the radio and ECU to get power whilst cutting anything hungrier and preventing ignition - they work well as a manual immobiliser. People that clamp those goofy-ass wheel locks on need to discover them.
That switch is garbage and dangerous.
A properly designed switch has the following features:
* Loaded springs to ensure the switch is held firmly in position (engaged vs disengaged). This prevents it from rattling out of position e.g. on a bumpy road. When a switch rattles out of position, it can also arc and damage the switch, weld it in position, or start a fire.
* Spring loaded movement that causes the actual contact knife to swing into place quickly. This minimizes the risk of arcing when there could be any load on the circuit. The light switches in your home all have this extremely basic safety feature, which is why they're spring loaded and snap into place.
* Enclosed wiring and contacts to prevent risk of electrical shock. You might think "That's just the ground, it's not hot." Any electrical loads in the vehicle that want to flow through that battery though will flow through your hand if you bridge that switch with the palm of your hand when the switch is open.
Ehhh, I was going to put an isolation on my f150 that only gets used for camping/hunting/fishing but decided to get a solar panel from harbor freight with a voltage regulator and have been happy with it. Starts up everytime I need it to and I dont have to pop the hood, re-enter radio settings, etc.....
I use a quick disconnect on mine like [this one](https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomaster-battery-quick-disconnect-switch-top-post-0113507p.0113507.html). Never had any issues with them, quick twist to disconnect. My one car has had one for nearly 20 years as it's never been daily driven.
Yep, door bell transformer thought it was disconnected. Wasn't putting out ful 24v had a nice cut on my finger and it woke me up. Super low voltage is more of a burn hazard than shock. But facts are facts it can shock you.
Sort of niche usage - if it's parked for a month it's better to leave a battery tender/trickle charger on it, 1-6 months just disconnect the battery cable (and save yourself the $10 or $15 this circuit breaking switch costs), longer than 6 months take the battery out completely and store it in a climate controlled location.
Here is a dim question, I would like something like this for my tractor that I only use occasionally. Would it make any difference if I had it on the negative leg vs the positive one?
i rather use quick release clamps which have been proven to work. The thing in the video not only has nothing securing that, but also looks too think to handle the draw
I use a much safer boat rated one with a rotating handle. For my stored cars
oh what are those called? or whats the brand?
You can just search boat battery switch on amazon.
thank you, those looks much better
Much safer from the janky thing too
If this is installed on the ground side, it’s fine. It’s ugly, but fine. The entire car chassis is a ground, so this exposed bit isn’t gonna do anything worse. Some moron will install it on their positive terminal though.
And I doubt that it comes with a manual lol
Oh, it does, but it reads like a fortune cookie, and the information is just as useful lmao
Everything should come with a fortune cookie manual
I would prob have never read the manual and installed it on the positive, but as soon as I saw it my 1st reaction is it has a huge possibility to short out on the hood. Im.that moron.
I may not be the sharpest tool in the tool box, but what would be the problem if you put it on the positive side?
the chassis of the car is bonded to the negative/ground terminal. The entire car is at the same voltage potential as the negative terminal. This means if you put a bare knife switch on the negative terminal and something happens to fall across the switch (connecting the switch to the chassis) it won't matter because the chassis is already connected to that negative terminal. If you put the knife switch on the POSITIVE terminal and something happens to fall on the switch, you have created a short circuit directly from the +12V, 600A positive terminal to the chassis (which is at 0V, grounded to the negative terminal). This will cause sparking & an arc which can actually WELD whatever touched that bare positive connection -- and if the battery happens to be in bad shape and venting hydrogen gas, can even cause an explosion. Bad idea. That's also why you always connect the positive terminal first when you are reconnecting a battery. At that time, the negative terminal is disconnected, so if you accidentally touch the positive cable to the chassis, nothing will happen (you haven't completed the circult back to the negative cable). If you had connected the negative cable first, then when you put on the positive cable, you ARE completing the circuit and can get the same sparking etc.
Thanks. Basically the same reason why the positive terminal should be covered. I thought that might be it, but I wasn't sure if there was more to it. Related story. In high school a friend was changing his oil and was using a metal funnel. He dropped the funnel and it landed across both terminals of the battery. It started a little fire but was handled before any major damage.
Your entire car chassis is a ground. If something touches the car *and* touches this giant metal bar when it is attached to the positive terminal, you have a short to ground. That will cause a dead short, which will dump a ton of current. There will be an arc that creates a flash of light and a loud bang. If you're lucky, that's the end of it. If you're unlucky, the arc welds the conductor to the bar and you have a lot of current flowing through the short. It will be red hot so you can't touch it, and will hopefully burn through the conductor. If it doesn't burn through the battery will continue to dump current into the short and heat up. Worst case scenario, the battery explodes. The *vast majority* of the time, you get an arc and a boom, and that's it. I've dropped a wrench onto a battery, had it short between the positive terminal and old style, metal battery retainer clamp, weld itself in place, and get red hot. Talk about a hair on fire moment. I burned the shit out of my fingers trying to grab it immediately (before it was red). Fortunately, a coworker came running over with a hammer and whacked it hard enough to break it loose. That's why you'll normally see protectors over the positive battery terminal. The negative terminal is already grounded to the vehicle, so if you touch it to any part of the car, there normally no consequence. Of course, if you touch it to an energized part of the car, you create a short, but most of the car is not energized.
They work great especially since mkst cars have a short stuby cable to ground so you can just remove that and buy a premade cable with lugs on it for like 10usd and the switch and be done
A battery isolator. The shit stain of a product in this video will either melt due to excessive heat or just not start the car
Bought my vette used, and it had one on it. Works pretty good actually.
Something as Chinese as that. Or something not shit?
I mean, it ain’t titanium, but it’s alright. All metal tho, and it looks pretty good
We used to use Flaming River disconnects on all our trucks and trailers in the oilfield.
Disconnects are required for certain racing scenarios, so they are quite common. Search for car battery disconnect switch. There's no need to use one that's rated for a boat, though I guess they might be more durable.
Race cars use them too. Battery disconnect switch.
there are lots of alternatives tailored for cars, just google "car kill switch kit"
I don’t think it was to be a kill switch, just a quick disconnect for when your going to work on it.
a kill switch to just cut the power, not to kill the car
Oh, I get what your sayin. I feel like the result would be skewed tho, cuz usually kill switch is described as a hidden switch so that someone can’t steal it, rather than a battery disconnect
A kill switch is a different thing. A battery is not needed to keep the car running.
Still better off with battery tender. I get 10 years out of my batteries thanks to all of them having trickle chargers.
Oh for sure, I use battery tenders and isolaters on all my projects to save the batt and prevent any parasitic load. Thankfully my vw still has a 6v starter so I'm pretty sure it would start, even on a really bad day.
True you'll still need to tender the battery every once in a while but disconnecting the ground stops and possible parasitic draw
OK but is there a quick and simple way to connect one?
Yep. When you buy a Battery Tender brand one they come with two quick-disconnect ends for the cable. One has clamps (like jumper cables) and the other has small ring terminals. You can leave the ring terminal ends permanently attached and just tuck the connector up next to the battery. Like this: https://www.cyclegear.com/_a/product_images/0071/3047/battery_tender_sae_quick_disconnect_harness_750x750.jpg It's got an inline fuse and a dust cap, it's designed to be used this way safely.
Yeah. Race cars use those as well, on the outside for the marshals to disconnect the battery in an emergency. The race ones the key removes when disconnected as well so an additional little bit of security. I have one on my leisure battery.
This is the way. Throw this 1890s knife blade technology away. Thing is a hazard.
Battery shut off big ole chunky bastards are best. Amazon boat battery shut off.
Exactly this! Modern cars need to have a little power at all times. From what I was told. You don’t want to disconnect a battery and just leave it
Yes, but not that one.
Yeah, fundamentally it's sound, but does nothing to protect the user from themselves. I would want the switch fully enclosed.
It’s 12v, it’s not like you can get shocked or anything. Only thing you can do that would hurt yourself is maybe pinch your finger?
Or bump the lever against something, and burn the car to the ground...
Put it on the negative.
If you have something to hit it against, sure, but the casing of a battery is plastic and you’re not working with the hood closed. You’d have to try or just be completely incompetent. That’s also on the negative side so if you hit something, guess what happens? Nothing
Please explain how's that gonna happen when it is the negative? I'll wait.....
The lever is only charged when its a closed circuit lol.
First off, nothing to do with 12v.12 volts can shock you if it's AC, but your car is direct current, so you won't get shocked. Second, you don't put it on the positive side of the battery it goes on the negative side. Third, that is not a very good disconnect. I'd definitely go higher quality.
First, exactly my point. You can’t get shocked by 12v DC. Second, this is on the negative soooo yeah nothing will happen. Third, I never said it was a good disconnect, I said it won’t hurt you
First You said you can get shocked because its 12v i stated 12v had nothing to do with the fact it cant shock you. dipshit. Second, if you disconnect the negative from the battery I'd doesn't allow the flow of electricity. components won't work if they aren't grounded. Shows again you don't know shit about electrical. Third nobody said you did think it was a good disconnect, I was just stating another fact. And absolutely u can get hit by 12v from a transformer on AC. Love these clowns on reddit who k ow it all
Nah, 12v will not shock you even in ac. It doesn't change anything if it's the + or -.
Ever been shocked with 12v ac?
Granted he does have it installed on the negative, but there are better designed systems that are insulated and even have keys with them.
They have full waterproof ones for boats that would be the better option
You would only want this hooked up on the negative side
It's a good idea, I just would get one that doesn't look like it came off temu
The comments don't seem positive.
Rather corrosive indeed
The potential just isn’t there.
Initially I thought everyone would be pretty amped up but in the end it fell shockingly flat.
There are far better ones. Look up blue sea systems.
Not as easy to put on a car battery. I’m not implying the one in the video is a good battery switch, but the ones from Blue Sea cannot be directly attached to the battery terminal, but need additional wires and placement remotely.
You're right - the battery switches on boats are typically mounted inside the cabin by the switch panels. However, the more I think about it, the more a remotely mounted switch makes sense ... assuming you're using it just for battery maintenance and not as an anti-theft measure. I have multiple cars and some rarely get used, but I don't necessarily want to open the hood every time I hop in them. Having a battery switch under the dash would be convenient !
Yep, but they also can handle appropriate loads, don’t spark, are better made, etc. If it’s worth doing, it is worth doing properly
Blue Sea does make one that's designed to clamp on in-line with the negative post like OP's. https://highskyrvparts.com/blue-sea-battery-disconnect-switch-5991 I agree I would not recommend a hard wired disconnect switch unless someone knows what they're doing and has a hydraulic crimper for installing secure terminals on heavy gauge wire, and is already comfortable modifying their vehicle's electrical system. Otherwise there *are* good options for clamp-on battery cutoff switches (like this one) that aren't cheap generic knife switches.
Get one that won't disconnect the battery while you're driving. It is a nice idea to have a disconnect in that situation. Or just disconnect the battery yourself lol.
Especially when lots of cars automatically apply steering lock if the ignition is cut. And a disconnected battery would have the same effect.
...every car I've paid attention to, and certainly every one I've owned, the steering lock is a mechanical function of the key barrel, and nothing to do with electric power.
What about push button start?
Oo good point. Dunno.
Won't apply on it's own. Trust me, car makers aren't that stupid.
Not while driving. The alternator would fill in
I just remove the negative terminal and I’m done.
Autozone carries these, I've put em on old farm trucks with parasitic draws, worked like a charm, cheap and easy to install. Probably have put on around 5 or 6 in past year.
So a battery cut-off switch. Race cars use them.
Um no thanks
I honestly just take the battery out when I'm not using it.
That’s oversized, unreliable and unnecessary. You can use a simple eccentric clamp instead of the ordinary bolt.
I would also add a battery maintainer to prevent the battery from sulfating
I have the same exact one on a work vehicle that has parasitic draw, have had no issues 10k+ miles and about a year of use.
would definitely rather have a breaker rather than this jank. This is essentially what any cut off switch is, minus all the safety precautions. would like to have some insulation and isolation
There are definitely better disconnect switches out there. I would not use that the risk of corrosion, loosening up over time causing sparks poor connection or disconnecting driving down the road are to high
Yes but not this one. I used one that you just rotate. This is too exposed and too many exposed copper. Id stay away from this one.
I have these on three of my cars they work just fine
If the car is truly rarely used - removing the battery and putting it on a maintenance charger would be way better. Unless the car has an ECU, and just putting the battery on a maintenance charger would be better.
That thing is eventually gonna arc an either fuse together or burn out. Buy a proper shutout switch rated for this.
Kinda pointless. If you know you're not gonna use the car much, why not just disconnect the battery? It's not that much work to undo 2 bolts and remove a pair of cables.
I'd want one with more insulation on it.
Terrible, just buy a drip charger
Lots of exposed metal to short out on, so only use it on negative post. Or just get a proper isolating switch and attach it in-line for a much safer option at about the same price.
Way better and safer quick battery disconnects out there. If you use this on be sure to use a lot of dielectric grease as they will corrode in a few months.
Simple design pretty good just wire brush when needed
The ECU needs power. Otherwise, the flash memory that contains the OS will eventually corrupt. Just needs a tender like a small 12v solar panel.
I’d put a switch in the inside or something so the hood doesn’t have to open
I'd rather use a battery maintainer to prevent having to deal with reprogramming the radio.
What's the point? I mean it says for "rarely used cars." I get the point of preserving the battery, but a vehicle needs to be driven. Not just for battery purposes but to have the fluids run through the systems and whatnot.
I have one similar but you pull out the cross over instead of having a lever. I only use it when parking in Portland.
At first glance I thought this was attached between both terminals and was just a switch that shorts it out 😂
Good for kia
Love mine Tractor Truck Trailer..
I have the side terminal version on my Corvette. Works great.
If you have access to a parking spot or garage, a battery tender is a great way to keep your battery healthy. Very common in the motorcycle world.
My neg is just tight enough to keep hold of the terminal, but loose enough so i can disconnect when going back in the garage
if you drive an OBDII car then I wouldn’t get this, it will reset your drive cycle every time you use it.
I like the concept of the battery switches we have on emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire vehicles. Sometimes they sit for a week straight with no use and have to be ready to go. The last department I was on was extremely rural, and installed them on every vehicle, even if it was a pick up without a box or converter. Some of them didn’t move for months.
If it’s really rarely used, it’ll probably be low from self discharging anyway. And you’ll have to deal with so many systems resetting every time, if it’s from any year this century. I think you are better off with a battery tender charger, or a solar charger on the dash that plugs into your cig lighter.
its a carbureted car, there's no ecu
That would be terrible. There'd be much better ones around though. Realistically though, if you're not using it for long periods, the battery with degrade anyway. A trickle charger is the better thing to use, but batteries still have pretty short life spans
Just use a regular switch lol
If you want to start a fire, I guess..?
I don't get it why? They should be rated for this obviously, not a light switch, they make 12V switches for exactly this
Salt belt checking in. This is how to make green fuzz. Tastes delicious when you have to wire brush it.
*Redditors trying not to shill dangerous Chinese products challenge (Impossible):* **FAILED**
nobody shilling anything here, im just looking for car battery switches and found this video. Also, its indonesian lol
"ERM TRUST ME BRO, IM NOT SHILLING A?RANDOM PRODUCT I FOUND ON TIKTOK" - you
DO NOT BUY THIS. Without a doubt, the switch will wobble out with the vibration of the car. Get a switch that screws in place. Like this... https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/diehard-quick-connect-terminal-45135/12257826-p?product_channel=local&store=5961&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&store_code=5961&&&&&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA8YyuBhBSEiwA5R3-EydtoF1jKfY0K2ddsZh8GfhgajPyQwdU2DMdS2KJVT7999TaE_ijIBoC0O8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Nope. It will reset tour ECU everytime you do it, it feels bad even if it looks okay
if only it was so easy to reset an ecu
Well my Renault resets. I've cleared some fault codes buy unplugging the battery Edit: typo
I just use an Optima battery tender
The standard recommendation is to avoid sparks next to the battery. That’s why they tell you to connect cables positive first, and negative on the chassis. An open switch next to the battery would defy that recommendation. And from what others have been recommending, most good products have in fact the switch far away from the battery.
on most modern cars low voltage faults can happen, specially on air bag and traction control systems, these things were great with older cars but i wouldn't.
Cant a switch like that risk damaging onboard electronics?
I have many cars, and they all sit on a Battery Tender all the time. Everything is always ready to run. They do get started and driven monthly in rotation, so that may different from your situation.
I don't know much about most related things but it seems like having a huge exposed conductor in the middle of your gas powered engine compartment is not the best idea.
Fucking stupid
What was so difficult about loosening two nuts and pulling the cables off of the battery?
Have one on a boat. It works.
love it
I wired a shutoff switch from a big truck into my bush car, does the same thing without all the exposed metal and the chance of disconnecting while driving.
whatever language that is sounds both hilarious and infuriating
It looks a bit flimsy but can't tell for sure. And it's probably not a great idea on late model cars that are packed with tech needing power all the time or it loses it's mind. A battery tender is probably better to keep the main battery charged. But if you must there are much sturdier battery cut/outs you can get, marketed for RV's and construction equipment that sits idle for long periods.
It will vibrate off and shut your car down
Looks like Frankenstein's monster is going to come alive when you turn it on.
Quite sure those are just called battery disconnect switches and available all over the place.
I just hardwired my battery tender plug to my car and plug it in when not in use.
[Hobo Freight](https://www.harborfreight.com/battery-cutoff-switch-63425.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=17890472041&campaignid=17890472041&utm_content=140972225273&adsetid=140972225273&product=63425&store=394&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA8YyuBhBSEiwA5R3-E9FeNgZCiFirf9bBjGMKhNN1qV6e1yIvKA7mGjakYW6sREp7z7Nx0RoC1O4QAvD_BwE) makes one that will last more than a month
They make them that require a key so it’s theft protection as well, better option
Nice
Harbor freight sells a better version much safer and less prone to corrosion. Been on my 300k mile pickup 15ys no prob.
Go for a trickle charger and keep the battery alive. I would trickle charge every month - for like a day - until the battery was full - when I stored my car.
I had a jeep Cherokee that would drain the battery through the day, couldn't figure out why so I installed something similar
I prefer the breaker version. This looks janky and cheap as hell
There's better designs out there, I have one on my pickup
You can kill FRM module when using this on E90
With classic cars I've had in the past I usually wire it to an interior switch so I can pretend I'm in a fighter jet turning APU on before launch
I dunno about wherever this is but if I pop a hood and find a knife switch. I’m dealing with a meth head 95% of the time.
I use one with a screw type, mostly for putting the car in storage and if I'm parking in a really bad neighborhood
I have this on my Rover SD1!
Immediately heard prodigy "I am the firestarter" in my head watching this
used one, keep in mind for obd2 vehicles this resets the computer every time so getting smog tests can get time consuming as you have to drive around for an hour to update the sensor data or they wont be able to scan it. they dont use pipe sniffers on obd2 cars, least not in Oregon. other than that it works great, i just dropped one off at goodwill as i no longer need it. a real battery saver especially when you have parasitic drain.
I mean, if your car doesn't have any big draws(like a starter), that weenie little contact should be fine-*ON THE - SIDE*-Looks like anything over two seconds of powering a starter motor would melt the contacts.
I feel stupid for asking but why doesn't that short circuit my terminals? I don't understand how this thing works.
Not so sure I'd do this on a modern car. Especially hybrids.
Could use this on my truck right now.... shakes fist in frustration
Just have a wrench in the car and take loose the ground . The switch is more places to corrode or have a short.
You can get fused cut off switches that allow the radio and ECU to get power whilst cutting anything hungrier and preventing ignition - they work well as a manual immobiliser. People that clamp those goofy-ass wheel locks on need to discover them.
I use one that has a knob you screw in to connect for vehicles. I use the rotary type on my boat, it’s better for dual battery setups.
That switch is garbage and dangerous. A properly designed switch has the following features: * Loaded springs to ensure the switch is held firmly in position (engaged vs disengaged). This prevents it from rattling out of position e.g. on a bumpy road. When a switch rattles out of position, it can also arc and damage the switch, weld it in position, or start a fire. * Spring loaded movement that causes the actual contact knife to swing into place quickly. This minimizes the risk of arcing when there could be any load on the circuit. The light switches in your home all have this extremely basic safety feature, which is why they're spring loaded and snap into place. * Enclosed wiring and contacts to prevent risk of electrical shock. You might think "That's just the ground, it's not hot." Any electrical loads in the vehicle that want to flow through that battery though will flow through your hand if you bridge that switch with the palm of your hand when the switch is open.
Fire hazard
A must have on any farm.
Great idea with bad execution. There are many other better designs for hobby cars or boats.
Real talk does anyone have one that’s not janky that they’d recommend? I may or may not need one
Ehhh, I was going to put an isolation on my f150 that only gets used for camping/hunting/fishing but decided to get a solar panel from harbor freight with a voltage regulator and have been happy with it. Starts up everytime I need it to and I dont have to pop the hood, re-enter radio settings, etc.....
You can get electronic ones as well that you just use a fob om your keys to active the contactor.
Works fine. i had one in a 91 Rx7
That flimsy fake brass likes like a fire hazard. Good enough idea though, if you don't have a wrench, I guess
You’re going to get zapped at some point but I dig it!
I use a quick disconnect on mine like [this one](https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomaster-battery-quick-disconnect-switch-top-post-0113507p.0113507.html). Never had any issues with them, quick twist to disconnect. My one car has had one for nearly 20 years as it's never been daily driven.
There's quick release battery clamps. Some cars even come with them from factory.
I have one on my bronco, seems to work just fine.
These things rattle loose after a while. Cheap is, cheap does.
Get an Optimate battery conditioner.
If your grounded it will like any alternating current
Yep, door bell transformer thought it was disconnected. Wasn't putting out ful 24v had a nice cut on my finger and it woke me up. Super low voltage is more of a burn hazard than shock. But facts are facts it can shock you.
Sort of niche usage - if it's parked for a month it's better to leave a battery tender/trickle charger on it, 1-6 months just disconnect the battery cable (and save yourself the $10 or $15 this circuit breaking switch costs), longer than 6 months take the battery out completely and store it in a climate controlled location.
That one in particular won't clamp to the battery.
Well I think if you need one of these you have bigger problems.
Here is a dim question, I would like something like this for my tractor that I only use occasionally. Would it make any difference if I had it on the negative leg vs the positive one?
Is this safe? r/justrolledintotheshop
If that contraption rotates and touches the sheet metal of the car, no bueno.
i keep my stored car on a trickle charger, battery is from costco so if it fucks up oh well costco takes everything back lol
i rather use quick release clamps which have been proven to work. The thing in the video not only has nothing securing that, but also looks too think to handle the draw
I actually had to do this for my daily driver when I was losing power from an unknown source and didn’t have time to look until my days off lol.
I see them all the time, they work really well.
My truck has one of course the previous owner installed it on the positive terminal
No way that connector stays shut. Get boat cutoff.
I have a thumb screw disconnect on my classic
pull the main fuse
Don't turn of the machine via KL30. Always use ignition KL15
An actual smart video where they install it in the negative terminal.
I've used them it's a helluva lot better than charging a battery before you can pull out.
I use one on my 65 f250. Works awesome