What is this and how to tell if it’s on or off?

[homedad]

I recently purchased a 2018 kioti 3510 chse. The previous owner seemed to take good care of it but also is very dishonest. He installed various electrical accessories. He said that he experienced a parasitic drain which was draining the battery. So rather than solving this he installed a disconnect with no on or off markings. The tractor has always started until I left it for 3 weeks. I then had to boost it. Now I don’t know if the battery is damaged from so many deep depletions or I’m not actually disconnecting the battery when I toggle the switch. The other thing I’m confused about is why the tractor seems to start when I flip that switch in either direction. It makes a definitive click sound when I flip the switch.

 

[CADplans]

Don't worry about the previous depletions,, there is nothing short of battery replacement that you can do, anyways,,

I have a 2012 tractor, when I bought it in 2016, the battery was 100% dead, from being parked a LONG time,,
I charged the battery,, over a 6 day period, the battery still works.

As far as the load that kills the battery,, you can find it.

Disconnect one of the battery terminals, connect an incandescent 12 volt light between the cable, and the battery terminal.

If there is a current draw, the bulb will light.
If it does light, remove one fuse at a time,
When the light goes out, you have found the circuit that is drawing current.

 

[homedad]

Thanks. Any thought on that switched disconnect? I'm rather old school and always had a physical disconnect that was put between the battery and the positive cable. After I opened the circuit nothing would operate. I don't get the point of this one where it starts whether it's on or off.

 

[mrmikey]

It looks like a master switch, hard to tell from the backside tho. This is the type I'm familiar with although there are others. These ones you can tell if they're open or closed when you turn the handle, it'll take little effort to rotate it so it's open and it takes quite a bit more effort to rotate it so it's closed. I've always hooked them up thru the ground circuit although I have seen them hooked up thru the positive side. He may have the switch to disconnect a specific load not the complete tractor.
If you want to check for sure which is on or off, disconnect one of the wires (so you don't fry your multimeter) and check for continuity.

 

[ptsg]

Looks like it has some sort of remote switch to turn the disconnect On/Off or technically a big 12v relay/contactor. It feeding the coils on the relay is what drained the battery.

Try follow those two white wires and see where those end. I suspect they go to a switch somewhere.

 

[homedad]

Thanks. I think that I may simply delete that one and put a mechanical one in it's place. He told me that if I leave it closed the battery will drain. And he said that it was to prevent this from happening. As far as I can tell it does nothing except maybe a practical joke.

 

[ptsg]

Thanks. I think that I may simply delete that one and put a mechanical one in it's place. He told me that if I leave it closed the battery will drain. And he said that it was to prevent this from happening. As far as I can tell it does nothing except maybe a practical joke.

Once you find the switch to turn in on or off, it will work as intended. Same as a mechanical one but you operate it from the seat assuming the switch is somewhere in there.

 

[WranglerX]

Thanks. Any thought on that switched disconnect? I'm rather old school and always had a physical disconnect that was put between the battery and the positive cable. After I opened the circuit nothing would operate. I don't get the point of this one where it starts whether it's on or off.

A awful lot of wiring on both terminals of disconnect switch, you probable will have a problem finding parasitic drain or "control" switch until you decipher what all the wiring is about.... From someone who does a bit of wiring there is a lot wrong with switch installation, looks like a butcher job by some one that tried many different thing till he got some sort of success....

Once you find the parasitic drain and correct it you may want to keep disconnect switch... Simple solution would be to wire in small LED that lights when disconnect is in on position.....

 

[2515R Dude]

Turn the main switch on, lights on and everything on without starting the motor, then play with this toggle switch. You will see in which position it disconnects when something turns off. He probably disconnected only part of the circuits, not all of them, it is why you are able to start the motor.

 

[Williy]

Use a volt/ohm meter you can tell real quick which is on
or off then make the switch

willy