Battery disconnect switch

[Fxfymn413]

Resurrecting an old post . . . I need to leave my tractor at my land, 10 miles from my home and am interested in a battery disconnect as additional theft deterrent.

I'd take the battery home and put it on a maintainer unless you are using the tractor frequently to keep it charged. You can put an Anderson type connector on the cables to make it easy to remove and it will serve as a disconnect as well.

I worked on boats for many years and every boat I worked on that had a disconnect switch from the factory, and most did, had them on the positive side.

 

[LittleBill21]

I worked on boats for many years and every boat I worked on that had a disconnect switch from the factory, and most did, had them on the positive side.

So do rv's specifically most class c's

 

[MHarryE]

At Caterpillar we put a battery disconnect switch in a locked compartment. One theft deterrent is to turn the disconnect off before locking the machine at the end of the day, but that cuts all power. If you have a radio that needs to be powered to retain station presets, time o the clock, all gone. But the disconnect is very useful when working on the machine. Very high current capability switch since it is in the ground path.

 

[Boss 302]

Yup, it will work either way but as already noted better to install on the ground.

 

[Hay Dude]

My Massey Ferguson came from the manufacturer with a built in battery disconnect switch. It is bypassed with a smaller wire to keep the radio and some (guessing) of the electronics powered up.

 

[Jstpssng]

Bringing back a zombie thread. The points made are still valid though, and I'm ready to put one in my Kubota as I have mice getting into the wiring.

They're also getting into everything else I own.

 

[Williy]

In the house electric system you always switch
the hot wire.
In a vehicle you have hot wires were ever you
have switches, gauges etc and if you hit one of
these contacts to ground better not have any gas
near by. Basicly its safer to switch the hot wire
so accidents like this can't happen.
Putting a switch on the hot wire from the battery
to the ignition switch is very easy to do and much
safer that switching the netural

willy

 

[CobyRupert]

In a house system you switch the hot wire so that the switch will always turn off the load. If the switch is in the neutral, a ground fault in the neutral ahead of the switch will just keep the load running and bypass the switch. Now the switch will not turn off the running device. Not being able to stop a running motor could be bad.

Having a disconnect switch on the negative side of a battery system is my preference as it disconnects the frame from the battery. Once disconnected, any accidental shorts (by mice or men) made from a hot wire to the frame has no sparking consequences. This is also why you disconnect negative post first and connect it last when connecting a battery.

 

[mikester]

I used a battery post switch on the positive terminal on my forklift due to small drains killing the battery when parked for a long time. Worked well for me due to the lack of space near the battery compartment and no major re-wiring.

https://www.princessauto.com/en/top-post-battery-master-cut-off-switch/product/PA0004210962

 

[pmsmechanic]

I used a battery post switch on the positive terminal on my forklift due to small drains killing the battery when parked for a long time. Worked well for me due to the lack of space near the battery compartment and no major re-wiring.

https://www.princessauto.com/en/top-post-battery-master-cut-off-switch/product/PA0004210962

That's the one I use on my 1990 Cummins. With it being on the battery post I see no advantage to having the disconnect on either the positive or the negative post. Once the battery is disconnected there are no wires with any voltage in them unless you hook up the fuse to keep your memory stuff.

Now if you run a switch type battery disconnect with a battery cable running to it I can see the logic in disconnecting the negative side.

 

[PILOON]

If I ever have the need for theft protection I’ll try replacing the main fuse in the fuse box with a dummy or blown fuse. I figure most opportunistic thieves aren’t going to take the time to diagnose the problem or carry the proper fuse with them.

My trick for theft protection is to disconnect my seat safety switch.

But since many of todays tractors have 'keep alive circuits' (like a computer or even a radio) I like the battery disconnect theory.

On my CUT I also have a permantly installed intelligent charger to keep my now aging battery fully charged. It is in parallel with the block heater circuit.
Another little gimmick I've incorporated is to use a LED permanently wired to serve as a flag to confirm that my trickle charger and block heater are 'live'.
LOL, my CUT is always hot and ready to go!

Another minor bonus is that my cab warms up much sooner since the engine coolant is pre heated.
Hey, baby it's cold outside!

Oh, and I like Andersons!
I have a smaller one to power my fueling transfer pump and the higher amp one for my booster cables that are also Anderson terminated.

My booster cable 'kit' includes a shorter 'jumper' for when I need both ends clamp ended.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

We have switches on our equipment. On the ground cable.