Battery Disconnect

[R Barger]

I have a battery disconnect on my Kubota X900 RTV that I park in my basement for safety reasons. My question is can I put one on a Mahindra 4540 tractor that I recently purchased? It has a ECU that mainly controls the injection system I believe. Will disconnecting the battery on a regular basis cause a problem in any way? I'm parking the Mahindra in my shop and thought it would be a good thing to do with it also.

 

[ptsg]

It won't cause any issues. You can install the battery disconnect.

Here in Europe, since 2018 or so, all equipment just come standard with the disconnect, regardless on how much electronics it has.

 

[kneedeep]

Putting on the hot side should kill all the power. I would use a maintainer as well.

 

[jyoutz]

I also have one that I’ve never installed because I was concerned about doing something to fry the ECU

 

[kneedeep]

Lots of high dollar farm tractors come with a cutoff.
Cutting the power off shouldn’t harm computers. No different than disconnecting a battery and reconnecting, only easier.

 

[shooterdon]

I have been using one of these for about a year with no issues:

Amazon.com

 

[R Barger]

Putting on the hot side should kill all the power. I would use a maintainer as well.

It won't cause any issues. You can install the battery disconnect.

Here in Europe, since 2018 or so, all equipment just come standard with the disconnect, regardless on how much electronics it has.

Just wanting to feel comfortable that I not destroying a expensive ECU.

I have always installed on the negative side. Maybe I'm wrong.

I have been using one of these for about a year with no issues:

Amazon.com

I've never considered one of these. Would be nice if dependable.

 

[shooterdon]

Just wanting to feel comfortable that I not destroying a expensive ECU.

I have always installed on the negative side. Maybe I'm wrong.

I've never considered one of these. Would be nice if dependable.

It’s nice because you don’t have to open the hood to turn it off or on. You could put a conventional kill switch in the cabin but I was too lazy to run cables so the remote switch was worth it.

I had to do something because there was a parasitic draw. Mechanic traced it to the instrument panel and quoted $750to fix it. A $30 solution worked.

The mechanic saw it on my next visit and ordered one for his plow truck that sits idle for long periods of time.

 

[Reapoman]

All heavy equipment from past to present have a master shutoff. The new Cat equipment we have at work have so much computer garbage in it now it’s crazy. From skid steers to dozers and everything in between. It all gets the master switch shut off at the end of each day. Now during the winter months all the equipment sits outside until spring. It always fires right back up.

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

My tractor, a Ventrac 4500Y, came factory-equipped with a battery isolation switch. The Ventrac’s control module, which Ventrac calls the Tractor Control Module, will enter a sleep mode if the tractor sits for two weeks without being turned on with the ignition switch. If the TCM goes to sleep, then the user must, for a brief interval, remove power from the TCM by opening the battery isolation switch. Then the user must reapply battery power bu closing the battery isolation switch. The TCM will then reboot, and the glow plugs will receive current when the ignition key switch is placed in the On position, and the starter will crank when the ignition key switch is turned to the Start position.

 

[Cycledude]

Putting on the hot side should kill all the power. I would use a maintainer as well.

Hot side ? I haven’t read any instructions for installing a battery disconnect but I believe it’s supposed to be installed on the negative side.
Edit
I just read some instructions for installing battery disconnects and yes they are supposed to be installed on the negative side.