jeepcoma
Silver Member
I never liked the stock position for the ignition on the diesel, right up against the engine bumper guard it seems too prone to damage when doing brush work (snagging on branches and such). My ignition switch broke the very first time I used the unit, and that was just basic grass mowing. The head of the key apparently snapped off (though I didn't note hitting anything in the 30 minutes that I was testing it out) and long story short I ended up having to break the switch down to the plastic inner pieces and start it by shoving a screw driver in the slot and turning it. Anyway, it was enough to convince me the stock position leaves the key vulnerable. Plus, in rear PTO mode, it's on the opposite side of the unit which means both walking all the way around to start, but more importantly, the idiot warning lights are hidden.
There was a pretty convenient midpoint location well protected that required no re-wiring or even removing any other components (except the battery).
I removed the metal bracket that attached the ignition assembly to the engine and used the screw hole mounts as a template to drill into the side of the battery tray and the rubber cushion pads. I inserted the screws from the inside of tray facing outwards, and they attach directly to the internal metal brackets that previously attached the assembly to the mounting bracket. The thickness of the battery tray wall is about the same as the original bracket, so the spacing works out perfectly. The battery itself is protected by thick rubber pads all the way around, and these pads were thicker that the screw head, so there is no contact or rubbing occurring between the side of the battery and the internal screw heads, so again the spacing is perfect.
I held the wiring out of the way from the exhaust components by zip tying the large electrical connector block around the bracket that the battery tray sits on, and the remainder of the wiring (which was previously zip tied from the factory) back to itself. It's well out of the way and well protected.
Though it's a bit difficult to see (the very top of the image, you can see the blue crimp sticking out), I did relocate the ground strap so that it's now attached to the bracket that connects the battery tray to the engine frame. I don't think it's as ideal as the original location, so I might lengthen (or supplement) this wire at some point and put it on a better ground location. I did have to enlarge the hole slightly in order to get it to fit over the nut.
All in all it was a very simple "mod" and I'm much happier with the new location. Next step is to remove the original hacked up ignition switch and wire a new switch to the handle bars. Or I might do two switches, an "on/off" switch for the ignition/charging system, and a simple push-button for the starter. Anyway, will futz with that another day!
There was a pretty convenient midpoint location well protected that required no re-wiring or even removing any other components (except the battery).
I removed the metal bracket that attached the ignition assembly to the engine and used the screw hole mounts as a template to drill into the side of the battery tray and the rubber cushion pads. I inserted the screws from the inside of tray facing outwards, and they attach directly to the internal metal brackets that previously attached the assembly to the mounting bracket. The thickness of the battery tray wall is about the same as the original bracket, so the spacing works out perfectly. The battery itself is protected by thick rubber pads all the way around, and these pads were thicker that the screw head, so there is no contact or rubbing occurring between the side of the battery and the internal screw heads, so again the spacing is perfect.
I held the wiring out of the way from the exhaust components by zip tying the large electrical connector block around the bracket that the battery tray sits on, and the remainder of the wiring (which was previously zip tied from the factory) back to itself. It's well out of the way and well protected.
Though it's a bit difficult to see (the very top of the image, you can see the blue crimp sticking out), I did relocate the ground strap so that it's now attached to the bracket that connects the battery tray to the engine frame. I don't think it's as ideal as the original location, so I might lengthen (or supplement) this wire at some point and put it on a better ground location. I did have to enlarge the hole slightly in order to get it to fit over the nut.
All in all it was a very simple "mod" and I'm much happier with the new location. Next step is to remove the original hacked up ignition switch and wire a new switch to the handle bars. Or I might do two switches, an "on/off" switch for the ignition/charging system, and a simple push-button for the starter. Anyway, will futz with that another day!
