which is more ideal putting the switch on the positive or the negative?
I believe most will keep it on the positive cable.
i just spoke with a mechanic and he said it should be on the negative :dunno:
It’s common sense to put it right on the negative since it’s what you’re
taught from school whenever you want to disconnect the battery.
Problem is, ground is ‘everywhere’.
If you disconnect the negative cable from battery, but a piece of metal
happens to fall on the battery and touch another part of the car, then
technically your battery is still active.
I googled enough on this and found most will put it on the positive.
Example (This coming from HOTROD Magazine):
http://www.hotrod.com/projectbuild/43761/
thanks for clearing that up
make sure the battery kill will pass enough amps…
personally i would still put the kill on the negative and then keep the batt in a sealed box as it should be.
if you do it all safely and correctly then nothing will happen.
GT
… of course it goes on negative… electricity flows from negative TO positive, cutting power at the positive side still leaves the potential for a closed circuit , disconnecting the negative supplies NO potential current and leaves NO possibility for potential grounding to occour… bridge out a 12ga wire from the negative side that alwasy stays lin the loop this way you can run the clock and other constant power items but not leave the system able to drain or be started without poping the wire
Hrm, I guess you should listen to BAS in that case, since he provided proof.
not sure what that picture is trying to represent… the only thing that is disconnected is the accesories main relay your alt, stater, ignition key and main starter relay are all still connected. They have only cut power to the ECU.
The possibility of ‘something’ falling on the neg, terminal, holding there and then sliding onto a non painted surface with the other open end is highly unlikely.
If your just looking for a saftey kill switch then a simple line switch to the ECU is the way to go… if your looking for a full powerdown with just the memory devices ( EG; stereo ) , or a complete power down battery removal then use a proper negative line cut.
how bout making one for + and one for - and find a way so that you can make the toggle switches tandem so that way u flick both at the same time with 1 move…would this be feasible? just a suggestion…
but why would you do that when just one will kill the power?
just to neutralize any debate whether which one would be better, positive or negative…besides i dont think it would be too much of a hassle wiring a nother in-line switch…so why not?
That’s like having a bottle with two openings. It will get the job done but
why hassle, when one is sufficient.
Id put the switch on the neg only because if the wire gets cut open threw the firewall or anything its not a live positive wire which will short enuff stuff out. If its a ground wire and it gets cut open…? ull find out when you go to kill the power and it doesnt do anything. But it wont short anything out because its a ground.
-Devin
…grommets…
nice to know. i have a battery kill with wire and i just never bothered installing it cuz i always assumed that i would have to reprogram my radio stations and set the clock everytime i use the cut off. u have more detail as to how this can be wired so that items like the clock / stereo / alarm can receive power even when the switch is used?
all you need to do is bridge where you short the negative be it the battery terminal or somewhere more accessable like inside the car. best way to do it would be to eyelet each end of a short lenght of 14-16 wire, attach one en to the battery side of negative one to the clip/post/switch end of the short… as long as you don’t try to start the car or use the lights…) generally anything that draws over 7.5 amps…), the wire won’t fry.