For 71 side-post battery, want cut-off switch NCRS approved.
What's the best switch for this particular application?
Thanks.
Norm
What's the best switch for this particular application?
Thanks.
Norm
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Re: 71 What's best battery cutoff switch
There's only 2 - the "knife" one and the "green knob" one.
Knife:
Better connection because there's more surface.
You can see at an instant whether it's open or closed.
Ugly, but beauty's in the eye of the beholder.
Green Knob:
There's been complaints of poor connection, but mine's worked great for years.
I know if it's open or closed because I positively screw or unscrew it.
Provides anti-theft protection if you unscrew it all the way and remove the wheel.
Better looking, but beauty's in the eye ....
Whatever one you use, you want to put it on the negative cable and post. Very important consideration is, on your car, which one will be easier to operate? -
TerryComment
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Re: 71 What's best battery cutoff switch
Terry,
You comment about the negative battery post and that electrically it makes no difference got me to thinking (thats dangerous) that on a small block 67 the negative post is close to the fender and more difficult to reach. So, electrically its okay to put the cut-off switch on the positive post which is easier to access?
Thanks, RickComment
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Re: 71 What's best battery cutoff switch
Electrically, it makes no difference at all from a functional perspective. The only difference is that if you put the disconnect on the negative terminal, it's absolutely impossible to create a dead short anywhere in the car except directly across the two battery terminals, as there is no ground potential anywhere except at the battery post - you can put one end of a wrench on the (+) post and the other end on the engine and nothing will happen. If you put the disconnect on the positive post it will cut off all power to the car, but you can still dead-short from the positive post to anything on the car that's grounded, as the ground path to the negative battery post still exists. Probably academic, unless you have a habit of dropping wrenches on the positive battery post (on C1's and C2's) - nothing near a C3 battery is grounded.Comment
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John has it right *NM*
TerryComment
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Re: 71 What's best battery cutoff switch
Thanks John & TerryComment
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Re: 71 What's best battery cutoff switch
"Probably academic, unless you have a habit of dropping wrenches on the positive battery post (on C1's and C2's)..."
You don't want to do that. Big blast of sparks followed by smoke and heat as the wrench welds itself to the terminals. Scarey. Gotta whack it with something else to get it away from the terminals.
At least that's what I'm told. Not that I ever did that. Nosiree. It was the other guy.Comment
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Re: 71 What's best battery cutoff switch
Norm,
There is NO NCRS approved switch!
Different strokes for different folks!
JRComment
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Re: 71 What's best battery cutoff switch
norm: NCRS rewards owners with three bonus points for presence of battery cut-off switch. nearly any type that doesn't significantly modify the car itself will do fine. the green knob switches seem to be most popular. they were selling them for about 3 bucks at carlisle yesterday. mikeComment
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Re: 71 What's best battery cutoff switch
Having a 68 and 70 that are not driven daily, I don't use a cut off switch. However it is very easy to remove the 5/8 inch headed bolt that secures the ground cable to the frame and put the cable from contact with the frame when either car is on the lift or the ground. Total time to disconnect and connect is less than a minute with a ratchet wrench.Comment
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Re: 71 What's best battery cutoff switch
Thanks for the info. I may not have been clear enough in my question. I'm aware of the knife and knob type switches, etc. Because of the position of the side terminal battery and lack of room in the compartment on the 71, I was hoping that someone's would have a solution for part and installation. I'm thinking of using a short negative cable attached to the switch, and just leave the switch somehow secured to the top of the battery. Do you think this would pass judging muster?
Thanks, NormComment
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Re: 71 What's best battery cutoff switch
Norm,
My experience is that the judges don't care how the switch is installed. The extra cable might break that mold though. Since there is no way to tell who will be the interior judge at a given meet, the only way to know is do it.
PM me your email address, and I'll take a picture of the installation on my 1970 and send it to you. The issues will be the same for either of our cars.TerryComment
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Re: 71 What's best battery cutoff switch
Norm, I am a very experienced interior judge and have the knife-type cut-off on my 1972. It is much easier to operate and more dependable than the knob type. I had that one on my car and began to get intermittent loss of battery power. It was inconvenient to turn off and on also. I much prefer the knife-type and did not have to alter the cable in any way. I have never deducted for either type of cut-off, but as Terry mentioned changing the cable could make a judge do so.Comment
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