Thread: Battery kill switch removal help....?

Trying to wrap my head around this. @Storm88000, if I understood correctly per our conversation a condition developed where you were having to reset the breaker at random but it eventually broke, correct?

Now, with it removed and all wires connected together correctly you're having some sparking, more than the typical small spark like when connecting jumper cables, correct?

If that is the case I suspect a short to ground somewhere and the breaker was tripping causing the need to reset it.

Proceed with great caution. If a short to ground exists the distribution block will do nothing to protect against this. Thoroughly inspect the positive cable from the trunk to the engine bay, especially where it might pass through the body or chassis.

At this point, before even trying the distro block, I'd sit the battery in the stock location and temporarily connect it OEM style to eliminate the cable to the trunk. If the sparking you described is non-existent the culprit is the positive to the trunk.

Hopefully no residual damage was done although it is a possibility.

Exactly! At random times, I'd be driving the car, park somewhere, shut it off, and all electric power was cut to everything, seemingly out of the blue. So I had to pop the hood, flip the switch and power would come back on. Eventually the little plastic switch broke off, so I knew that the very next time the power cut out I'd have to physically remove the entire thing, and it happened last week. Pulled up somewhere, shut the car off, power gone.



Yep. When I go to connect all 3 wires together (that came off the removed kill switch) with a bolt and electrical tape (the battery power cable leading to the trunk, the power cable to the fuses, and the power cable to the starter) - go to reconnect the negative battery terminal to the battery, it sparks and smokes like hell. Like wayyyyy beyond normal. Literally smoke comes off the terminal, and so of course I pull it off quick.



I was worried it was something like this, but I also kind of think the kill switch was just crappy. Either that or maybe it got wet (it did a few times)



In addition to the distribution block (which according to Amazon should be here in a couple days) I was thinking of getting this circuit breaker too:



Bussman DC Circuit Breaker 120 Amp Surface 1 81120F Auto | eBay



I actually wanted to do this today but it's been raining on and off (last thing I need is water thrown into the mix) If the distribution block doesn't help solve the problem, I will pull apart the interior and inspect the positive cable to the trunk as you suggested. What do you think about having the distribution block in the engine bay AND the circuit breaker in the trunk?

so you basically removed a circuit breaker to add another circuit breaker?

you have other problems to tend to if your battery is smoking like you said. That stupid kill switch was saving your ass from being lit on fire

Morgan, I removed the first one because the switch was physically broken and I had no choice. In other words: I didn't want to take it out. And also the previous owner installed all of it so I had to figure out on my own and w the help of you guys what i was dealing with.

@Storm88000 The first thing should be hooking up the battery in the front to eliminate the positive going to the trunk. If the nasty sparking is gone you found the suspect. A car battery can put down some major amperage and ruin your day. I think you've been lucky so far and I wouldn't tempt fate. If you hook up the battery OEM style and its still sparking look to the positive going to the starter and the starter itself. Again, proceed with caution!

Totally agree with what @SE-RMonkey just said. If that power cable going to the trunk has gotten crimped somewhere and is shorting out, this is likely the source of your random problems with the old breaker shutting things off. Moving the battery up front to eliminate that cable run would help troubleshoot that.

One quick thing you can try, take your meter, set it to ohms (resistance), and check between the red cable and chassis ground. You can do this either up front or in back, but preferably with the connection up front disconnected from those other wires. You shouldn't see the value on your meter change at all when you do the test (depending on your specific meter), if you get a reading at all, then you're dealing with a shorted cable.

I got the distribution block from Amazon today, hooked all 3 wires up to it securely, went back to the trunk to reconnect the negative terminal of the battery and....


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ALL GOOD! No sparks or anything, everything powered back up, and car started right away. So it appears one cannot safely attach the fuseable link cable, positive battery and positive starter cables together for rear-mounted batteries without some other stuff.
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I have it ghetto rigged right now in the photo above until I get to mount it onto the wooden surface prepared for it towards bottom right of the photo (with the two white screw stoppers)

Big thanks to all of you

Glad to hear, although I'm left to wonder what the sparking was all about. The distro block is essentially a hunk of metal connecting the wires, just as the nut and bolt did.

Did you inspect the positive cable going to the trunk? If by chance there was/is an intermittent short to ground somewhere, maybe contact going over bumps, you no longer have a circuit breaker as a safety net.

I didn't pull out the positive wire yet, was going to if this solution didn't help. Will do that soon. Also I'll probably get a newer and better circuit breaker soon and install in the trunk.

I really think you had an intermittent short which is what was causing the old breaker to trip. Without that protection, you've got nothing to prevent the battery from dumping full power into a short, and with the battery now right on top of your fuel tank, this has me more than a little concerned...