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Wiring Accessories and Battery Switch

Elk1111

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I am wanting to install a battery kill switch that kills all power to my M923 to prevent low batteries or accidental fire from rodent damage. I plan on putting the switch on the negative side of the battery cable.
I also want to install a backup camera and rear spot lights. I am planning on installing a fuse box and a switch to each accessory and grounding these directly to the frame.
My question is if by cutting the main ground from the battery will the accessories still work? I really want the battery switch to cut all power to everything at once.
Turn the switch and everything is shut off. Please be gentle on advice and opinions. I’m an idiot when it comes to electrical stuff.
 

simp5782

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I am wanting to install a battery kill switch that kills all power to my M923 to prevent low batteries or accidental fire from rodent damage. I plan on putting the switch on the negative side of the battery cable.
I also want to install a backup camera and rear spot lights. I am planning on installing a fuse box and a switch to each accessory and grounding these directly to the frame.
My question is if by cutting the main ground from the battery will the accessories still work? I really want the battery switch to cut all power to everything at once.
Turn the switch and everything is shut off. Please be gentle on advice and opinions. I’m an idiot when it comes to electrical stuff.
Yes taking away the ground from the batteries will render everything dead.
 

Elk1111

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Location
Las Cruces NM
Forgot to mention that I was planning on wiring the fuse box directly off the main battery. It just seems that I might still have power to the accessories as they will be grounded separately directly to the frame.
 

Andyrv6av8r

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If you switch your negative, remember that the slave cable ground will need switched also. I disconnect power through my positive in my 1045 and it's been trouble free for almost 2 years now.
 

Elk1111

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Las Cruces NM
I thought about doing the switch on the positive side but then I will still have a live connection on the low side of the heater fan.
 

simp5782

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Forgot to mention that I was planning on wiring the fuse box directly off the main battery. It just seems that I might still have power to the accessories as they will be grounded separately directly to the frame.
On your fuse panel use a 12 or 24v solenoid that comes on with the key or with your own switch on the dash.

This is what we do with the equalizer units. The 12v side isn't powered up till the key comes on.

Fuse panel with its own solenoid for engagement and resettable circuit breaker
 

Elk1111

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Location
Las Cruces NM
Well hell... now I’m really confused.
So power wire to a switch then to a 24vlt solenoid then to the fuse block then to a switch which turns on the accessory?
Is all of this just for added protection from shorts?
 

Recovry4x4

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I am wanting to install a battery kill switch that kills all power to my M923 to prevent low batteries or accidental fire from rodent damage. I plan on putting the switch on the negative side of the battery cable.
I also want to install a backup camera and rear spot lights. I am planning on installing a fuse box and a switch to each accessory and grounding these directly to the frame.
My question is if by cutting the main ground from the battery will the accessories still work? I really want the battery switch to cut all power to everything at once.
Turn the switch and everything is shut off. Please be gentle on advice and opinions. I’m an idiot when it comes to electrical stuff.
Where are you sourcing 12V from?
 

simp5782

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Basically you would run a power wire 10ga from the battery to the solenoid. Wherever you put it. You then run a 10ga wire to the fuse panel from the opposite post of the solenoid.

You ground one small terminal on the solenoid if it has a ground post. The other small is your engagement wire that would come from the power switch. Switch comes on. Solenoid opens allowing power to go to the fuse panel.

You can use a resettable disconnect for safely on the solenoid

Cole harsee 24063 is a 24v 600amp continous solenoid. Same solenoid that is in the 809 and 939 pcb box.
 

Recovry4x4

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If everything is 24V then breaking the ground from the battery would work. As was mentioned, the slave would have to be discoed too. If this is just something for winter storage, just disco the negative cable from the battery, that is often where the slave is grounded. For me, I just remove the dogbone and bring it in the house!
 

Elk1111

Well-known member
281
487
63
Location
Las Cruces NM
That makes sense now. I am doing all of this because the truck will be in a storage unit up at the lake and I don’t want it to be a fire hazard if anything gets shorted out. The backup camera if a safety device to prevent divorce...
My wife doesn’t understand that she needs to tell me which direction the truck needs to go before hooking up a trailer not which direction it needs to go when I’m already backed up.
 

papakb

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Location
San Jose, Ca
Something to keep in mind if you run a solargizer in your truck to keep your batteries up is that breaking the negative side of the battery will also disable the solargizer if you have the black wire tied to the vehicles frame. The way to get around this is to wire both the red and black leads from the solargizer itself directly to the batteries. This way you break all power to the truck but still leave the solargizer in the circuit.
 

Elk1111

Well-known member
281
487
63
Location
Las Cruces NM
Unfortunately I can’t run a solargizer because the truck is going to be in a storage unit and I’m renting. I don’t think the owner wants me mounting anything to his roof.
 

dmetalmiki

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Location
London England
It's all so confusing..As electrons flow from negative low to positive high.
convention says t'other way round!
But if you disconnect the batteries totally they tend not to 'deflate' as quickly.
 

Elk1111

Well-known member
281
487
63
Location
Las Cruces NM
Yeah...I really wish I would have taken some classes on this stuff during my failed attempt at a college education. Most things I learn are through trial and error but electricity tends not to give you that option.
 
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