show me your battery cut-off install, best switch, location, etc Options

[Chris Pincetich]

I like the battery cut-off switch that has a pre-cut mounting plate, but it has a red plastic handle. Are those plastic handles easily breakable??

Is the weatherproof/waterproof switch needed if I mount the switch directly over the battery in the small, side vent to the side of the engine lid?

Best brand? Mounting location? Anything available w carbon fiber accents to match my 914? I have not seen carbon fiber bits on any of them and do plan to mount it in that side-space near the engine lid over the battery.

This is for my cafe-racer cruiser that I AX with PCA and hope to take to the track some day. My 914 has a battery drain somewhere, I plan to track it down, but want to add the cut-off switch now as a band-aid (I currently disconnect the battery if it sits more than 48 hrs). I don't necessarily need SCCA compliance, and I do expect this to see daily driver type abuse.

Thanks (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[jhadler]

A battery cutoff is important safety equipment for w2w competition cars so corner workers can safely kill a running engine if the driver is incapacitated in a wreck. I would -not- recommend it for a daily driver though.

One: While they are generally robust, why would you add one more potential electrical failure point in your car? Trust me, I know a few folks who have missed getting their cars to grid because they couldn't diagnose the mysterious cause of their electrical failure when it was ultimately a loose connection in the kill switch. And this is a dedicated race car, with arguably more frequent maintenance than a street machine.

Two: It would **REALLY** suck if some yahoo joker thought it would be cool to snag a nifty looking switch (especially if it's CF) off the car in a parking lot. They are deliberately made to be easy to pull... Granted, not all of them have a removable key/lever. But even still, any one could wander by and disconnect your battery...

Just another example of what is good for the track is not necessarily good for the street...

Just my $0.02...

-Josh

[stewteral]

A battery cutoff is important safety equipment for w2w competition cars so corner workers can safely kill a running engine if the driver is incapacitated in a wreck. I would -not- recommend it for a daily driver though.

One: While they are generally robust, why would you add one more potential electrical failure point in your car? Trust me, I know a few folks who have missed getting their cars to grid because they couldn't diagnose the mysterious cause of their electrical failure when it was ultimately a loose connection in the kill switch. And this is a dedicated race car, with arguably more frequent maintenance than a street machine.

Two: It would **REALLY** suck if some yahoo joker thought it would be cool to snag a nifty looking switch (especially if it's CF) off the car in a parking lot. They are deliberately made to be easy to pull... Granted, not all of them have a removable key/lever. But even still, any one could wander by and disconnect your battery...

Just another example of what is good for the track is not necessarily good for the street...

Just my $0.02...

-Josh

Hey Josh,

Rather than wiring a Kill Switch in hopes a minimum-wage corner-worker will be able to look for it and turn off all the electrics while I wait, hanging in my harness, hoping I'm NOT strapped in my own funeral pyre, I chose to install a FORD inertial cut-off switch.

I mounted it to the right of the driver's seat on the inside of the engine firewall.
If I should ever hit something hard enough, the shock-load kills the switch and all things electric in my car. A red button resets the switch in a second.

I bought my switch some 8 years ago for around $15 and have run it on every track event. Even with a couple spins and ending up in the very rough desert off the track at Willow Springs, the switch has never tripped in error.

I would suggest this switch as a good idea for ALL 914s to install in their cars.

Best,
Terry