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

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

I added the switch on both our 914s in the small screen area on the drivers side. My mentor said he would get in the car, strap in and THEN remember to turn on the switch so he would get out, etc, etc, etc. With the bright red switch next to the driver's door it was harder to forget which I found was true. Driver's side.

Since the large battery wire runs to the starter anyways, it makes little difference in overall length of the wire. Finally, make sure to get the one with the large resistor so the alternator can be killed safely too.

Can an interior-mounted switch easily be wired to disconnect the battery from all systems?
With a kill switch over the battery, there is easy access to either power or ground cut-off options.

I have the switch directly over the battery in the side vent location as you mentioned. It's not optimal in terms of corner-worker accessibility but is far easier in terms of installation, and it's a very common install spot for 914's. I don't recall the brand (prob. OMP or Sparco) but mine is the multi-pole type with the alternator cutoff/protection circuit so it truly kills the car even when revving.

The plastic 'key' is not very fragile and on mine it's removable but mine is attached to the car via a cord/wire so I don't lose it. For a streetable car you could leave it removable to help prevent strangers from messing with it, and so it becomes nearly invisible.

Mine goes through the decoration grill on the driver side of the engine lid. It is reinforced in the back with a metal plate for strength.

Sorry for the lame shot, it is the only one I had with a picture of the cutoff!!

small cable to the switch. missing sticker since I painted the 1/4 panel

What happens if you have an engine fire? The red plastic will melt pretty fast at even moderate heat levels rendering the pull cable useless. Just sayin'...

if it melts, it will open the circuit because the spring that holds it in contact will open

A interior mounted kill-switch defeats the purpose of the switch.

The switch really isn't for you, it's for the guys on the outside trying to save your life while you're trapped inside a wrecked car.


I haven't mounted mine yet (it's on the todo list) but here's what i got:

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productde....asp?RecID=1464

Click to view attachment



The plastic handle is sturdy and removable so you can take it with you when you leave the car parked in public.

I don't know exactly what your trying to do but you might consider adding an inertia activated fuel cut-off switch. I am going to put one of these on my track car. In a hard accident it effectively shuts off the fuel pump. Smart racing has one. I bet JEGS/Summit have them. About $60.

Check out Eric Shea's GT thread in the RoadGlue section or on Facebook if you are a friend. He mounted his in what I would assume is the traditional historic GT position. It is just forward of the windshield on the driver side cowl.

Eric's build is pretty true to authentic GT so I would assume that he mounted this in that spot because of authenticity. As Andy points out, it isn't for you, it is for the corner worker trying to save your ass and get you out.

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

I have a Ford inertia switch in my street 914/V8 car. Mine is wired to cut power to the fuel pump relay, but all other electronics will operate. The Ford switch has a normally open pin which allows it to be wired such that when the switch is tripped, a light on the dash will illuminate indicating it's been tripped.

Andys

Click to view attachment

Sir Andy has a pic above that looks a bit like mine. Here is the underneath wiring mounted on the left cowl.

Click to view attachment

True that. And it's prudent to have one in the glove box as well. Take my word for it, buy a spare.

p.s. The resistor dumps the residual juice to ground to save your electronics. If you don't have any a standard switch will do.

Anybody have a schematic for a 6?

Of course, one side breaks ground. But the other side & resistor? Cuts off the pos or neg side of the coil?

Never done one in my 30+ years....

The resistor allows a gentle dump-to-ground that reduces the "shock" to the car's electronics (DME or any other electronic ignition system and the voltage regulator) when the power is cut off abruptly. It can't hurt you in any case to install one.

Wiring with resistor:

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pdfs/4430...nstructions.pdf

All of the racing outfits have them, Racer Wholesale Parts, Pegasus, Summit, etc.

Good luck

I installed the one for my race car inside the passenger compartment.
Click to view attachment

The one on my street car is mounted to a solid panel which replaces the grille over the battery.

Chris,

Why is the race car cutoff inside the car? I admit I haven't looked at the GCR, but isn't it supposed to be outside the car and easily accessible by a course worker responding to a wreck?

-Josh

It meets the letter of the rules. They only make recommendations - such as on the cowl - no mandated locations. Access for a corner worker through the passenger window is one of the recommendations.

It's close to the battery (on the passenger floor below) and the engine for simple wiring, and I have access from the drivers seat - with the harnesses unlatched.

Click to view attachment

Bad shot with my iPad in low light, but my cutoff is in the same location as Chris'. I can reach it with my belts tight to turn on or off.