I was just looking in jcwhitney and saw this switch for a cutoff to the battery as a theft deterent.Splice it into the battery lines and hide it in a hidden spot and throw the switch and they can't steal your car.My question is would you have to fix your cd player(redo the time,and the preset stations) everytime you threw the switch b/c the power supply would be cutoff.I was thinking would i household light switch do the same thing if you spliced into the lines.I dont really know anything about electrical $hit so any help would be appreciated.What about if you just put a switch on the negative line and still have the constant power going to the stereo,would that work?

 

The switch could handle the wattage if that's what you're asking.....however a household switch would very akward and very hard to conseal.

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1984 WS6 Trans Am Hartop
Former L69 Car under restoration
1984 WS6 Trans Am T-top car
4-bolt main 350, headers, Holley 650, T-5 and 3.23's.
Daily driver and restoration

 

I highly doubt a household switch would handle the job...a car starter draws something like 300 amps. Plus the house switch isn't waterproof and can't easily be hooked up to your car wiring.

Yes, you're right, you would have to reset your radio and clock settings every time. You could probably hook up a 9-volt rechargeable battery behind the radio...use a diode to isolate it from the rest of the car, and it would hold your presets for you.

Another concern, though, is your car's engine computer. As you drive, it "learns" a lot of stuff to make the engine run as well as possible. Disconnecting the battery would erase the computer's memory and the car would never run quite as well as it should.

You could easily wire a toggle switch to disable your car's starter or fuel pump, without harming the car. The key is to hide the switch well, and disguise all of your wiring to look just like the factory wires.

For around $5, you could buy a GM battery wrench, and disconnect your battery when you plan to park your car in a really dangerous area. Or you could remove the coil wire and take it with you.

 

how about putting a switch on the fuel pump or just pull fuel pump fuse?

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3.8 turbo 20th anniversary transam #497 first owed by Clifford Williams, Bass player from rock band AC/DC

 

The house hold switch would be up to the job. It wouldn't be any harder to connect than a full battery kill switch (strip, and curl around screws). In general though it is a bad idea. Much better devices out there.

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1984 WS6 Trans Am Hartop
Former L69 Car under restoration
1984 WS6 Trans Am T-top car
4-bolt main 350, headers, Holley 650, T-5 and 3.23's.
Daily driver and restoration

 

Like Chris said, a household switch would not work in line with the battery as a battery disconnect. The contacts are rated at 15 amperes, while a starter requires on the order of 300 amperes to turn over an 8 cylinder engine. The starter would not budge the engine with a household light switch in line, not to mention, the charging capacity of the alternator, which exceeds 100 amperes.

Tim

 

I've seen battery switches with a fused "by pass" (Mid-America sells them I think) to keep the radio, computer, etc. from losing memory. I suppose one could inadvertently blow the fuse if one forgot to close the switch prior to starting the car though.

 

Not to mention the fun of trying to wrap 4-gauge battery cable around those tiny screws on the switch.

 

No offense but I need to laugh!!! Yeah you can do a lot of things to deter theifs from your ride, but unfortunatly, if he wants it, he'll get it. I used to reposess cars for a living, and I wouldn't say I've seen it all, but.... Do what you must, and hide it well, but don't leave your car for too long in bad places, and pay attention to what's going on. Don't take for granted what you've got!!!!

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'82 Firebird, dead stock, 9 bolt disc rear, over 200,000 miles and still going strong, more to come...

 

put a switch in line with the oil pressure switch (the one that enables the fuel pump).

 

Wouldn't it also work if you put the switch in the ignition switch wiring? Like when you run your stereo in with it to turn on when you start the car. You could put the switch in the ignition power line hidden under the dash or something. This way, the CD player is connected to the battery. If you get the switch early enough where it can't be hot wired it might work. Using the ignition wire, you would not need a large switch, so therefore it is easliy hidden.

This was just off the top of my head though. I hope you don't think I'm stupid if it doesn't wrok, or is a bad idea.