i want to move my battery to the rear hatch and install a cutoff switch and want to double check things here

I know the box needs to be sealed so i'm getting a sealed box/1ga cable kit etc

I know it needs to be vented to the outside, etc. I've read NHRA rules, even tho my track is IHRA i think. But i want to be legal everywhere

SO my question is how do you wire it up?

What i've found is this:

Wire the battery positive to switch, then switch to motor/starter. Battery negative goes to chassis ground. Now do i need a ground strap from engine block to chassis as well up front? I dont have to connect battery neg all the way to the engine like it does from the factory location right?

Alternator goes the the battery directly or switch on battery side correct? What gauge cable do i need to connect that?

FUSES: i found that i should use a 100 amp fuse between switch and battery positive. Is this correct?

recommendations?

 

There should already be some sort of heavy ground strap from the block to the frame. If not then install one. For a ground location at the rear, I welded a 3/8" bolt to a frame rail then attached the ground cable to the bolt.

You don't fuse the battery cable. A starter can easily draw up to 300 amps so a 100 amp fuse can blow just trying to start the engine.

Alternator hot wire should run directly back to the battery positive post. 8 gauge is enough.

The key to wiring it up properly to pass tech is that when the master switch at the rear is turned off, it kills the engine and all the electrics. To do this the alternator has to be on the other side of the switch so that it doesn't back feed the electrical system and keep power to the ignition and keep the engine running.

 

most cars will use more than 100 amps starting. you should put a ground strap or cable from the block to a good clean place on the body, or if you want you could run a wire all the way to the battery, but shouldnt need to. yes you do want to connect the alt. to the battery side of the switch, or to the battery, but keep in mind that wire will be hot all the time even with the switch off. 4 gauge wire is a good size for the alt wire, it is a fairly long run so you dont want to go too small. Also use a good switch, most are not rated for what a starter draws, look at the continuous load rating, even really good gear reduction starters alone will pull 90 amps or so, most conventional starters are closer to 200, plus fuel pump, ignition etc. so get a good switch. also the ones with the removable plastic key are not legal. And for the wiring of the main positive lead you had that correct, batt to switch, and then switch to starter/accy's. I do not know anyone who has a fuse on the heavy gauge wire to the starter, and everything after that should be fused.

Did I cover everything?

 

well factory has a little ground strap/wire from back of the head to the firewall. Is that enough?

I'm probly just gonna run a new ground just to be safe. I reuse the stock cable up front as a grounding strap.

 

i just did this last month. still gotta get a box to seal it up, but the wiring is done. i'm running 2 guage from battery to switch, then switch to starter. 4 gauge running from alt back to battery terminal. ground just going to rear seatbelt mount. i have solid motor mounts, so the ground strap isn't super necessary, but i'm running a 4 gauge wire from the engine to the firewall as well. (cheap, like 8 bux from the parts store...if that much) everything works great. with the car running, i can go back and turn the switch off and the whole car shuts down...fuel pump and all.

 

they say box cant be used to hold battery down. what does that mean exactly?

the kit i want is summits sealed box kit that has a metal strap that is bolted to the frame/floorpan. metal strap straddles the battery and holds both battery and box down. Is that legal?
You cant have the box bolted down and the battery loose inside the box correct?

Now can i bolt that hold down strap to the trunk floor pan or does it have to go thru the rear subframe rail

 

The hold down bolts can secure the battery and box. If the box was attached to the frame then the battery attached or secured to just the box then it wouldn't be legal. Think of it as a strap or bar that holds the battery inside a box then the box bolted to the frame. You're depending on the box attachment to hold the battery in place while the battery isn't truly secured to the frame.

When attaching to sheet metal since there is no real frame in a third gen, use some sort of plate, thick metal strip or large fender washers on the underside. You don't want the weight of the battery to pull the rods through the sheet metal. The hold down bolts should be 3/8" and j-bolts are not allowed.

 

Ok the kit has 3/8 bolts. it be easier for me to throw the battery in the base of the trunk so i'd attach to sheetmetal. how thick of a washer would work? that be easier but i guess i could get a metal plate and weld it up in there

Else i'd put it on the ledge next to the spare tire where the frame rail runs underneath

 

When say the MSD box and fuel pump call for constant power is it ok to run their power lines after the switch or should they go directly to the battery? Thanks
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If the MSD box is hooked up after the switch killing the switch would kill the car right because without power to the MSD box car wont run correct? Thanks again

 

ok i got all my stuff just about and ready to try to relocate this stuff

question about switch location

Can i just flip the license plate down or take it off and have my switch sticking out of there? and when i'm done racing, just take the switch off and put it back inside the car?

 

You can have it mounted behind the plate as long as it's plainly visible while at the track such as removing the plate.

 

Alot of the guys just mount the switch inside the rear well where your going to mount your battery, and then run a rod through a hole drilled through the taillight with a push off/pull on label for track crew if they ever need to use it.

I made a plate for mine and mounted it under the rear bumper for the switch and charging posts so i dont have to tear the car apart to jump it if need be:


've only been called out once years ago, and that was just for me to put a label on the bumper so track crews would'nt have to look/search to see which way is off and also so they'd look down there since most switches are ran by a rod through a taillight. i did'nt want that since i street drive it, but that wasy is best for safety reasons.

i used to have a 10ga wire from alternator to battery hot, but with everything being electric it drug the volts down at night time while driving, so i swapped in a 4ga. wire and that made all the difference, used to hover around 12.5-13 volts at night with lights and stereo blasting, now it never leaves the 15V mark...14.8 with multimeter.

I dont care if you have solid mounts or not, you will never have enough ground straps ont he car. I have solid mounts, and still run a 4ga cable from the chasis to a motor mount bolt, and i have a ground strap..the woven type..going from a head to the firewall on one side of the engine, and then a little ground strap on the other head going to firewall...i read about far too many electrical issues due to improper/insuffeicent grounding, so overkill here is just right..seriously.

 

thats what i do, street drive alot and didnt want to put a hole thru the tail light if i didnt have to.

license plate would be nice, and easy, just unscrew the switch head when done. should be PLENTY visable with black tail panel and that white on off logo sticker on the back


I do plan to run 4gauge wire from alternator to battery side. I will have ground strap from motor to chassis. I already have factory woven strap from back head to firewall.

then ofcourse i'll hve the battery neg to chassis in the back


IHI, are you worried about putting the bumper on the ground and breaking that switch off? A local guy did that here and cut the car out while it was straight up. Came down very hard and dented some stuff underneath like headers/pan i believe

 

aint gonna work behind the license plate with all the hatch latch stuff sitting there. so i put it in the tail light assembly

problem... car has power now but fuel pump will not turn on. no voltage getting at the pump and i'm not sure why. grounds seem good but could it be a bad ground or too many grounds ?

i cant figure it out

 

IHI, move the switch if you keep hitting the bottle lol

Orr, start at your fuel pump relay, see if you can jump the relay to make it work, if so then it is the trigger side..possibly oil pressure switch, i dont know what your car has, so i cant be that helpful.

 

Do a search some one mounted the switch so that it was covered by the removable covers on the side of the tail lights. When thay went to the track thay pulled the two screws and removed the cover.

 

its possible the ECM is takign power off the original alternator line so i have to try to connect a power line to this wire that was with the original alternator line to see if it helps

 

I'm running a 6ga wire from the alternator to the battery post in the engine bay. A 0 gauge from the post to the battery in the back, and a 4ga ground wire from the battery in the back to the frame in the front where there is a post connecting to the motor. If your ground is not good enough the alternator and your electronics arent going to work correctly. It'll start slower when its warm, gauge is below 13v constantly, all that sorta crap.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/atta...itch-panel.jpg
103135d1127166150-nhra-kill-switch-panel.jpg (JPEG Image, 900x675 pixels) - Scaled (79%)https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/atta...-panel-off.jpg
103136d1127166242-nhra-kill-switch-panel-off.jpg (JPEG Image, 800x582 pixels) - Scaled (92%) Try these links for pics. Member name Spindr130 did this looks great for a street car IMO.

 

got it started...turns out ecm power wire taps into alternator wire and i didnt know that wired power there and its starting just fine. I"ll get pics soon as i help a buddy test fit some wheels he is getting on my car

 

two pics. still have to put the rear panel back in. i should have cut the wire down since i didnt need that long length but oh well it works for me

 

Now wheere the heck are ya gonna put the subs???

 

what are subs?? lol where am i gonna put the nitrous bottle?

 

I need a picture from the other direction but you can see the covers...kinda sticking over the back plastic that goes across the back

800Watts of alpines hiding underneath of them
battery tucked away inside the passenger rear quarter panel
nitrous bottle right behind the passenger seat within easy reach to turn on and monitor psi.
dun, go and have fun no matter whatcher doin

 

how loud is your car? i'm taking my cd player out more thanlikely cuz its pointless to have lol i cant hear it anyway.

didnt know you had subs too! thats crazy.

 

It's a fricken street car??!! why would'nt i have a system in there!! It's loud, i hate it even with mufflers it has a certain tone in the cabin that's hard to overcome and gets tiresome listening too while driving around town, you have to have the damn thing cranked to hear it, hence the amps...stock stereo aint gunna cut it.

 

street car yes, but race car wannabe at heart at cruise i can listen just fine, with windows up. but A, i dont cruise lol and B, its a summer car without AC so windows down!!!

 

It gets old fast listening to that stupid engine after awhile...you'll see.

Mines more race than street obviously, but i refuse to invest this kind of money and commitment and not have a few creature comforts LOL!! luckily my racing does'nt rely on ET, otherwise coming in at my race weight would be suicide LOL!!!

Racing seats- aint nooo focking way i'll ever own that cheap garbage, raced in enough people cars with them to know they are the most uncomfortable pieces of S..t on the market. Aluminum seats with padded covers offer more room hip wise, but still suck. I'll either keep factory seats or buy an aftermarket race/touring seat...just an area i wont let a few pounds worry me since my butts in the seat for some time.

pwr windows are a must since sitting in staging lanes it gets HOOOT in there, and not having a pit beeotch around to open the passenger door for cross ventilation makes being self suffeicent a must. Even if i built a all out race car that was gutted..good seat, carpet to help deaden sound and look nicer, and power windows!!!

 

lol thats awesome. my car is more street than race but i'm losing creature comforts power windows is a must tho

 

hehe, i saw a 67 camaro with a procharger pull into the burnout box at Cecil county about 7 years ago. it was a super badass Limited Street car. he had the windows down as he did his burnout. the guys running the box got pissed and started yelling at him. he very non-chalantly hit the buttons on the dash and dark tinted windows went up with ease. from then on i decided that my racecar WILL have power windows...mine now has power windows/locks/mirrors...must haves if you ask me! that limited street car went on to run a low 8 and just blew us all away...