Battery Cut Off Switch

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NewFreeLandy

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Hi all. Would anyone know the correct way to wire the above switch? It was recommended to me to attach it to the negative terminal. I did this and it disconnects the battery as expected but when I turn the switch back on it will light up the dash but will not allow the car to start. I wanted the switch to be inside the vehicle, is it possible the wires are too long going from the battery to the cabin? My switch is the one with the removable red key. My vehicle is a 1998 Freelander, petrol. Thanks in advance. Matt
 
Never fitted such a device to a modern vehicle, but years ago I fitted them to classic trucks disconnecting the LIVE feed, regardless of the polarity.
 
Hi

U can use one that has a fuse which leaves ur radio , alarm etc connected

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BATTERY-...280686&hash=item41b24d0b70:g:ti8AAOSwxg5Xzrdn

B2F05D48-AABC-4BD6-9AEE-33C8F8FFA44E.jpeg
 
I'm assuming you are using an appropriate gauge of wire to & from the switch & that one side of the switch is direct from the battery neg terminal & the wire on the other side of the switch is connected to the original ground point of the old cable.

Check that all new connections are clean & tight as a loose one can cause issues.

Remove the wires from the switch & connect them together.
If the vehicle now starts as it did before you fitted all the new wire then you have a faulty switch.
 
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In my Disco 2 I have a cut out switch installed in the engine bay with a removable red key.
Mine is connected to the negative side.
80-5317c065_d0d0_4404_801f_00c5157f1cea_fc5d6316590d260ce68705122bd34558787b6bc0.jpeg


41pMl8ERa-L._SX425_.jpg
 
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NewFreeLandy said:
Would anyone know the correct way to wire the above switch? It was recommended to me to attach it to the negative terminal
Click to expand...

You can fit it to the positive or negative cable, using suitable gauge cable to extend it. However be aware that the FL1 electrical systems need to be powered all the time. If power is disconnected, the alarm and power locking won't work. Also the rear window will go out of calibration, causing it to go down on power connection, and the radio will loose its code, requiring re-entry on powerup.

So I have to ask the question, why?
 
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On a negative earth vehicle like a Freelander 1 the power cut oft switch is better placed on the positive wire to/from the battery. You always isolate on the power feed wire in preference to the bodywork side connection.

I have seen said cut oft switches fitted to Freelander's before but only because they were racing them as part of the Freelander challenge. The race rules demand a power cut oft switch accessable by the driver inside the cabin. I assume to help kill the power while also switching the ignition oft, when yer crash or roll it.

As above, why did the person reccomend fitting said switch?
 
@Nodge68 The reason I need one fitted for now is because I have a power drain and this is a temporary solution until I can afford to have someone find the cause. I was hoping it would be an easier option than disconnecting the battery each time. The car only gets used a couple of times a week too.
 
@Ratae The wire I'm using has come from a set of heavy duty jump cables. I did notice today that it is slightly thinner, could this be my issue? One side of the switch goes direct to the negative terminal on the battery and I am attaching the other bit to the original negative wire that was attached to the battery, bolting it directly to the clamp. All connections appear to be tight and I tried connecting the wires without the switch as you suggested but it didn't start so I'm assuming the switch is fine.
 
@Hippo I shall try the positive side tomorrow. Only fitting as a temporary solution until I can afford to sort out what is causing the power drain I am having. As the vehicle only gets used a couple of times a week if I leave the battery connected then it goes flat after a couple of days.
 
NewFreeLandy said:
@Hippo I shall try the positive side tomorrow. Only fitting as a temporary solution until I can afford to sort out what is causing the power drain I am having. As the vehicle only gets used a couple of times a week if I leave the battery connected then it goes flat after a couple of days.
Click to expand...
The change from negative side of battery to putting the break switch on the positive side won't fix your problem of starting, but it will isolate the circuit in a safer way.

Do you have heated wing mirrors? It's a common fault they sometimes stay powered which drains the battery. Also if you have one of the internal light switches on it will drain the battery.

Your problem of not starting with break switch inside the cabin will probably be down to the length if cable. Cable has a resistance which creates a volt drop. Shortening the cable by putting the break switch by the battery will reduce and solvet that. You will need to lift the bonnet to fit or remove the switch each time.

I will ask @blue beasty to move this fred to the freelander section where more freelander owners will see it and help you. If you get hold of a multimeter and an inline circuit test lead like below, we could teach you to measure the current drain through each fuse on the car in order to locate what is drawing power and drains the battery.

https://cpc.farnell.com/gunson/77068/automotive-fuse-adaptor-test-leads/dp/IN06332?
 
@Hippo Thanks for your reply. I do have heated mirrors, never gave it a thought about them not switching off. I have a multi meter and have just ordered the inline circuit test lead that you linked to so that should be here in a few days. Will let you know when I get it. Thanks again.
 
NewFreeLandy said:
@Hippo Thanks for your reply. I do have heated mirrors, never gave it a thought about them not switching off. I have a multi meter and have just ordered the inline circuit test lead that you linked to so that should be here in a few days. Will let you know when I get it. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Make sure the connections match. They normally do but worth checking yer meter.

Feel the temp of the mirror glass.

If i mention cake the fred will be moved.

Edit:
Its moved
 
@Hippo Its took me a little while to have the time to get back on here but I have managed to get that circuit test you mentioned previously. Any chance you can advise on how best to go about looking for the drain?
@freelance Unfortunately not. I'm on my 2nd battery since owning the car, current battery is only a month old. I think the last one got ruined because I had to jump start it all the time. Now i have the cut off switch installed it is helping. When I had someone look at the battery drain a few months ago they said that it was to do with 2 fuses in the engine bay. I can't remember exactly what he said but it was along the lines of the injectors not being switched off? and something to do with the body?
 
NewFreeLandy said:
@Hippo Its took me a little while to have the time to get back on here but I have managed to get that circuit test you mentioned previously. Any chance you can advise on how best to go about looking for the drain?
@freelance Unfortunately not. I'm on my 2nd battery since owning the car, current battery is only a month old. I think the last one got ruined because I had to jump start it all the time. Now i have the cut off switch installed it is helping. When I had someone look at the battery drain a few months ago they said that it was to do with 2 fuses in the engine bay. I can't remember exactly what he said but it was along the lines of the injectors not being switched off? and something to do with the body?
Click to expand...
If you are having trouble starting with this cut off installed and its due to longer cables dropping the voltage, could you shift it to the positive side, but not cut the power to the starter motor?

It would be best though to fix the power drain. To do that you need to identify what is causing the drain and that is usually performed by putting a multi meter across the terminals of each fuse to see which one the power is going through. You can check in the Rave manual which fuses do what. Info on downloading Rave here...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/rave-disk-maintenance-manual.260227/

Thinking about what I said above, and having done it in the past and it being a pain to get the multi meter prongs reliably touching each time, is it possible to put the multi meter on the battery and then simply pull each fuse in turn until the culprit is found?
 
Hi @GrumpyGel The cut off switch is fine now. It was a mixture of the cables being to long and the wrong gauge. I upped the gauge and it is good now. The switch is just temporary until I can get the drain sorted. With regards pulling each fuse, would that be best done with the ignition off? I only ask this because on the inline circuit tester I got it says to do it with the ignition on.
 
When the ignition is on, more items will be powered. Yer problem of the battery going flat too soon is because it's either getting old, not being charged enough or something is drawing too much current when it should be switched off.

The tester yer bought from the link above... Connect it to the Amps terminals on yer meter. You will be measuring DC amos with it. Pull out a fuse and plug in the tester where the fuse was. You will then measure the series current going through that fuse. Search around checking which fuse is the problem, testing each one. That will tell you which items are still drawing current. You will need to put then back each time.

You will need the battery to be charged to do this. As a test to get to know what yer doing yer could pick the fuse under the dash board that supplies power to the interior lights. When the door opens and the lights come on you will be able to measure the current used. Shut the door and wait for the lights to go out. When they do the current will drop to 0. If it doesn't then make a note of the value. When all fuses have been tested yer will know what is and isn't powered with the ignition switched oft.
 
NewFreeLandy said:
Hi @GrumpyGel The cut off switch is fine now. It was a mixture of the cables being to long and the wrong gauge. I upped the gauge and it is good now. The switch is just temporary until I can get the drain sorted. With regards pulling each fuse, would that be best done with the ignition off? I only ask this because on the inline circuit tester I got it says to do it with the ignition on.
Click to expand...
I would have thought you would get a lot of false positives with the ignition on.

I'd have thought having the ignition off would be the way to go.
 
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