Hopefully not a members car on here..

[1STMP]

The very first thing considered for my
custom wired systems. A cut-off
switch. Since my battery is mounted
behind the seat, pulling the negative
in a panic situation would result in a
cardiac arrest. One must protect
one's investment. A fire is the most
devastating event that can happen.
An added benefit is a theft deterrent.

 

[Triplegreen500]

All this talk, and my cummins sat outside last night. I installed 2 new group 27 batteries right before dark (after yardwork). 810cca each. Parked it in the garage (which houses my satellite, my charger, both jeeps, my Daytona, my motorcycles, all my parts, all my tools, and my sound system for bands). Walked inside. Took off my shoes. Put em back on and went and moved the truck outside.

New connections on two brand new batteries...it can sit out for 24h to be safe. If I lose the truck it would suck. If I lose EVERYTHING in the garage that would be devastating. I'll take it to Walmart to return the cores after work tonight and if all is well it can go back in the garage.

I'm sure it will be fine but as I said - 2 new 810cca batteries...just want them to sit connected for a bit first, to make sure.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

They are trying to pass a bill here in Ontario to have all vehicles equipped with a fire extinguisher. Tragically, a young woman perished in a car accident north of St. Thomas, within the area that the V.F.D. that I used to be on. A drunk oncoming driver crossed the divider line and hit her head on. Although she survived the initial impact, she was pinned in her car. A fire started in her car, and no one immediately around had an extinguisher. Motorists that stopped to help made a valiant effort to free her, but ultimately had to witness her burn to death. Very sad.

This needs to be at the top of the list. All the BS laws they’re putting in, all the driverless controls for “safety” screw all that.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

It's lead on lead. You put it in place, push it down and turn till it binds. Been doing it for 44 years. Something goes wrong you pop the hood, twist and get it off quickly. A fire extinguisher is USELESS on a wiring fire if the battery is still hooked up.

Would love to see a photo to illustrate. I'm willing to learn something new here.

Have you personally ever had a situation where you had to and were able to do this disconnect with a fire?

 

[patrick66]

As long as there is power to the wiring, leaving the battery connected will NOT make things easy to extinguish an electrical fire, if not impossible. The quick-disconnect is the best move, followed by leaving the negative terminal loose to remove easily. Problem with the second move, it that the terminal and cable are going to be HOT!!! You will absolutely burn the $hit out your fingers and hand - ask me how I found this out! For my Imperial, Coronet, and Dodge and Chevy trucks, I leave the negative cable disconnected at the battery while stashed away, happy and safe in the shop. No electrical fire is possible without juice to the vehicle! Plus, no electronics or digital crap to reset. Just adjust the clocks and go.

 

[dadsbee]

As noted I have been doing this since I was 16/17... because I did have a dash fire in our '69 Fury II from a stuck voltage regulator. I had to use a large rock to smash the cable and post off the battery and then actually got the fire out on the side of the road by hand dumping sand down thru the by then wide open dash top.

 

[Triplegreen500]

Would love to see a photo to illustrate. I'm willing to learn something new here.

Have you personally ever had a situation where you had to and were able to do this disconnect with a fire?

He's just not tightening the terminal on the battery post. Getting it "close", pushing it down on the (usually tapered) post, giving it a twist to get it to bite, and being done with it.

Personally, I always tighten my connections. Amp draw across a loose connection will create heat (ever grab the business end of a jumper cable after having jumped a vehicle?), and that's every time you put a load on it...not just an "in case of fire" situation. But, to each his own. I've done enough electrical work over the years (cars and buildings) to NEVER leave a connection loose enough to remove by hand.

 

[Don Frelier]

As noted I have been doing this since I was 16/17... because I did have a dash fire in our '69 Fury II from a stuck voltage regulator. I had to use a large rock to smash the cable and post off the battery and then actually got the fire out on the side of the road by hand dumping sand down thru the by then wide open dash top.

Here's why neither of my cars have a mechanical voltage regulator.
They kinda suck.