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A couple of weeks ago or so, Marco, aka Dutchbird, was telling us about his Start Lock battery disconnect switch that he has on his Tbird and uses when it he is out or has his Tbird in his garage. He posted information and pictures of it here.
That got me to thinking about protecting Rose from future wiring problems while being stored in the garage. So Marco and I have had quite a discussion about this item. We tried to find this unit in the US but could not do so. Until I googled Battery Disconnect Switch, and found one by Wirthco, which is available through Sears, JC Whitney, and a few other places. The WirthCo unit is made in China, as the one that Marco has probably is also.
Here is how they work. You take off your negative cable from its post and put on the Start Lock or BDS (for short) in its place. Then you hook the negative cable to the post on the BDS unit and tighten everything down. There is a black, green or blue round knob that you unscrew a few turns. That disconnects the power from the battery to the car. There is now no voltage going through the wiring to anywhere in the car. You cannot start the car, play the radio, turn on the lights. Nada.. Zip... If you are out with your Tbird and you really want to make it safer from theft, you can unscrew the knob, put it in your pocket and walk away. No one is going to be able to hot wire your Tbird and drive it off because there will be no power to the starter or anything else...
There is a different model if you do want to leave power to the clock, radio, power windows, seats, (or car computer if you put this on a newer car). This model has a bypass wire with a 15A fuse in the line that connects between the negative cable and the negative post of the battery. It allows a small amount of power to the clock, radio, power windows, seat, etc.. This is the model that I bought, though I do not think I am going to use the bypass because when I put Rose in the garage each time, I want the power to be completely OFF the car for safety reasons. I dont mind resetting the clock the next time I use her.
There is a third model with the knob on the end of it, that is even less costly. So, basically, that is how they work. Here is where you can get them from and the costs.
Gizmos & Gadgets seem to have the best prices, and they also have that cheaper model.
Napa Auto Parts also has this Battery Disconnect Switch. I had a link here to them but it no longer works. Check with them, because they have the same BDS that the others have.
And, if you want one just like Marco has, you can order one from him! However, there will be international postage involved, making it a lot more expensive than these units. It is almost identical to these models.
With these units, you MUST make sure that you have tightened the knob to the ON position before you start the engine. If you do not, you will blow that fuse...
This is something you certainly might want to check into, especially if you are garaging your Tbird like I am. Or if you just want to make sure it does not go up in smoke due to a wiring problem, while sitting there in storage, as has happened to some of us. For about $7 to $20 you can protect your investment with one of these. Or you can do what I have been doing... Loosening up one of the battery cables, pulling it off and setting it aside.. I like this idea better.. Besides, when I am out with Rose and want to protect her from making a sudden, unplanned trip to Mexico, I can unscrew that knob, pocket it and walk away. I have one on Yellow Rose now and it is doing it's job!
Here are a couple of pix.
That got me to thinking about protecting Rose from future wiring problems while being stored in the garage. So Marco and I have had quite a discussion about this item. We tried to find this unit in the US but could not do so. Until I googled Battery Disconnect Switch, and found one by Wirthco, which is available through Sears, JC Whitney, and a few other places. The WirthCo unit is made in China, as the one that Marco has probably is also.
Here is how they work. You take off your negative cable from its post and put on the Start Lock or BDS (for short) in its place. Then you hook the negative cable to the post on the BDS unit and tighten everything down. There is a black, green or blue round knob that you unscrew a few turns. That disconnects the power from the battery to the car. There is now no voltage going through the wiring to anywhere in the car. You cannot start the car, play the radio, turn on the lights. Nada.. Zip... If you are out with your Tbird and you really want to make it safer from theft, you can unscrew the knob, put it in your pocket and walk away. No one is going to be able to hot wire your Tbird and drive it off because there will be no power to the starter or anything else...
There is a different model if you do want to leave power to the clock, radio, power windows, seats, (or car computer if you put this on a newer car). This model has a bypass wire with a 15A fuse in the line that connects between the negative cable and the negative post of the battery. It allows a small amount of power to the clock, radio, power windows, seat, etc.. This is the model that I bought, though I do not think I am going to use the bypass because when I put Rose in the garage each time, I want the power to be completely OFF the car for safety reasons. I dont mind resetting the clock the next time I use her.
There is a third model with the knob on the end of it, that is even less costly. So, basically, that is how they work. Here is where you can get them from and the costs.
Gizmos & Gadgets seem to have the best prices, and they also have that cheaper model.
Napa Auto Parts also has this Battery Disconnect Switch. I had a link here to them but it no longer works. Check with them, because they have the same BDS that the others have.
And, if you want one just like Marco has, you can order one from him! However, there will be international postage involved, making it a lot more expensive than these units. It is almost identical to these models.
With these units, you MUST make sure that you have tightened the knob to the ON position before you start the engine. If you do not, you will blow that fuse...
This is something you certainly might want to check into, especially if you are garaging your Tbird like I am. Or if you just want to make sure it does not go up in smoke due to a wiring problem, while sitting there in storage, as has happened to some of us. For about $7 to $20 you can protect your investment with one of these. Or you can do what I have been doing... Loosening up one of the battery cables, pulling it off and setting it aside.. I like this idea better.. Besides, when I am out with Rose and want to protect her from making a sudden, unplanned trip to Mexico, I can unscrew that knob, pocket it and walk away. I have one on Yellow Rose now and it is doing it's job!
Here are a couple of pix.
I pulled over, switched the engine off & lifted the hood. I didn't have any means of stopping the burning of the Spark Plug Cables or the surrounding area.
I stood back thinking of the worst,
then this good samaritan pulled up & said he had his workshop around the corner & he was going to bring a fire extinguisher.
I honestly thought it was going to blow up just like in the Movies, but he saved the day & put it out.
The damage was the hood, the Engine Bay, all the Wires & Hoses. Even though the Engine Bay was good before, after pulling the motor out & having it painted the finish was much nicer.
With my Bullet Birds Fuel Filter, it was between the Dizzy & the Carby. They worked out that the Fuel Filter wasn't tightened properly either the fumes or a slight leak & a spark fom the Dizzy got it started. In the meantime I found out that it wasn't uncommon with other cars going up the same way.
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