[attachment=8144]I just bought one of those battery isolaters that clamps to the negative battery post. The earth cable attaches to a post on the isolater. Screwing a plastic knob in or out isolates the battery. Simple and neat? However on connecting mine, I had a bit of a struggle tightening the clamp on the battery post and the thing just snapped in two. See the photos. As you can see, there is very little "metal" where it snapped. About 1.5 mm thick joining the teo halves. Mechanically useless. Electrically dangerous?? I shall not buy another.
GYes, they all seem to be the same, varying between £3 and £8 and
I was not expecting precision engineering. However, to me, at least the one I got is potentially hazardous. Here is a shot of the break showing how little metal joins the two parts. The thin grey section is the break!
06-11-2019, 11:14 PM (This post was last modified: 06-11-2019, 11:37 PM by Stuart Giles.)
Does look to be made from brass coated Chinesium.
Although using a Hella style master switch probably means drilling a hole somewhere, the removable key is useful for general security as well as preventing idiots fiddling with the switches and turning the lights on etc. when you leave your car unattended.
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 682 Threads: 17
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6 Location: The far North East of England
Car type: 1934 Austin 7 AVH Van (in bits & incomplete!), 1936 Morris 8 Series I Tourer
The Green Spark Plug Company Ltd supply a similar battery terminal switch but manufactured by DURITE which is a well known and respected brand - I suspect yours is a cheap Chinese copy.
Yes, the metal does have the appearance of mazak and the reason I struggled fitting it was that the clamp did not seem to be being pinched properly as I tightened the bolt. Disappointing as I had purposely not bought the cheapest one. Beware!
Let me know if the Green Spark one is OK. The photos of them all look the same, but one would hope that people like Green Spark and Vehicle Wiring Products check them out before retailing.
I am with Stuart on this - all my cars are fitted with a "Red Key" switch. Since only the van can be locked, the removable key is a good deterent.
Additionaly, since the screw-down switch will only fit one battery terminal ( I'm guessing here - perhaps they are avialble for positive and negative) one is restricted as to which terminal to use.
