Please Critique My High Amp Switch

[AndySpill]

I have an Anderson plug on the front of my JL.

It looks a bit like this:

It's wired, through some 2 gauge wire, directly to the main battery with this stuff:

Having the Anderson plug in front makes it easier for me to hook up electric things, from a snow plow in winter to jumper cables.

But I don't like that the plug is energized all the time. If someone sticks a piece of metal between the two connectors on the front of the Wrangler they could reek havoc with the vehicle's electrical system.

So one solution is to put a battery on and off switch between the plug and battery, like one of these:

But its wiring has to be no less thick than that leading to the Anderson Plug for safe high amperage--plus, the whole idea of the Anderson plug was to not have to pop the hood where this battery switch would be each time I want to energize the Anderson plug. I don't want to bring such thick cable into the cab, losing ampacity in the process.

(And sure, I could hide the Anderson plug in front.)

So I was thinking about using a starter solenoid relay to do this switching. Using thin on/off switch wires that I could bring into the cab, and given this device's 800 amp capacity, what do people think about this way (is there a better one) of controlling the energizing of the Anderson plug in front

They make these with wireless remotes, which with my luck will have its watch battery die in the very cold temperatures I need to plow in, so I'm leaning to hard wiring the on/off switch.

And they make these for winches, but I don't need (I don't want) to change polarity to get a winch motor to spin in opposite directions.

Sure---I have a trailer hitch power port in back that's no less vulnerable, only its fuse and thinner wiresprobably don't allow much damage to the vehicle's electricals like this setup in front.

And yeah, maybe I'm being a bit overprotective of the Anderson plug, or complicating this.

I do such things from time to time.

TIA

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[Left Field]

Hi Andy,

I recently installed the Warn shutoff solenoid on my Jeep. It doesn't do any polarity switching, it is just for allowing remote on/off which I accomplish with an aux switch.

https://www.warn.com/power-interrupt-kit-62132

The negative is that it doesn't appear to specify a current rating (however winches routinely are expected to draw 300-400 Amps).
The positive is that it seems to have a decent duty cycle. If memory serves I found the solenoid they used at an electrical parts house and it was rated continuous.

Many of the 'starter' type solenoids have a very short 'on' duty cycle.

I've considered doing a similar setup as you are proposing, your plan looks well thought out.

LF

 

[Mike_Hawk]

Hi Andy,

I recently installed the Warn shutoff solenoid on my Jeep. It doesn't do any polarity switching, it is just for allowing remote on/off which I accomplish with an aux switch.

https://www.warn.com/power-interrupt-kit-62132

The negative is that it doesn't appear to specify a current rating (however winches routinely are expected to draw 300-400 Amps).
The positive is that it seems to have a decent duty cycle. If memory serves I found the solenoid they used at an electrical parts house and it was rated continuous.

Many of the 'starter' type solenoids have a very short 'on' duty cycle.

I've considered doing a similar setup as you are proposing, your plan looks well thought out.

LF

How did you mount the switch? I have the same one but mounting it is daunting.

 

[Jeffy56]

I highly recommend some sort of fuse or breaker so that if bad stuff happens you don't cripple your Jeep or cause a destructive fire!

 

[Left Field]

How did you mount the switch? I have the same one but mounting it is daunting.

For mine I was able to drill holes through the rear of the body panel mounting flange adjacent to the battery. On the 3.6L the battery and ECU locations are different, but there are still bolts along the body panel flange that likely could be used with an angle bracket to mount the relay.

LF

 

[THAW]

Hi Andy, you know how much I enjoy critiquing your electrical concepts ...

...the primary concern in shorting the Anderson connector - effectively extended battery terminals - is damage to the connector, 2 gauge cables and/or battery resulting in a fire, not electrical havoc in other circuits.

Having stated that, why not appropriately fuse (e.g. 125 A midi) the positive 2 gauge lead at the battery terminal, then in the event of a peak/non-continuous application (e.g. jump start) bypass the fuse holder/block to make a direct battery connection? I assume jump starts are unlikely/infrequent enough to make bearable the inconvenience of popping the hood.

You could still use Anderson plug equipped accessory cables (e.g. jumper cables) for peak/non-continuous applications by swapping a single ring terminal on the fuse holder/block - perhaps using wing nuts to make the process toolless. Or if you don't want to rearrange connections, use a 3 way bypass switch (e.g. Blue Sea 6008) to provide disconnected, fused, and unfused settings.

Basically: fuse the Anderson connector and switch it to unfused for edge cases, thereby protecting it from short and minimizing switch location significance.

 

[roaniecowpony]

If you ever have an actual dead battery for whatever reason, the solenoid would not have power to tie your Anderson circuit to the main battery.

 

[lashlee]

If you don't want it powered all the time, why wouldn't you simply leave it unhooked until you need it. No additional wiring, relays, or switches.

I've used them on vehicles since the late 90's and have never had any issue with it, simply hooked straight to the battery. I did use a fuse, though.

 

[missionale]

Fuse - definitely. To keep things simple, what about a cover or spring loaded weatherproof to avoid debris-shorts-accidents.?? Or place your Anderson plug by your battery (with cover) and use a jumper when needed to front bumper location???

 

[roaniecowpony]

Kinda pricey, but you could use a 4xe charge port panel. They are using them for the onboard air QD on some installations.

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