Remote battery isolator

[King Kenny]

I'm having problems with battery drainage and have fitted a screw down battery isolator. But this means I have to open the bonnet every time I want to use it. I have seen these remote isolators and wondered if any one has experience of using one.

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[svenedin]

There are lots of different battery isolators available. Some have a key that can be removed so that the car cannot be started without a key. I had a look at a fellow owner's car that has one but the trouble is they have to go through the bulkhead in order to be accessible in the cabin. Personally I did not like how that looked so I have a Lucas type screw down isolator on the battery. Yes I have to open the bonnet but I only use it if I am working on the car so it doesn't matter. I once had a scary experience when the starter solenoid jammed on. The starter motor would not stop and there was quite a lot of smoke. I managed to yank off the battery terminal but that is why I fitted the isolator. If it is for safety concerns it should be accessible from the cabin for quick access. I am still thinking about it!

Stephen

[geoberni]

I have concerns about those remotely operated devices. Too many unanswered questions about the design.
How are they operated?
Are they reliable?
What's to prevent it suddenly cutting power while driving down the road/motorway?
This image is a different one from the one you illustrated, but it provides a schematic diagram on the top:
.

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That symbol is only a Solenoid Relay, i.e. a heavy duty device of low current switching High Current.
No indication of it being latched in position, it potentially, almost certainly, relies on power to keep it connected once operated.
So a fault could make it drop out, it might be an electrical fault or mechanical, like a broken solder joint inside it.
These things happen, I've broken down on the busy A1 as a result of a broken solder joint in the coil.

Easy enough to bypass when the bonnet is lifted so not really a theft deterrent.

I would say that if you have a problem with battery drainage, and it's not due to something that's connected and powered, it's only one of two things; either the battery is knackered or there's a leakage to earth on wiring that needs replacing.

In simple terms, using the water analogy that is often used when talking electrics, if you have a leak, fix it, don't just add another stopcock..

What you're proposing is going to add a permanent 'drain' on the battery, because the Remote receiver is always powered seeking for the signal.

[myoldjalopy]

Agreed. This proposal seems like treating the symptoms, rather than the cause of the issue.

[oliver90owner]

Agreed. This proposal seems like treating the symptoms, rather than the cause of the issue.

Yep, there are 30(?) million vehicles out there - the vast majority of which do not have parasitic drains from the battery. Treat the disease, not the symptoms, every time.

[King Kenny]

Thank you all for your comments, They mirror my thoughts, The reason for the drain is that ten years ago I fitted a CD player that I bought at a car boot sale foe £1.00. It worked fine when the car was parked but the CDs jumped when the car went over a bump. I was going to take it out and throw it away, but some **** tried to steal it and pulled out a bunch of wires from under the drivers glove box. It has taken me years to sort them out. I will give this item a miss and continue to fix the problem .

[rocco]

With a username like King Kenny, I wonder if it's in homage to Kenny Dalglish?

Would seem to add up being that you had an attempted break in for the car radio and King Kenny was a regarded as a hero in a certain city in the north-west.

[King Kenny]

~With a username like King Kenny, I wonder if it's in homage to Kenny Dalglish?~.... No.

[Bill_qaz]

My isolator is through the bulkhead near the bonnet pull and is a turn switch. It's reachable from the drivers seat but is out of sight

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[svenedin]

My isolator is through the bulkhead near the bonnet pull and is a turn switch. It's reachable from the drivers seat but is out of site.
20230622_155220.jpg

That's quite a good place. Looks OK. The one I saw was mounted on the other side and was too out of place in the engine bay for my taste.

[King Kenny]

That is food for thought as I have an anti theft battery switch fitted to the battery, but I have to open the bonnet to use it. I was looking for a short term switch that did not require lifting the bonnet for when I am making frequent stops. It will only be required for the fused side of the electrics so I could make this work for me.

[geoberni]

There is another consideration for use of an Isolator.

Despite certain issues with some aspects of the Club's FB Group, I seem to have built a reasonable reputation for reliable and helpful advice is certain subjects.
As a result, I sometimes get Messenger Requests for off FB advice. Some of these I ignore because they sound a bit 'iffy', some I just reply with 'that's a good question to ask publicly' and some I answer directly.
I'm cautious with every request because there have been a couple of people who because almost Stalker like, behaving as though I were their personal car mechanic. I always check their fb profile to 'suss them out'.

There was one, a very polite Hispanic Lady in California, with a question about Trafficators on her convertible. The Car was probably too late for them to be original given it was a USA export, so it got my interest, and we resolved her problem with me giving her a link to an online copy of the WS manual, so she knew how to correctly lubricate them.

Some weeks later, she confided with me that the previous evening, she had a bit of a wiring fire under the bonnet and needed some advice about where to get a wiring loom for a 1958 LHD Tourer USA Spec. Again I gave here some info on suitable suppliers.

But the point of mentioning this, is that she told me :

Suddenly I get this thick white smoke coming out of the dashboard and burnt wires ignated melting into the engine compartment loom.
The car was running with the lights on and the power was connecting everything directly through the melted wires.
Luckily I avoided losing the car in a big fire because I had previously installed a heavy duty battery cut-off switch INSIDE the car, so I was able to stop the heat from the current.
I've been all day online looking for a good loom (that's reasonably priced) for my 1958 Tourer US Export, Left hand Drive negative polarity with an alternator car at no avail.

So she saved her car by having an Isolator inside the car.
Probably essential for anyone still using a 50+ year old wiring harness...

[svenedin]

That’s good advice. I must fit one. My wiring loom is ancient

Stephen

[Bill_qaz]

Especially as several circuits are non-fused a fire extinguisher easily accessible under the passenger seat also increases peace of mind

[Chief]

Especially as several circuits are non-fused a fire extinguisher easily accessible under the passenger seat also increases peace of mind

VW Camper owners fit an automatic fire extinguisher system in their T1/T2 engine bays. I suppose the Minor engine bay has the room for something like that in it.

[Bill_qaz]

Especially as several circuits are non-fused a fire extinguisher easily accessible under the passenger seat also increases peace of mind

VW Camper owners fit an automatic fire extinguisher system in their T1/T2 engine bays. I suppose the Minor engine bay has the room for something like that in it.

Not much use for a dashboard or boot fire
I prefer an extinguisher as it could be anywhere or someone else's vehicle

[Chief]

Not much use for a dashboard or boot fire
I prefer an extinguisher as it could be anywhere or someone else's vehicle

Well you could fit one in the boot too, and I suppose one by the dashboard would be no worse than an airbag deploying (slightly messier though)

Actually I have seen a video where someone was stopped due to a breakdown when another vehicle had a fire and since they always carried an extinguisher everything was quickly brought to a safe conclision before even the fire engine showed up.

Of course, I doubt there's an extinguisher large enough to cope if it was an EV that was in trouble.

When we first got my Minor, on its journey home, the fan belt snapped at the junction to Gretna Green, so we headed off the motorway and stopped at the garage there. They asked if the car had ever been in a fire because the engine bay and especially the fresh air heater hose was splattered in some form of white residue. Of course having just bought the car we had no idea if it had been or not.

[les]

Nothing wrong with an internal isolator, however I have one fitted to a battery terminal under the bonnet. I’m sure if I had a problem, I’d be under the bonnet pretty quick ! However if there was a fire, wouldn’t it be like bolting the door after the horse had bolted ?

[geoberni]

Nothing wrong with an internal isolator, however I have one fitted to a battery terminal under the bonnet. I’m sure if I had a problem, I’d be under the bonnet pretty quick ! However if there was a fire, wouldn’t it be like bolting the door after the horse had bolted ?

An electrical fire i.e. a burning wiring harness isn't a fire in the traditional sense of easily ignited fuel, heat and oxygen, the 'Fire Triangle'.

It's electrical energy heating up the metal cables above their rating, and the excess heat melting insulating material, eventually catching fire. But often those materials can't sustain combustion, they're simply burning because of red hot wiring.

Much as a fire extinguisher usually works by removing the 'heat' from the Fire Triangle, turning the electrical supply off is removing the heat.

Catch it soon enough it'll likely stop on it's own, even if it doesn't, then it's greatly retarded so much easier to extinguish.

In my RAF career, I was involved in a fair few rewiring jobs where cable fires (with various causes) had been easily extinguished after stopping the power; many smaller ones simply self extinguished after their circuit breaker tripped.

[les]

I take your point, thanks for explaining.