Installation of the Painless Performance Battery Disconnect

[Logan Robb]

A while back, I had asked about a remote battery disconnect. I found EXACTLY what I was looking for. 

I was tired of popping the hood every morning and every evening to reconnect and disconnect the battery to prevent any drainage or electrical issued. IMO, its better the car is COMPLETLY dead when not in use. 

I installed the Painless Performance Remote Disconnect with a Latching Solenoid Part # 30206

Installation was easy. The kit came with nearly everything that is needed. I purchased an additional length of battery cable to have on hand if needed. Basically, what this does is disconnect the + cable end with a button inside the cabin of the car. All the button does is ground out the solenoid and open or close it. 

The + bat cable is run to one side of the solenoid and then I hooked the factory + cable to the other side of the solenoid. The alternator WILL charge thru the solenoid, the charge wire can be hooked directly into the solenoid. 

From there, there are two very thing gauge wires that are run to wherever you want the kill switch. One is the ground controlling wire, the other is a 10A fused always on + connection to run things like the clock and radio presets if you've upgraded your radio. 

There were already 2 perfect sized holes in the side of my lower dash that are barely visible from the previous owner, so the momentary button that controls the ground side fit perfect in that space and is hardly noticeable when the door is closed. From there, you just run another ground wire to a ground source under the dash. 

It works perfectly! When I am ready to jump in the car and leave, one click of the button latches the solenoid and is then powered off in the connected state. Then when I get to where I am going, I shut the car down and the click of a button, the solenoid re latched and is powered off in the disconnected state. No feed to the fuse block at all. Once my clock is refurbished, I'll wire that into the always on PowerSource. For now, that wire is bundled up and capped off under the dash until I need it. 

I wired the solenoid on the PS in the engine bay near the factory voltage regulator. From there, ran the two wires along with some others and then thru the fire wall port at the rear center of the engine bay. Wires popped out in the perfect spot! I did have to remove the lower dash to gain access to everything.

Anyhow, figured this might be a good addition to those who still use manual disconnect switches. I just got tired of ALWAYS forgetting to unhook or rehook the battery and always being under the hood. Now its as simple as pushing a button!

I will add some photos in a while

Enjoy! 

Logan. 

[Logan Robb]

Here’s a close up of the button install. 

Need to find some touch up paint. Previous guy drilled those pesky holes and the bit wandered

[C. Van Tune]

That's very interesting. You could've gone the next step and hidden the switch, to make it an anti-theft device.

Let us know how it works over time.  It's a novel idea, but I typically don't like introducing additional possible failure points into an electrical system.  But, like you, I dislike having to deal with battery cables all the time on my classic cars. 

However, I always disconnect the battery whenever the car will be not driven for a few days. Heard too many stories of classics burning while just sitting there. Old Mopars are notorious for this, it seems.  Any old vehicle with an ammeter instead of a volt meter is at risk. 

[Logan Robb]

Thanks! Yes, I thought about making it hidden, such as like the ash tray. But I didn't want to modify too much and the hole in the dash was already there, so that was the most logical choice. 

I am also curious to see how this works over time. Because it is only a momentary solenoid, its default state is powered off in what ever position you left it in. So its only "powered on" when the button is clicked and changes states. Out side of that, it just sits idle. It should stay out of the elements where its location in the engine bay, so I am thinking this should last a good long while. 

I still maintained my manual disconnect as I, like you, will still disconnect the battery when sitting for more than over night. This just helps for long stretches of good days when I just want to jump in and go.