In an effort to preserve my battery

[YUOnDaGround]

Has anyone thought of installing a switch like this before? It completely removes one leg, I would suspect the ground wire, when the switch is pulled. That way there is no chance of a phantom drain on the batter while it is not in use. I just saw the other day that my radio LED face still shows the time so I figured the boat still draws a few volts at rest. Thanks for your input.

Link to product:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-830050/?rtype=10

 

[RFoster130]

Some of the boats come with a battery switch from the factory. Mine did. They work on the positive side. Any type of battery switch like you posted would work. Harbor freight sells one for like 7 bucks. Here is a pic of mine.

Just make sure your bilge pump is hooked to the side that always has power. That way if you leave the boat in water, it wont fill up on you.

 

[YUOnDaGround]

That look great, where is that located at? What boats did it come on?

 

[RFoster130]

It inside the rear storage compartment. Open the hatch and there it is. I am not sure what boats it came on. I know 98-99 Speedsters. I think most of the newer boats have them too.

 

[parrothd]

You should get a battery tender, even with disconnecting the battery you'll still lose charge over time..

 

[YUOnDaGround]

You should get a battery tender, even with disconnecting the battery you'll still lose charge over time..

When using a battery, can one leave the cables hooked up or do you need to disconnect them?

 

[parrothd]

You mean the battery tender?

I leave it connected to the battery all the time, and leave the power plug from the tender in the hatch area, when I get home I plug it in...

If you want to get fancy, you can mount the battery tender, and install a marine power plug somewhere on the up hull somewhere...

 

[noswal_j]

remote

I had a similiar issue, and decided to just install this unit. Came with 2 remotes and installed in under 20 minutes. If for some reason the remote does not work, it has a manual switch on it. As well, when you are using your stereo for too long (or other battery drainers), this unit monitors your battery and will cut your power off so that you have a reserve left for starting your engine(s).

 

[YUOnDaGround]

I had a similiar issue, and decided to just install this unit. Came with 2 remotes and installed in under 20 minutes. If for some reason the remote does not work, it has a manual switch on it. As well, when you are using your stereo for too long (or other battery drainers), this unit monitors your battery and will cut your power off so that you have a reserve left for starting your engine(s).

Sounds expensive, how much was it?

 

[RFoster130]

You can find em for $45 on ebay. There are several other brands and devices that do the same thing.

 

[noswal_j]

Yep...

:agree:What he said....

 

[custompartsguy]

Has anyone thought of installing a switch like this before? It completely removes one leg, I would suspect the ground wire, when the switch is pulled. That way there is no chance of a phantom drain on the batter while it is not in use. I just saw the other day that my radio LED face still shows the time so I figured the boat still draws a few volts at rest. Thanks for your input.

Link to product:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-830050/?rtype=10

As others have already posted, but you need to use a marine battery switch, do not use the one you found that is not for marine use. The switch is exposed to salt water and will not hold up if not for marine use, as well even though most may not require cost guard regulation a battery switch would need to adhear to cost guard regulations in most cases.