FW: Fuse Amperage??? for a fuse between the battery and the car.

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Bernard,

What I have today is a kill switch on the panel interrupting the cable between
the battery(behind my seat) and the firewall.

The concerns are(or were):

1. Positive battery cable breaks between kill switch and battery. No
fuse/breaker + deep cycle battery = fire hazard.

2. Positive battery cable breaks between kill switch and OE battery location
where it is attached to the OE terminals. Occupants knocked out + no fuse/breaker
+ deep cycle battery = fire hazard.

I also realized that the kill switch the way it is now, it's not a kill
switch, it is just a battery on/off device. Which is good for the long storing
the car sees between races, but no good in an accident.

Based on all the posts, it seems that I need:

1. A fuse/breaker next to the battery.

2. A fuse/breaker on the alternator wire to the battery.

3. Wire the alternator wire through the kill switch.

I would like to thank everyone that contributed.

Cheers,

Carlos.




>From: "Bernard Littau"
>To:
>CC: "Audi Quattro List"
>Subject: RE: FW: Fuse Amperage??? for a fuse between the battery and the car.
>Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 18:03:06 -0700
>
> > I like the 100-120 amp fuse/breaker idea - remember, there are times,
> > theoretically, when you might want to dump your full alternator output
> > (90-130A) into the battery via that circuit.
>
>Your battery will never take that kind of current. In fact, it will self
>limit to way less than that at 14 volts. Anything over what makes the
>battery happy (in terms of volts) will yield mostly 02 and H2. This is why
>we like the under seat batteries to be of the vented type :-)
>
>No car manufacturer runs a fuse between the battery and the starter. Sure,
>you can get away with it, but why? What's the point?
>
>The original poster had a kill switch near the battery in the engine
>compartment, where the battery originally was installed. The original query
>was about moving the battery, and protecting the new wiring. Just add
>another kill switch close to the battery. I've seen plenty of rally cars
>that have a kill switch the driver can get to, and another that someone
>outside the car can get to.
>
>If you have a real good 200 amp load on the 175 amp fuse, the 175 amp fuse
>will blow, and likely faster than you can get to a kill switch. On the
>other hand, a 174 amp load will go all day against a 175 amp fuse. There
>are advantages and disadvantages to both fuses and kill switches.
>
>Given the worry was about the insulation around the main wire as it goes
>through the firewall becoming degraded, my money is on a less than 175 amp
>full short. Use the kill switch.
>
>Best,
>
>Bernard Littau
>Woodinville, WA
>'88 5ktq

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