Topic, trunk mounted battery with cutoff switch.
OK, I've read through several confusing threads on the topic and thought I had a handle on how to wire this correctly. Everything seemed to be working OK, but after a few days, my starter seems to have crapped out. Now I'm not sure if it's because I wired something wrong or was it just a coincidence.
Here's what I got. In my 67 Barracuda, I had mounted the battery in the trunk, within a sealed box, with a Flaming River 2 post shut off switch. The battery is grounded to the roll bar (which is welded in) and the positive runs to 1 post on the switch. From there, I ran a cable from the 2nd post up into the engine compartment, to a bulkhead connector mounted on the inner fender. Now, I took the original positive cable (connected to the Starter) and the wire to the fender mounted relay and put new eyelet ends on them and moved them to the bulkhead connector. In this configuration, when the switch is on, I have power to everything. However, I know this was wired incorrectly because with the engine running, it would not kill when the battery switch was switched off. I understand it's because the Alt would backfeed the system. Anyhow, I ran it in this configuration for a couple of months.
So the other day, I finally get around to isolating the alternator. What I have is a 3-wire Mopar style alternator in the car. So what I did was to remove the alt output wire from the back of the alternator and replace it with a new wire that runs to the battery side of the shut off switch. OK, now the engine dies when I push the lever in. Seemed to be working OK and I've been driving the car around for a few days (and evenings) with no issues. The lights didn't dim and it seemed to be charging though I did notice the alternator gauge now sat firmly in the discharge position. I assumed this was because I had bypassed it by running the alt wire back to the trunk. So anyhow, I've been driving it around like this for a few days.
Last night, I took the car for a long ride and then made a stop at the local pub for 1 drink and an appetizer. But when I came out 45 minutes later, when I turned the key, I can hear the starter relay click, but the engine doesn't turn over. So after looking around the best I could with a flash light, I just let the car roll out of the lot and popped the clutch to start the car. Luckily there was enough of an incline in the lot to allow me to do this. Drove the car home, backed it into the driveway (also an incline) and shut it off.
I put my multimeter on it, I have 12.5V at the shutoff switch, bulk head connector and at the starter and starter relay. With a multimeter lead attached to the wire running from the starter relay to the starter, I read 12.5V when I turn the key to the start position. So I'm assuming the mini starter I put in there last year has failed.
Now, here's my question, did I wire it incorrectly and burn up the starter or is it just a coincidence it failed after a few days of this configuration?
Thanks,
