Keyed Electrical Disconnect

[MSeriesRebuild]

Thanks for the reply and the photos, Wes.

I'm going to hide the keyed portion, so the remote aspect of the relay isn't important, but your suggestion would, of course, still work even if the keyed switch part is not on the dash. I was just hoping for a simpler installation, i.e. a single keyed switch between the battery group and the vehicle ground. As the parts multiply, so does the potential for failure.

That Cole-Hersee switch is rated for 1,000 intermittent amps, which I figured would be more than sufficient for starting, and also for 175 amps continuous, which should be plenty for the load while the truck is running. Or am I missing something in my calculations?

You would need to figure switch capacity against the demand from any options on your truck that are in addition to stock electrical. If your truck is stock, 175 continuous amp capacity is plenty with reserve.

You mentioned a concern as to water resistant vs water-proof; we used to run these same switches on heavy earth moving equipment. Honestly they were the most trouble free component on the machines, exposed to about every condition that could be thrown at them; to include the elements, steam cleaning, huge dust environments, etc.

[cuz]

My bad. Didn't see "continuous" after 175 A.

[Elwood]

Thanks for the useful feedback, guys. I've got one of the C-H switches on order.