Side Post Battery Master Disconnect Switch

This gadget worked fine. My use was to disconnect the battery when parking the car overnight because something in the car drains the battery. We have searched for years trying to determine what was draining the battery with no luck.

However, yesterday I found an equivalent device with the same design for $5.99 locally which is about one third of what I paid online (including the $7 shipping). The store is called Harbor Freight Tools . They have a bunch of locations around the nation and it would well worth the effort to see if there is one in your area before buying almost any tool.

First, the positive... sturdily built, comes with a bolt, a conductive washer to help make up for any gap at the battery or the cable and seems to work just fine after using a week.

I have a '97 Saturn that I've spent over a year looking for the short charging the battery once a week. I recently replaced the starter and the battery and decided I'd use this to stop the short when the car is parked. The way this works (if there is any other way, someone can reply to my review I thought I tried every reasonable combination) is that the provided bolt goes through the non-threaded end into the battery, and the negative battery cable is attached to the threaded end. I started to do so, it was super tight, so I got a good grip and worked on it. Well, the thread was just a little off. The battery cable had been put on / taken off a good 30 times in it's life so when the head rounded while trying to put this on, I wasn't that stressed and bought a few replacement ends, thinking they might fit better anyway.

That's when I really realized... it really doesn't fit. I DID get it to work (rounded another one of the two cable ends I bought) by force-threading it...

The good news? TIGHT connection, but be careful, you're going to have to really torque this thing, so be prepared if I'd gotten a better grip than just using an 8mm wrench to begin with I possibly could have made it work first round.

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For those that need instructions from cradle to grave this doesn't have it. I have a 1990 Chevy K2500 with a slow battery discharge that I have never been able to find plus it sits for weeks since I seldom use it. The instructions for the install were accurate for me but I can see how some may get it wrong, cross-thread it or just call it junk. When you receive it there's a bolt & washer screwed into the threaded end. However, that's not where they belong and there's nothing in the package to tell you... so if you're not intuitive, or in a rush, you can easily start the install wrong. You need to remove the bolt & washer because they go in the other hole... the one that's not threaded. The threaded hole you just removed those items from is where the battery cable screws in with the bolt that held it in the battery. I'd suggest trying the screw in the battery by hand to see how deep the hole is and when it bottoms out. If the threaded hole on your battery is deep then attach the disconnect switch and, if not, use the washer between the switch and the battery to add some more spacing. I would suggest starting the battery cable by hand also because most of us can't cross thread anything enough to do damage by hand and once started use a wrench to tighten it down. If the bolt that comes with the switch fits your battery then, by default, your battery cable will fit the threaded end. If I have insulted anyone's intelligence on this please don't be offended because it seems some of the reviewers have tried to install this item without switching the bolt to the other hole.

This has also cured my battery drain issue and had I installed this earlier I would not have had to purchase a new battery. Once a battery drains down to the point where it won't start your vehicle, or barely turn it over, better start looking for a new battery.

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This Side Post Battery Master Disconnect Switch is great and works exactly as described. That said, my application was for use on a lawn tractor with the standard smaller 12V battery used on most lawn tractors, so the fit was slightly different than on a standard side post battery. However, by using the same bolt used with the negative battery post, as well as the bolt supplied with the disconnect, the device easily mounted against the flat, negative post on top of the battery. With a simple twist of the knob, the battery is disconnected and ready for storage. Also, while mowing, the disconnect knob seems to easily resist loosening during the vibrations produced during operation. Very solid and dependable. Very pleased. Highly recommended.

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The thread pattern does not match my truck's battery cable or Die Hard battery it has the right diameter but wrong threads-per-inch. It cross-threaded.

I returned this GAMA switch and bought the Moroso 74104 (not available at Amazon); the switch itself appears identical. The difference: the bolt is the correct thread pattern for the battery.