Isolator switches and motorsport regulations

[savage1987]

My VN LS1 is getting a re-wire.

The battery is going in the boot, and I am moving and/or hiding a lot of the engine bay wiring crap.

I've just spent two hours last night doing my head in trying to work out where to mount an isolator switch so it's all OK for ADR/CAMS/whoever... The alternator main power cable has to hook up on the battery side of the switch if I understand correctly, so it throws a spanner in the works with having to get more cables through the firewall... (I'm thinking mount the switch so it's accessible from the engine bay side, just hang a lanyard out over a guard for track days??)...

Or should the switch really be much closer to the driver? There's nowhere really ideal to mount it on the dashboard in a commodore is there??

Do you guys have any pics of how you've done isolator switch setups in the past? At this point even photos of how wiring is run through any engine bays you guys have done would be helpful.

This is really hurting my brain.

Thanks,
Sam

[VSEXEC]

Hi mate,
You can put an isolator switch in a few places near your drivers seat, my first setup i had it in my centre console, using the cigarette lighter hole (VS Commo), you ccan make a panel that slots into the radio surround panel or anywhere you dare to put a holesaw. I now run mine in a panel that uses the whole radio surround area. I also run a cable that mounts to the isolator switch and then goes to the plastic cowel under the bonnet so the power can be cut by marshalls. With your issue of running wiring through the firewall check out VPWs website, they have a fitting that allows you to run wire through the firewall. Ill post up a few pics for you.


This allows the wiring through the firewall

How to wire an isolator switch (taken from Skylines AU)



Where the isolator pull cable is

[savage1987]

I have that exact fitting just not sure on where's the best place for it, to get a cable around to the starter since i have a HUGE exhaust header in the way with very little room around it..


I was thinking of the fitting and the switch very close together, over on the passenger side of the firewall, minimising distance for the alternator cable because it has to get back to the battery side of the isolator...

[wamboin23]

not 100% sure on CAMS rules for isolation switches, but in a VR I did a battery relocation in, we were going to fit the isolator switch in the area where battery was.

didn't actually get around to fitting it because we ran out of time, but it was looking like it was going to be mounted through the side panel, where the cables would end up infront of the inner guard. would have made it easy to connect a pull wire to it, coming out near the top of the bonnet, because of the pulling angle (i don't know how to explain it properly so yeah).

as for connecting alternator to battery side, that is one option, other option is to get a iso switch that has additional sets of contacts, and run a main engine ignition and battery sense for alternator through them. that way, when you turn the switch, it shuts off the battery, stops the engine, and stops the alternator charging.

with running wiring, we just went from boot, and followed main harness down past rear seats, then fed the wiring down the inside of the door sill, back out of the sill, through the kick panel, into inner guard, over the inner guard with p-clamps, then through inner guard into where battery was. then connected all positives to a main positive stud.

btw - how'd the skyline go? no more issues?

[wamboin23]

Each automobile of the 2nd and 3rd Category shall be equipped with a battery isolation (master) switch which isolates the battery and stops the engine. It shall be capable of being operated by the driver in his normal seated position. There must be a second switch, or a remote means of operating the main switch, from the vicinity of the base of the A pillar on the driver’s side or, for an automobile with no A pillar, in a comparable position. This external device shall be clearly marked by a symbol showing a red spark in a white-edged blue triangle of minimum edge length 150mm.

So iso in battery tray area is no good.

You can put an isolator switch in a few places near your drivers seat, my first setup i had it in my centre console, using the cigarette lighter hole (VS Commo), you ccan make a panel that slots into the radio surround panel or anywhere you dare to put a holesaw. I now run mine in a panel that uses the whole radio surround area. I also run a cable that mounts to the isolator switch and then goes to the plastic cowel under the bonnet so the power can be cut by marshalls. With your issue of running wiring through the firewall check out VPWs website, they have a fitting that allows you to run wire through the firewall. Ill post up a few pics for you.

got pictures of the cable to bonnet setup?

[savage1987]

I'm not using a stud where the original battery was - that area is staying 100% clean. All other wiring shit that can be moved is also getting moved out of the engine bay.



Skyline is another matter altogether... long story short, Bosch's auto elec put the correct reg on it after the wrong one from factory... but it's still draining the battery somehow. I have to remove some fuse or other every night til he has another look at the bastard on Friday. And he'd better bloody fix it this time. I'm so sick of doing jobs on cars three or more bloody times before they end up right.

[VSEXEC]

So iso in battery tray area is no good.



got pictures of the cable to bonnet setup?

What kind of pic do you need mate, do you want just what the cable looks like or how it runs?

[wamboin23]

What kind of pic do you need mate, do you want just what the cable looks like or how it runs?

yeah how it is run would be good. or if you can describe it?

[VSEXEC]

I'll describe it as best as I can. On the red tab of the isolator switch theres a tiny hole, you feed the wire from the pull cable into it and loop it round and and clamp it. Then you run the rest of the cable through a hole in the firewall and mount it on a bracket anywhere you like, I have it on a bracket just above the plastic cover for the wipers. Ill try and get some pics up for you tomorrow.

[wamboin23]

nah thats good. i thought thats what you meant. works ok?

[VSEXEC]

yep it works fine no complaints yet