Hey Guys, I've been having problems lately with my 99 Disco 1 draining the battery overnight. It seemed to coincide with the faulty alternator, which I now have fixed. I would like to put a switch that connects to the battery wires that runs to the inside of the vehicle. This way i can just cut the negative lead to the battery with the flip of a switch and not have to worry.

Is this a good idea? Im only going this route because I HATE fiddling with electronic/wire ****, and I need a simple/cheap solution to this. A simple cut off switch sounds like a good plan for this.

Now I can see this going 2 ways....Either everyone tells me I'm an idiot and to get the problem fixed right, or they agree and everything is A-OK.
Either way I would like to hear your thoughts.
But if you agree, what kind of Wire/Switch would I need and where should the cut-off switch be located?

Thanks guys, I always appreciate the advice you have given me!

Cheers

 

Not a good idea, every night when you turn the switch off, your ECU will loose much of it's memory and you will develop a number of low voltage fault codes.

 

Will this physically effect anything, or is this just another light to add to the lights on my dash? (they are starting to resemble somewhat of a christmas tree, with the disco, you just have to get used to it)

I don't understand, I don't leave any lights on, no doors open, nothing and every morning i come out and my battery is stone dead. And yes i have purchased a new battery and had it tested.....So brand new alternator/battery at the moment, I don't want to ruin these again.

How can I test to see what is making this happen?

Thanks

 

You could start pulling fuses, find out if there is a specific fuse which drains the battery. Start with things like the radio, lights, etc...

You want to get to the bottom of this, if you have a short it could be a disaster.

 

Well, I don't know if repeatedly draining the battery is the right answer, which is why i have it disconnected when not in use. I don't like the idea of just pulling fuses and seeing if the battery drains. Not to mention it takes forever to charge the thing back up, and I need to use this vehicle.

By the time I get done checking all the fuses, it could be next year.

 

Well, if you're already disconnecting a battery lead at night, that would be no different effectively than having disconnect switch.
So to answer your question, I'd place it under the passenger seat, drill a hole in the floor for the switch stem.
Alternatively, you could wire up a 200 amp ford type solenoid in the engine compartment with a low amperage switch in the cabin to operate it.

 

put an amp meter in line with your battery cable. It will show how many amps are being drawn with the truck off. NOW-start pulling fuses until the meter goes to 0. you don't have to see if it kills it every fuse.

You need to find the fault. unplugging the battery is not the answer.

 

There was a TSB on early DII's about the SLABS unit cycling on and off and draining the battery, and the CD changer is know to cycle through the disc's as drain the battery as well.
Check both of those.
If you turn off the power to the truck every night you will mess up the alarm and then you will really be in trouble.

 

Exactly the way to find it

 

Problem is, his is a 99 D1 so that TSB won't pertain.