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TerryV6

Thanks Jenn..

Verna

The above photo is the "jumper wire" I will be referring to. Purchase a length that allows you to be able to easily reach your switch and battery.

@TerryV6 @TerryV6, this is how I was taught to install a cutoff switch by almost 40 years in the telephone industry.  Remove the negative wire ftom the battery. Look at your switch and turn it on and off to figure out which side needs to have the "on" side. Place the battery's negative wire on that bolt and tighten it down. Now take a jumper wire that you have purchased from a battery business or Walmart. Make sure it is similar in gauge to the negative wire. Connect one end to the other bolt in your switch, tighten it down. Connect the other end of the jumper wire to the negative side of your battery. 

Turn the switch on. Go into your T@B and make sure you have 12V power--is the entertainment center lit, lights can be turned on ? If yes, turn the switch off and you should not have any 12V power inside. (If it appears your switch works reverse of this, you'll need to change the switch's wiring--put the battery wire on the other bolt and the jumper wire needs to move where you had the battery wire.) 

Now, if you are totally confused by this, and if you're going to Tearstock, I'll help you there. Be prepared to do the work, because that's the best way to learn--doing it yourself. 

And for those who say to switch the positive wire, please remember that some people are novice's when it comes to working with wiring. TerryV6 is much better off switching the negative side, which will give the same result. He will not get hurt this way.

(The phone company switched the negative side because there could be so many junction points in a building's wiring, that it was safest to sent a negative ground, rather than to take a chance on blowing a fuse by someone shorting the positive wire in a distant terminal.) 

TerryV6

Wow.. Thank you very much Verna..  I'm always hesitant about wiring and power.  I remember going around a building replacing bad light ballasts in the hallways. I always took the precaution of turning out the hallway lights and throwing the breakers.  Didn't have a power tester though.  Anyway, I removed the cover and the wiring cover.  Then, with my handy dandy snips I started cutting the connecting wires on the first one I came to.  "Bam" with a shower of sparks, I realized I'd cut a live wire.  It seems that I was working on one of the lights set up to be an 'emergency' one, always on... I had to get a new snipers and got a healthy dose of on the job training...

ScottG

Here's a photo of the installation I described in my previous post. This is under the driver's side bench--the front of the trailer is to the left. The thicker red wire is the positive line from the battery that was cut. You can see where I've crimped ring terminals to the ends that attach to the back of the Blue Sea cutoff switch posts.

In the lower right, you can see the crimped splice where I added extra wire so both ends could reach the switch easily.

The Blue Sea switch comes with a back that covers the terminals. This should also be installed to prevent any accidental shorting of the posts to ground. 

Mouseketab

Verna said:

I wish I had known about those "jumper wires" when installing my cutoff switch many moons ago. Revealing the ends and crimping connectors on that heavy wire was HARD!!!

John_and_Kris

Verna: May I ask where you had your tires balanced..like a regular tire shop and did you have to give special instructions on lifting the T@B up and WATCH them so as not to damage axle?
Probably a good idea for us to get that task done before any more traveling. Thanks for the heads up

Verna

John_and_Kris said:

Verna: May I ask where you had your tires balanced..like a regular tire shop and did you have to give special instructions on lifting the T@B up and WATCH them so as not to damage axle?
Probably a good idea for us to get that task done before any more traveling. Thanks for the heads up

@John_and_Kris, a reputable tire shop. I had to buy new tires while in AZ in February and I chose Discount Tbires. There is one a mile from my house here. I asked who would be taking care of the tires and asked to speak to him. I asked that he please lift only on the frame, not the axle. He said "No problem, that's the way Airstreams are."  So, it not as uncommon as we might have thought.  

I was not allowed near the T@B during the work. The tech was definitely experienced, a knowledgeable guy, so I trusted him to do his work correctly. Sometimes not watching them closely is best for them. Three other employees, including two managers, were listening intently, so I'm sure it was done properly. 

jkjenn

John_and_Kris said:

Verna: May I ask where you had your tires balanced..like a regular tire shop and did you have to give special instructions on lifting the T@B up and WATCH them so as not to damage axle?
Probably a good idea for us to get that task done before any more traveling. Thanks for the heads up

I always give them instructions and I deal with a good local shop.