Date:         Thu, 11 Jul 2002 16:11:42 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Rotary battery switch was: your mail
Comments: To: David Brodbeck <gull@CYBERSPACE.ORG>
In-Reply-To:  <Pine.SUN.3.96.1020711155817.10855B-100000@grex.cyberspace. org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 03:59 PM 7/11/2002, David Brodbeck wrote:
>On Thu, 11 Jul 2002, Erick Faith Jimenez wrote:
>
> > Never move the switch to ANY position with the engine running, you will
> > damage your electrical system.
>
>Hmm.  That'd make it kind of hard to recharge a battery that had gotten
>depleted.  I guess the key would be not to let any battery get too low to
>start the vehicle.

The switches (rotary marine-service battery switches) are make-before-break
-- if the contacts aren't corroded they will maintain a continuous
connection to one or both batteries while being switched.

The better ones have a field-disconnect switch built in so if you turn the
switch OFF your alt will stop charging and engine will stop, instead of
frying the alt/regulator -- but you'd need to modify the Bosch alt to run
the field wire to the switch and back.

david


--
David Beierl - Providence, RI
  http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"