Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch

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Jan 13, 2006 | 11:50 AM
  #1  
Alright, here goes. I've spent the past week (off and on) relocating my stock battery to the trunk of my Evo.

Parts used (mostly from Summit Racing):

- Hella Battery Disconnect Switch
- Taylor Battery Cable Terminal Kit
- Taylor Battery Relocation Kit
- Battery tie-down from Autozone
- Heat Shrink Tubing
- Electrical Tape
- Various bolts, nuts, washers, etc.

After some inital staging, I decided to mount the battery box in the spare wheel well. That's the lowest place I could mount it and it's also in the middle. I thought about mounting it on the driver's side in the trunk, but ultimately that is where my sub will go...

Here are the first three pics, showing the initial mock up and the locations of the holes I drilled. Unfortunately I drilled the first set of holes too far forward, and after some additional inspection found that using the existing hole in the tow-hook beam would work perfectly. Lucky for me, I ended up using one of the, err, extra holes for the vent tube.

Once the holes were in their proper place, I had to grind away a small piece of the spare tire mount to make room for the nut. Other than that everything lined up perfect.

Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_02.jpg   Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_03.jpg   Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_04.jpg  

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Jan 13, 2006 | 11:52 AM
  #2  
Next I went to work on mocking up the battery and the tray to see how they would fit, using rubber washers, spacers, a pair of rubber feet and a set of stick-on pads to keep the tray level and to keep it from rattling.

Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_05.jpg   Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_12.jpg  

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Jan 13, 2006 | 11:58 AM
  #3  
Hmm, so where to put the cutoff switch? How about inside the center console? This has worked out very nicely. After cuttion out a portion of the console support bracket, the cutoff switch mounts perfectly. Note how the initial cabling looks ... ugly. Time to clean it up with some electrical tape and heat shrink tubing. The Taylor kit came with some red tubing, and I got more tubing from the local hardware store (Menards).

Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_06.jpg   Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_07.jpg   Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_08.jpg  

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Jan 13, 2006 | 12:02 PM
  #4  
The battery cable was run through my center console and then out to the engine bay using the hole covered by the small grommet in the firewall behind the passenger side front wheel well. Also a couple of pics of the switch wiring being cleaned up.

Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_09.jpg   Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_10.jpg   Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_11.jpg  

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Jan 13, 2006 | 12:04 PM
  #5  
Couple of shots of the installed cutoff switch.

Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_13.jpg   Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_15.jpg   Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_16.jpg  

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Jan 13, 2006 | 12:07 PM
  #6  
Finishing up the battery box install... This is where I found out that the battery tie down that came with the Taylor kit DOES NOT FIT the bolts that came with the kit. WTH?!? Had to make a trip to Autozone to get myself an adjustable tie-down.

Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_18.jpg   Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_17.jpg  

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Jan 13, 2006 | 12:08 PM
  #7  
Final install pics in the engine bay (I still need to tie down the battery cable, though).

I'll have more pics of the finished interior in the next few days. I'm still working on another project, so the center console hasn't been put back in yet.

l8r)

Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_19.jpg   Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_20.jpg   Moved my battery to trunk with cutoff switch-ludikrauts_evo_battery2trunk_21.jpg  

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Jan 13, 2006 | 04:26 PM
  #8  
That cut-off switch is killer. That was a really cool idea. Good pics of everything too.
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Jan 15, 2006 | 11:01 AM
  #9  
Shouldn't the negative connect to the negative to provide a complete circuit so the alternator can charge back up the battery?, also, do you notice any difference in cold cranking time.
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