Rain Light wiring: on with kill switch off?

Rain Light wiring: on with kill switch off?

Author
Discussion

Henry Fiddleton

Original Poster:

1,581 posts

176 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Hi All,

My car last race in 2014, and I purchased in April 2016 – I am going racing April 2017.

The car is almost good to go for this year, however I have a rain light question.

My rain light is wired up so it runs even when the kill switch is off – nothing else works.

Is this wired correctly?

Thanks,
Kam

Thurbs

2,780 posts

221 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Nope, kill needs to kill everything, including engine, all lights an every other electrical circuit.

They wont let you run with the kill not isolating the lighting.

Henry Fiddleton

Original Poster:

1,581 posts

176 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Thank you!
Kam

Richair

1,021 posts

196 months

Saturday 18th March 2017
quotequote all
As Thurbs say's, all power supplies need to be isolated by the kill switch. They often check that the kill switch turns off the lighting, particularly at circuits with morning noise restrictions (they test the kill switch on the rain light instead of a running engine) so don't risk it. There's zero leeway on this one as it's a safety issue.

tapkaJohnD

1,930 posts

203 months

Monday 20th March 2017
quotequote all
Safety issue?
Recently attended an event where there was an engine fire.
Marshals pulled the kill switch - engine off.
Then the extinguisher - fired correctly.
But the fire kept on burning - because the radiator fan was not wired through the kill, blew the powder away from the fire point, and fed it with more air/oxygen.

JOhn

Drumroll

3,738 posts

119 months

Monday 20th March 2017
quotequote all
Just to back up the previous post, as I was with tapKajohnD on that event and had to disconnect the battery to enable us to put the fire out.

Can think of a few fires that have been a lot worse because the electrics had not all gone through the cut off switch. Including one where the fuel pump had not been included in the "kill" switch.

Weslake-Monza

461 posts

182 months

Monday 20th March 2017
quotequote all
If throwing the kill switch does kill the engine (it should by cutting the ignition circuit and prevent a dynamo or alternator from running the electrical circuits with the battery power cut), and the battery live, then the only way a fan or anything else can continue working is if it is wired directly from the live terminal of the battery. I'd have thought the scrutineers would have spotted something connected directly from the live terminal of the battery as would have the driver of the car. Put another way, It's not so much that some of all the electics aren't wired through the kill switch but rather 'something' is wired directly from the live terminal of the battery.

pikeyboy

2,349 posts

213 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
I don't believe the stupidity of some people. I mean its not difficult, is it, if you really need a live battery feed just take it from the switched terminal of the kill switch.

Thurbs

2,780 posts

221 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
I have been at meetings where 2 cars which have raced for nearly 2 seasons failed scrutineering because they still had steering locks on.

Also, kill switch doesn’t kill the lights... or the engine...

Mine seems to get checked each time confused

djroadboy

1,173 posts

235 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
Steering locks are allowed if the car is road legal. Never seen one checked at scrutineering.

Agree with kill switches being checked at every round, lthough they only seem to check that it kills the lights most of the time.

Dan

tapkaJohnD

1,930 posts

203 months

Tuesday 21st March 2017
quotequote all
Thank you, drumroll! I would not have liked to go anywhere near that car, let alone reach in and grab for the terminal!
Marshals ARE heroes!

When I race and the kill switch is tested, its always with the engine running. Caught me out once, when I got the alternator drain connections wrong way round. The alt. wasn't earthed, and it kept going by pulling on its own electrical bootstraps!
John