Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | Do you still have the planter monitor going directly to the battery? If so I would suggest moving the planter monitor ground from the battery and attaching it to chassis ground or the side of the disconnect switch that goes to chassis ground. That way the ground to the planter monitor is also "open" when the disconnect switch is open. With the planter monitor connected directly to the battery, it might act as a ground for the tractor if someone tried to start it with the disconnect switch off which might cause damage. Although this is probably unlikely, there are certain cases where it might happen if the planter monitor had some connection with frame ground.
Another safety precaution that someone mentioned here some years ago was to put a fuse in the ground connection to add on monitors, displays etc. All these devices will come with a fuse on the "hot" side but he suggested putting one in on the ground side as well. This should protect the device either way.
I used to install monitors etc. and noticed that Cat was one of the first tractors to come with a battery disconnect switch. The batteries were mounted up front with the disconnect switch mounted toward the front of the tractor near the front steps over the track. When I got a Deere 8310R, this was an option. It is the same switch that Cat used. It is mounted under the top step. The battery ground connections go to this switch. A cable from this switch leads to a bolt on the engine where all other grounds are attached. That way with the switch off, the battery grounds are not connected to anything.
Waytek has this switch and I ordered one for my Eagle Truck. It took some rearranging and one extra cable. The truck has four 12V Group 31 batteries wired in parallel so all positives are tied together and all negatives are tied together. The batteries then become equivalent to one large 12V battery. The four battery grounds (-) all tie together and lead to the switch. Any other add on grounds (tarp, tag axle etc.) were moved from the batteries and attached to a common frame bolt. I used a hole saw to cut a hole in the aluminum battery box and a couple of smaller bolts and spacers to mount the switch so the connections are inside the battery box but the handle is outside. The new extra cable led from the switch to the frame ground.
While I was at it, I wired in a two pole Weather-Pak connector that leads outside the battery box. Now I can shut off the disconnect and use a trickle charger with a two pole Weather-Pak connector on it to attach the charger without removing the battery cover. If I let the truck set for a long time, the batteries did get discharged. I don't know if this was due just to the radio or some other electronic device that draws a bit. Since I installed the switch I haven't had any problems. I plan on putting one of these on the older Deere 8310 we have as well.
Here's a link to the one I used. It is the third one down in the left column. Waytek has several other choices which might work as well. I chose this one as I knew it was of good quality and heavy enough for the situation.
https://www.waytekwire.com/products/?pSearch=battery%20disconnect%20...
Edited by tedbear 1/14/2017 08:56
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JD 40 series 12V battery conversion and disconnect follow up (pics)
