Do you all really disconnect the battery before every install?

[maljr1980 10+ year member]

i had to replace the inline fuse in my car, and like i normally do i just disconnect the positive do my thing and put it back together. well this time i forgot to trip the circuit breaker between my front and rear battery. so when i touched the positive to the battery to screw it back on it started to spark and arc and i let go, a few seconds later and a thick puff of smoke and i melted off the terminal on a $225 battery, had to pay someone in the parking lot to give me a ride to get a new battery so i could get back home. Lesson learned, take the extra 15 seconds and disconnect the ground

 

[smgreen20 10+ year member]

I should also note that I use batteries that have both top and side post mounts. One for the vehicle, the other for the stereo, so in that sense, there's no real need to disconnect the battery other then working on a HU.

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

If i am working on an amp/speakers ,I usually pull the fuse from my fused dist block,and keep my settings on my HU..Pop the fuse back in when I am ready to Test the work done.It gets tiring running back n forth to the car battery some times,so much easier to just pull and or put a fuse???

 

[Sub Woofin 10+ year member]

yes i do... unless im hooking up new speakers

 

[ColterDC 10+ year member]

If I'm messing with anything that can short due to the battery being hooked up, then hell yeah.

Better safe than sorry.

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

this will not and has never happened for it does not take a genius to secure 12v wires

It's kind of like saying you speed everyday and have never and will never be pulled over. Chances are either could happen you might never or you might just. Safety over ignorance is what most of us prefer thats why we do it.

 

[Worlddre 5,000+ posts]

im in no way ignorant i just dont think it is necessary to disconnect the battery for any normal install. I know exactly what is possible and have been through most if not all installation situations and taking the necesary precautions to avoid 12v and ground coming in contact is not rocket science

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

I normally dont disconnect anything at the battery. I just pull the fuse on the power wire.

 

[kramer_212 10+ year member]

90% of the time i take the grounds off, depends on what your doing.

 

[Worlddre 5,000+ posts]

so what most of you are saying is that if you were simply to be removing a radio...wiring a harness and sliding new radio into dash you are still gonna disconnect the battery?

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

so what most of you are saying is that if you were simply to be removing a radio...wiring a harness and sliding new radio into dash you are still gonna disconnect the battery?

That would be the one time I would abesoluetly do it if nothing else. Easiest way to cause a short with all those wires inside a metal cage even the RCAs touching something can cause minor issues. Especially if you don't solder the connections and paint them with that rubber compound, if you use wirenuts,buttsplices, or anything like that there is a possiblity it will come off when you have to shove all those wires back in there and try to fit the deck in.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

That would be the one time I would abesoluetly do it if nothing else. Easiest way to cause a short with all those wires inside a metal cage even the RCAs touching something can cause minor issues. Especially if you don't solder the connections and paint them with that rubber compound, if you use wirenuts,buttsplices, or anything like that there is a possiblity it will come off when you have to shove all those wires back in there and try to fit the deck in.

This is PRECISELY what happened to me a couple weeks ago when I was rewiring some speakers behind the HU. Noticed the cap had come off my ground wire, went to grab it and the wire got pushed and hit the 12v constant, nice little short, pop, and I thought I fried my HU. I ended up just having to run a new 12v constant. But after that I made sure to always take the ground off on my battery. Or, I'll unplug the harness, finish wiring, and plug harness back in. If I'm doing something with the amp, I find it acceptable to just pull the fuse.

Only problem with disconnecting the battery, is that since the little shorting incident with the HU, every time I connect my battery, my horn honks now... which is a hassle late at night.

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

Never have, and don't plan on it. I tape any hot wires that I disconnect while I'm working.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

always disconnect battery ground before working on an install. disconnecting battery positive (or pulling a fuse) is not sufficient.

it's an extra 60 seconds that will prevent damage and hassle.

many of the problems people have that they ask for help for in forums would have been prevented if they had disconnected teh battery negative before starting work.

never work on gear that is energerzied or turned on.

never mess with RCA cables while gear is on. you don't need to disconnect teh battery negative when working on the signal side (RCA's or speaker wires) but you should make sure the equipment is turned off.

pretty simple rule that people ignore because they don't want to take the time, but then they spend a lot more time (and money) fixing something that would have been prevented.

accidents are just that. you don't intend to make mistakes. so recognize that, and prevent damage if you do. disconnect teh battery negative.

 

[diabloboy11]

you shouldnt disconnect the battery when doing an install or testing wires would be impossible...