wouldnt a starter solenoid work just as well but at like 1/10t the cost? plus if you buy a starter solenoid you can get a lifetime warrenty, im not sure about on cars but i know on a freigtliner and peterbuilt they both use solenoids that are rated to 400 amps, and the starters arent much bigger than that of a small block chevy, so theoretically a small block chevy starter solenoid should be rated at least 200 amp, which would be more than sufficient if your running a 2 battery setup i would think. sorry for the rant, just an idea, i might have to try it out
actually a starter motor pulls a lot more than 30 amps. Not sure how much but pulls a decent amount of current. Is a starter solenoid meant for constant current to be pulled through it??
its not MEANT to have constant current pulling through,BUT it is essentually nothing more than a high current relay, i will get one off a freightliner, peterbuilt or a kenworth at work next time i do a starter and try it out see how it goes, if it works well i can get these for free/next to nothing
well, i did a test tonight, i had to switch out a starter because it was dragging real bad, but i had a good solenoid and was out of warrenty, so free reign! i took off the solenoid, and for these diesels we have these awesome digital load testers to load test alternators and batterys with, so i hooked it all up to a battery bank, and kicked on the load tester thru the solenoid, and ran a 400 amp load for about 2 hours, and the solenoid got a little hot, but nothing to be worried about, at least not with anything you guys are running, and the amount of time you actually have them cranked up, the bad part is i think i may have toasted the first 2 batterys in the bank (oops) and i think my shop forman knows it was me, at least i didnt screw up the 300 amp charger we have, now that would have SUCKED, but anyway, yea, i dont see why this wouldnt work, let me do a little more playing with it, and it continues to work out, i'll sell them for the price of shipping, i aint out to make any money off them. i'll keep you guys informed!