Are any of these cheap aftermarket caterpillar battery cut off switches any good? I see tons of them for $15 to $20. Is an original Caterpillar switch worth paying the high price?
"Is an original Caterpillar switch worth paying the high price?" YES
Buy one of the $15-20 ones and then ask yourself if buying a genuine Cat switch would have been worth it..........
Well never bought a $15-20 disconnect switch but over the years did see many original equipment Cat switches that lasted for decades. We did have one on a 773G that failed at 1,035 hours! That one was a new style 237-7602 that had the disconnect switch and jump start plug all in one assembly!
I’ve seen quite a few knock off and even some name brand (other than Cat) switches fail. I had one crap out on a Watson this week as a matter of fact. It was a CH brand. Anytime one quits I go back with genuine Cat regardless of the machine it’s going on.
Just curious. Always trying to save money as a retiree on a fixed income. Saving money doesn't always mean buying cheap though. Right now I am operating on the cheap. Cables from the bad switch are just bolted together. I do think the cut off switch is a good idea though. Guess I will wait till next paycheck and just buy an OEM switch.
You need to pay attention to the amperage rating and cranking duration of the switch.
That is something I noticed. Most of the cheaper switches have no amperage ratings listed. Guess that should be the most important clue to quality. Cat OEM for me. Buy it once and be done with it. I have plenty more little odds and ends to concentrate on. Overall though, the rest of my machine seems to operate pretty well for it's age.
Exactly.
We've got a Cat disconnect on our cornbinding 4700 service truck. Had a parasitic drain somewhere - instead of chasing that nightmare down, installed a Cat disconnect switch - problem solved.
That's all that needs saying right there!
Here’s the one I got weds.
That is the part number I am using. Got one on order. Thanks all.