Wired2Serve Blog

When it comes to battery management, battery isolators and automatic charging relays (also called ACRs or voltage sensitive relays) are both used to safeguard reserve battery power to prevent breakdowns and protect other vital vehicle or boat functions.

So, how are these two components different? Is one better than the other? When should you choose one over the other? Here are some things to keep in mind.

Connectors used for demanding applications such as agriculture, mining, and construction are different than the electrical connectors used in consumer vehicles. Heavy-duty connectors are a unique category of connectors that are built specifically for off-highway applications.

The 10 products featured below shot to the top of our list as the most in-demand—out of more than 7,000 products offered at Waytek—in the first quarter of 2021.

Splice connectors—also commonly known as butt connectors, butt splices, or crimp connectors—have been in use for decades and remain an important component in 12-volt electrical systems. Here are some basics to help you select and use them.

Terminal blocks or terminal connectors are a simple, useful, cost-effective, and often crucial component in transportation applications. Connecting different circuits can be a time-consuming task, often made easier with terminal blocks. There are several important things to keep in mind to know if these unique connectivity solutions are the right choice for your wiring design.

Switches—whether they're toggles or rockers, push-button or disconnect—are found in every 12-volt electrical system, doing everything from turning on lights to moderating critical systems. To understand the basics of electrical switches, you must first understand the circuitry inside, then be able to discern the differences between different types of switches. Here's a crash course.

For the first time, a rotary battery switch and a resettable circuit breaker have been combined into a single product, the Series 53 Branch Disconnect Circuit Breaker from Mechanical Products.

Ideal for use in the marine, RV, truck and heavy equipment industries, the MP Series 53 brings the advantages of a smaller footprint, quicker installation, lower cost, and user convenience. It promises to become a go-to solution for OEMs and upfitters seeking more efficient ways to disconnect and protect primary current and heavy duty mobile electrical equipment.

Circuit breakers are increasingly being used instead of fuses for transportation equipment of all types. Circuit breakers have many virtues: They're more durable, they're easier to reset and replace, and they can be ordered in types and sizes that work in most places where fuses would be used on vehicles.

Perhaps most important, circuit breakers with reset buttons enable users to immediately cut power, providing an added level of personal safety not available with fuses.

InPower has introduced a cool (literally) and efficient new product with its new ABS3 Solid State Programmable Auxiliary Battery Switch.

The ideal solution for charging and isolating an auxiliary battery from a vehicle’s  chassis battery and alternator, the ABS3 uses solid-state contactor technology and ultra-cool, heat-dissipating power terminal technology, all in a smaller footprint than traditional battery isolators and separators.

While circuit breakers are becoming more prominent in 12-volt system design, the fuse remains a common, and useful, technology. If you're not up on your fuses, here's an overview of where they fit into automotive circuit protection.