[1slow96]

I must say,you guys are really getting after it in a big way. An additional tip is instead of the dielectric grease, I found a product called KOPPERSHIELD which is an extremely conductive anti-corrosive. Just don't get it on you,because it's hard to clean off. Much like anti-seize.

 

[CapriceLt1]

I must say,you guys are really getting after it in a big way. An additional tip is instead of the dielectric grease, I found a product called KOPPERSHIELD which is an extremely conductive anti-corrosive. Just don't get it on you,because it's hard to clean off. Much like anti-seize.

I'm tryin lol. I should have all my straps w/hardware to hook everything up later today. I had them ordered in from No Auto Parts Available haha, maybe my light will go off after the grounding gremlin is gone.

 

[4DoorSS]

Yeah, no more of these...




or these.....



In my electrical system

 

[CapriceLt1]

Yeah, no more of these...




or these.....



In my electrical system

hahaha YES!!



so aluminum nut serts are ok for grounding but not aluminum like the intake?

 

[CapriceLt1]

On the rear of the engine on the drivers side is a bolt holding a clip that secures the harness going to the transmission. There are also unused threaded holes on the trans itself. I grounded everything to the frame,and then grounded the engine to the body. Rock solid voltage is the result,and no more mysterious electrical problem.

I'm not saying your wrong slow96, but i was under my car looking for that clip for the harness for the trans. I cant find it. And then i thought back to when my 94 (RIP) and when I pulled the drivetrain, i didnt see a clip anywhere, its just the harness that runs up to....the harness. The only thing somewhat close to what i thought you might have been talking about was the heat shield that runs vertically that holds the shift lever in but there wasn't any harness there and that's really close to the cats


Side-note, the top cable (positive) on my starter is less than half there. I'm going to get by butttt connectors and revive it and get the 4 ga. braided grounding strap i have and run it from the starter to the frame and that should give me good ground. Other than the starter ground which should be good im stumped

 

[CapriceLt1]

is it on the passengers side, engine bay, to the right of the heater core hoses (if looking at car from the front)?

 

[1slow96]

There are always unused holes on the backside of the cylinder heads. The same holes in the front are on the backside of the other. Because,it's the same head just turned around. Solder,and sealant lined shrink wrap is the way to go. Crimp connectors,unless sealed are just asking for trouble.

 

[CapriceLt1]

Grounded starter to frame with 4 ga. battery strap. Next day car wouldnt start. Im going to check the positive terminal on the starter because i may need another washer to tighten up the cable but could the negative ground have drained the battery?

 

[1slow96]

Both items should already be grounded,so I don't see how.

 

[CapriceLt1]

it was a bad negative battery terminal bolt. bought new batt cuz threads and holes were crap. under warranty at NAPA . Still grounding things as i type, going to go to harbour freieght and get what 4 door ss bought, code 43 till on though....

 

[CapriceLt1]

Well, I lost the negative battery ground cable (baby cable that bolts to side fender) i started the car and it zapped right through it so I'm getting new negative cables since a small fire occurred. Too much power went through the cable because the car has so much cancerous rust that it burned through the cable. I was in a parking lot at work put the fire out and was able to start it up and after i left the lot i lost my brakes. Got home and a newer line had a hole rubbed through it. Im going to keep this one alive as long as i can and buy a RUST FREE 9C1 or SS (so if your in NY and reading this and know someone whos getting rid of one let me know!) Shes in the driveway right now but as the week goes on I will be adding a few cables here and there.

I was thinking a good spot would be where the negative battery cable bolts to the middle of the block, to put a cable from there to the frame. Would that be a good spot or would it "cancel" it out, do you know what i mean. Like its a bad spot, it would negatively affect the point of having the battery cable being there by adding a cable from there to the frame. Let me know what you think, and thanks! I really appreciate everything!

 

[1slow96]

One of the best ways I've found to ground the frame is to drill/tap a hole near an access point. Install a bolt through the frame from the inside. Now you have a stud to install the ring terminal from your ground strap/cable. Clean mounting area,and install nut. This method allows for an extremely snug connection,that will not strip.

 

[FuzzyNutzGoneWild]

Ever thought about the Innovative Wires battery cable set? You get both the positive and negative cables.. and they're flippin huge gauge wire..

 

[4DoorSS]

Well, I lost the negative battery ground cable (baby cable that bolts to side fender) i started the car and it zapped right through it so I'm getting new negative cables since a small fire occurred. Too much power went through the cable because the car has so much cancerous rust that it burned through the cable. I was in a parking lot at work put the fire out and was able to start it up and after i left the lot i lost my brakes. Got home and a newer line had a hole rubbed through it. Im going to keep this one alive as long as i can and buy a RUST FREE 9C1 or SS (so if your in NY and reading this and know someone whos getting rid of one let me know!) Shes in the driveway right now but as the week goes on I will be adding a few cables here and there.

I was thinking a good spot would be where the negative battery cable bolts to the middle of the block, to put a cable from there to the frame. Would that be a good spot or would it "cancel" it out, do you know what i mean. Like its a bad spot, it would negatively affect the point of having the battery cable being there by adding a cable from there to the frame. Let me know what you think, and thanks! I really appreciate everything!

Ouch! I'm hoping the fire wasn't too bad. But based on your description, I'm guessing that it "zapped right through" the little ground wire and melted it. That would tell me that you don't have a good ground going to the block. I only say that based on your description of what I think happened. It almost sounds like the block ground cable was not connected very well, and all of your current to the battery got pushed thru this little gauge wire on the fender.

I once had a '81 Z/28 that the shifter cable got stuck. Later found the cable had seized up on me due to an arc weld that occured in the shifter cable. A bad ground caused all the current to find a place to go and it chose to go down the shifter cable and fused the cable to the metal housing. I remember reading about similar issues in that model and sure enough that is what got me.

As far as Gary's cables go....why haven't you got a set already? Get them and make sure all of your connections are good, clean and tight. The amount of rust on your car should not affect whether you can get a good circuit, you should still be able to get good connectivity.

 

[CapriceLt1]

Ouch! I'm hoping the fire wasn't too bad. But based on your description, I'm guessing that it "zapped right through" the little ground wire and melted it. That would tell me that you don't have a good ground going to the block. I only say that based on your description of what I think happened. It almost sounds like the block ground cable was not connected very well, and all of your current to the battery got pushed thru this little gauge wire on the fender.

Boom goes the dynomite! I had it on the fender then upgraded to bigger cables, then it did it again. took the starter ground off nothings wrong except Im pulling timing, TCC isnot locking up and its missing shifts and Iv got evap leaks and the list goes on. we've had fun together but its going to cost more to fix it then it is to get another car. Its on its last leg and Im pretty torn up about it but all body bushing are rotted out, needs floor and paint and front inner fenders....shes a hot mess. Its just time to let things go sometime...

 

[HUF]

Thanks for this good post...........again. On a similar note - check the 3 ground wires at the coil. They use flimsy connectors which are prone to break off. I bundled all three together in a heavy duty ring terminal and then crimped and shrink wrapped it. Now very strong and won't break.

I once got into a heated discussion about wiring with a punk "know it all" He insisted ground wires weren't important like the positive ones "because they don't carry electricity". I kept telling him that the circuit has to be complete or it is no good.......... it didn't have much affect on him.

Never argue with an idiot!

 

[HUF]

Just installed some of Gary's battery cables. I too hate the fender connection and will be figuring out something better/more rigid for the fender connection. Maybe a nutsert on the fender that I can use a threaded bolt in? Somthing similat that Gary uses on the bracket for his headlight harness.

On the "heavier insulator wire" that Windssurfer was asking about, I would stay away from doing that. I THINK the reason they use a braided wire there is for flex-ability. The engine can move quite a bit under load. With a heavy rigid wire there like you suggested, the connection to the firewall may work loose as the engine moves. That's my guess on this and I would just stay with the flex-able ground wire there.

EDIT - Something like this to replace the Starwasher and Screw in the fender. Just drill a larger hole in the fender and use a nutsert and Stainless bolt.

http://www.avdel-global.com/en/products/threaded-inserts/thin-sheet-nutsertr.html

I can watch that animation for hours.

 

[shudahadaV8]

Although this thread is dated a bit, for completeness, I'll add some thoughts for those chasing problems. Aluminum will conduct electrical current just fine. However, aluminum has some serious shortcomings in the electrical design trade.

First ... aluminum oxidizes in air, the oxide is almost "glass" like. It will actually create an insulation layer on top of the aluminum. It is important when using aluminum for electrical circuits to use emory cloth to remove the oxide and then coat the cleaned surface with an inhibitor to keep the oxide from reforming (like "Noalox").

Second ... aluminum is soft and will move (flow). This makes it marginal for electrical connections as it will move away from a tight connection. Not good. These aluminum threaded inserts will likely loosen over time. The threaded hole will be fine, but the aluminum to steel crimp will loosen. You won't necessarily notice this flow, but it will happen. So? Well, as it loosens, air will get in and oxidize the aluminum to steel connection and you will be back where you started ... except, it will look fine.

To be fair, this will take some time, but as our cars are in the elements, less than you think.

Star washers are actually very effective ... the star digs into the fender steel and makes good contact and keeps the air out at that contact point. It can rust all over and still keep an airtight connection under it's fangs. Ever take off a star washer and it looks like crap except exactly where the little points touch the steel? Yep.

I highly recommend avoiding aluminum in electrical connections in our cars due to the elements we live in. Copper does not have the same problems to any measureable degree.

Good luck.

 

[350]

I've had Gary's 1/0 battery cable kit for years now and never had any kind of electrical issues, for how often I drive the car it's probably not worth doing much past that, but has anyone with the kit done a few extra grounds? I only ask cause the kit I had on my TBSS had about 4 extra grounds, I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to use some of the spare 4 gauge wiring I have lying around and go from the battery to engine bolt down to the frame.

Grounding seems like one of those things a lot of people overlook, as stupid as it sounds I swear on the cars I've done this to they idle smoother (could be placebo) and I don't run into any dimming even with a large sub amp. Currently doing this to my TL, found a few premade Grote 1 gauge cables that were dirt cheap and should work well.

 

[1slow96]

Multiple/redundant grounds are useful in preventing many mysterious electrical problems. I have grounded everything to the frame using 1/0 welding cable,then grounding the body to the motor w/heavy-braid strap.