Grounding Idea
Thread Starter
I am the stig.
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 614
Likes: 3
From: San Diego, CA
Grounding Idea
I don't know if this has been done or tried before, but it seems to be working for me. Please read and discuss, I'd like to know what you guys think about this.
My bro, who's pretty keen on electronics, suggested trying something to improve the grounding on my FC (87 n/a base, very stock). We picked up a "Switch to Starter" battery cable from my local Kragen (see attached pic) and put one end on the bolt where the stock ground wire connects to the engine, and the other end on the bolt for the negative terminal of the battery. Also in the process cleaning the contact areas with steel wool.
Normally the engine is grounded to the body and the negative terminal on the battery is also connected to the body. The body is a good, but not idea conductor and the stock grounding wire going to the engine is pretty weak. (And a bit filthy in my case.)
The idea here is to cut out the middle man and go from engine to negative with a beefy wire. We went with the starter-switch wire because it has the loop-type ends that would fit over a bolt easily. A 4ga wire might be a bit overkill, but you figure a starter is pulling a lot of current, so the wire needs to be low resistance. (And it wasn't too expensive at $8.)
We had the extention manifold off to replace the FPD, so we had easy access to the grounding bolt. In theory, you could connect the beefy ground wire to any bolt that goes into the core of the engine and get the same effect. (Clean the contact area with steel wool, of course.)
In addition to the other work (replace FPD, replace fuel lines, replace fuel filter, clean idiot light connector, unjam aux ports) the 3800 hesitation I was having seems to have cleared up, and my temp gauge reads correctly now, and my fuel gauge and clock work suddenly.
In a side note, while we had the extention manifold off, we unjammed the aux port actuators by spraying the actuator linkages and the secondary intake ports with a generous amount of carb cleaner and moving the actuators by hand. The carb cleaner breaks up the carbon deposits that jam up the aux port sleeves.
I'm just happy because my car runs great now.
-Twofer
My bro, who's pretty keen on electronics, suggested trying something to improve the grounding on my FC (87 n/a base, very stock). We picked up a "Switch to Starter" battery cable from my local Kragen (see attached pic) and put one end on the bolt where the stock ground wire connects to the engine, and the other end on the bolt for the negative terminal of the battery. Also in the process cleaning the contact areas with steel wool.
Normally the engine is grounded to the body and the negative terminal on the battery is also connected to the body. The body is a good, but not idea conductor and the stock grounding wire going to the engine is pretty weak. (And a bit filthy in my case.)
The idea here is to cut out the middle man and go from engine to negative with a beefy wire. We went with the starter-switch wire because it has the loop-type ends that would fit over a bolt easily. A 4ga wire might be a bit overkill, but you figure a starter is pulling a lot of current, so the wire needs to be low resistance. (And it wasn't too expensive at $8.)
We had the extention manifold off to replace the FPD, so we had easy access to the grounding bolt. In theory, you could connect the beefy ground wire to any bolt that goes into the core of the engine and get the same effect. (Clean the contact area with steel wool, of course.)
In addition to the other work (replace FPD, replace fuel lines, replace fuel filter, clean idiot light connector, unjam aux ports) the 3800 hesitation I was having seems to have cleared up, and my temp gauge reads correctly now, and my fuel gauge and clock work suddenly.
In a side note, while we had the extention manifold off, we unjammed the aux port actuators by spraying the actuator linkages and the secondary intake ports with a generous amount of carb cleaner and moving the actuators by hand. The carb cleaner breaks up the carbon deposits that jam up the aux port sleeves.
I'm just happy because my car runs great now.
-Twofer
hm... one thing i noticed, if you ground the airflow meter, the car runs amazingly better. nt just say a lil better. but i might have picked up 1 hp even.
o makesure you ground somewhere near the clutch slave cylendar to the firwall. like the tranny itself to the firewall. also, dont use a common ground. some idiots use it thinking its teh same. its not. also, try and solder the wires to the shasis and to ea ch place your connecting it.
o makesure you ground somewhere near the clutch slave cylendar to the firwall. like the tranny itself to the firewall. also, dont use a common ground. some idiots use it thinking its teh same. its not. also, try and solder the wires to the shasis and to ea ch place your connecting it.
HAILERS
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 20,563
Likes: 27
From: FORT WORTH, TEXAS,USA
I stopped reading early on. The reason is......the negative terminal of the battery goes to the engine. It should be attached to the long starter bolt or a bellhousing bolt. It's a large gauge wire and does not seem weak to me. That same wire that goes from the negative terminal also branches off and goes to the chassis just below the left strut tower.
So I'm being contentious and saying there is nothing weak about the ground b/t the battery/chassis/engine. Not mean spirited contentious but disagreeing with what you wrote.
So I'm being contentious and saying there is nothing weak about the ground b/t the battery/chassis/engine. Not mean spirited contentious but disagreeing with what you wrote.
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 29,798
Likes: 128
From: London, Ontario, Canada
The stock ground cable should have ran from the negative of the battery directly to the engine (connects to the starter mounting bolt). Halfway through that cable is a lug that is crimped on. This lug connects to the shock tower on the drivers side. In stock configuration, this cable is already a heavy gauge wire leads unbroken to the engine.
Just to clear that up....
But having more grounds is never a bad thing. 4 AWG is about the minimum size. 2 AWG is much better.
Just to clear that up....
But having more grounds is never a bad thing. 4 AWG is about the minimum size. 2 AWG is much better.
- Make Haste -
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,648
Likes: 0
From: Calgary, Alberta
Originally Posted by SirCygnus
hm... one thing i noticed, if you ground the airflow meter, the car runs amazingly better. nt just say a lil better. but i might have picked up 1 hp even.
o makesure you ground somewhere near the clutch slave cylendar to the firwall. like the tranny itself to the firewall. also, dont use a common ground. some idiots use it thinking its teh same. its not. also, try and solder the wires to the shasis and to ea ch place your connecting it.
o makesure you ground somewhere near the clutch slave cylendar to the firwall. like the tranny itself to the firewall. also, dont use a common ground. some idiots use it thinking its teh same. its not. also, try and solder the wires to the shasis and to ea ch place your connecting it.
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