Reaffirming the importance of grounding!
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 486
Likes: 0
From: KY
Originally posted by seventhgear
hey...BLACK13B
u said from the battery to the l-coil...... where on the battery? neg? pos?
jack
hey...BLACK13B
u said from the battery to the l-coil...... where on the battery? neg? pos?
jack
Be careful, though, because some cars were grounded positive.
Rotary Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 757
Likes: 0
From: NW Arkansas
i grounded my 323 with some steel cable from lowes. about 3 dollars in parts. it was clear, 1/2" and i used two of them, one for each hanger. i used yellow eds though cause yellow makes it faster.
i love grounding engines.
i love grounding engines.
lol cap'n 
i just threw one on to the lead coil mount just to see if it made a difference.. and it DID.. ive been having too much fun driving around now to pop the hood again and do a clean job and add another ground.. but i will
WHAT cars have power to the fenders and stuff!! that defies all electrical knowledge that.. i.. know.. you know?
to me, "positive grounded" doesnt even work as far as i know.. if i ever met a car with "positive grounds" id run..
i just threw one on to the lead coil mount just to see if it made a difference.. and it DID.. ive been having too much fun driving around now to pop the hood again and do a clean job and add another ground.. but i will
Be careful, though, because some cars were grounded positive.
to me, "positive grounded" doesnt even work as far as i know.. if i ever met a car with "positive grounds" id run..
Originally posted by banzaitoyota
Old Jags, early mg's Old lotus's all had + ground
Old Jags, early mg's Old lotus's all had + ground
I'm happy to see that people are taking this grounding issue seriously. I learned my lesson with an old accord. It wasn't running well, and kept snapping clutch lines. When it did, the engine would stall. Turns out the grounding strap had failed, and now the clutch line was taking up grounding duties. It would heat up, and then snap when I shifted. $8 in wire later, the car ran like a dream.
Eat, sleep, work, mod.
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,517
Likes: 0
From: Long Island
I have the HKS circle earth kit...anyone think I should move one of their grounding points to the adjuster bolt on the alternator? The points I currently have are 1 on the coil closest to the firewall, 2 on the firewall itself and one on the side of the intake manifold (driver's side, theres a connector there and a 10mm bolt). My 3800 rpm hesitation went away for sure when I put the kit in though I still have to clean up the firewall points (didn't scuff anything, was in a rush hehe) and my lean/rich adjust switch for the idle is shot. So should I move the intake manifold point to the alternator adjustment bolt? I'm leaving the idle switch as is bc I just ordered my complete TII motor w/ streetport and rebuild from kevin landers. (no more o this NA stuff for me hehe) 
Full Member
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 228
Likes: 0
From: Santa Barbara, CA
Originally posted by Black13B
it works man seriously
im still shocked at the difference that one ground wire made!
it works man seriously
im still shocked at the difference that one ground wire made!
Originally posted by jon88se
I read someplace that the best grounds will be AWAY from electrical components...any thoughts?
I read someplace that the best grounds will be AWAY from electrical components...any thoughts?
new grounds never hurt, they only help.. but yeah usual places for solid grounds are the body/frame, mounting brackets (for coils or alternators etc), and the engine itself.. in general anyways this is where grounds are usually on cars
Well, after new altenator.. new battery, and 4 new ground wires... one on each side of engine going to chassis. one from negitive batt to chassis and one more from altenator mount to neg batt i am still getting flicker.
WHen i press on brakes at night i still get dimming of front lights and radio. I do not have any aftermarket accessorys besides an E-fan. and i am still getting 3800 Hesitation even after ground the fuel rail to the fire wall.
What is wrong with my car.. lol, it's getting kinda funny.
THanks.. Markus
WHen i press on brakes at night i still get dimming of front lights and radio. I do not have any aftermarket accessorys besides an E-fan. and i am still getting 3800 Hesitation even after ground the fuel rail to the fire wall.
What is wrong with my car.. lol, it's getting kinda funny.
THanks.. Markus
I am currious if you took, 24 inches of 1guage wire then connect it to a metal plate plummed with six holes, then from these six holes would be the following with;
4 gage = alternator
= leading coil
= trailing coil
6 gage= block or intake
= tranny most likey one of the mounting points of starter
= Firewall
then after the wires are all conected to the metal plate dip it in a melted plastic and coat it with plastic to keep from corrosion;
This is what i had planned on doing anybody?
4 gage = alternator
= leading coil
= trailing coil
6 gage= block or intake
= tranny most likey one of the mounting points of starter
= Firewall
then after the wires are all conected to the metal plate dip it in a melted plastic and coat it with plastic to keep from corrosion;
This is what i had planned on doing anybody?
pei > caek
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 4,643
Likes: 0
From: Mars
I have a big maze of ground wires going around my engine bay. They all contact one another at some point heh 
I currently have a 4 gauge wire from the stock pos terminal going to my battery in the back of the car, a ground wire going from bat neg to the body of the car at the back, and also running up to the engine bay on the pass side.
But Im going to be taking a second positive from the alt to the pos battery terminal, taking a second negative from the battery to the starter and the coils, and connecting that into the rest of the ground system.
In total Ill probably have 6 new ground points in the engine bay.
I currently have a 4 gauge wire from the stock pos terminal going to my battery in the back of the car, a ground wire going from bat neg to the body of the car at the back, and also running up to the engine bay on the pass side.But Im going to be taking a second positive from the alt to the pos battery terminal, taking a second negative from the battery to the starter and the coils, and connecting that into the rest of the ground system.
In total Ill probably have 6 new ground points in the engine bay.
Originally posted by jreynish
I am currious if you took, 24 inches of 1guage wire then connect it to a metal plate plummed with six holes, then from these six holes would be the following with;
4 gage = alternator
= leading coil
= trailing coil
6 gage= block or intake
= tranny most likey one of the mounting points of starter
= Firewall
then after the wires are all conected to the metal plate dip it in a melted plastic and coat it with plastic to keep from corrosion;
This is what i had planned on doing anybody?
I am currious if you took, 24 inches of 1guage wire then connect it to a metal plate plummed with six holes, then from these six holes would be the following with;
4 gage = alternator
= leading coil
= trailing coil
6 gage= block or intake
= tranny most likey one of the mounting points of starter
= Firewall
then after the wires are all conected to the metal plate dip it in a melted plastic and coat it with plastic to keep from corrosion;
This is what i had planned on doing anybody?
Except you obviously need to leave some metal exposed on the plate, otherwise there's no ground.
Last edited by JerryLH3; Apr 24, 2003 at 04:20 PM.
Are you sure you don't want to buy it for $152? Or maybe this one for $240:
Just a bit overpriced in my opinion. I bought 2 AWG wire from Lowe's for $0.99/ft. I imagine the entire charging sytem could be rewired with additional grounds for $50.
Just a bit overpriced in my opinion. I bought 2 AWG wire from Lowe's for $0.99/ft. I imagine the entire charging sytem could be rewired with additional grounds for $50.
Refined Valley Dude
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2,283
Likes: 2
From: Kitchener, Ontario (Hamilton's armpit)
Originally posted by Amur_ a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
I got a little happy with ground wires on my NA FC, both to help my alternator and to chase the 3800 stumble (which I finally did eliminate.)
Using 6-gauge automotive wire (make sure it's the multi-strand automotive wire - don't use anything else - and don't use anything smaller than 10 gauge) I installed a ground wire:
1) from the negative battery terminal to the chasis (the outer bolt holding the master fuse block in place on front of the strut tower.)
2) from the alternator's tension adjusting bolt to the battery's negative terminal.
3) to replace the ground wire on the backside of the engine (running from the tranny housing to a nut up by the wiper motor.)
4) on the ECU harness in the passenger footwell. But this was a 3800 stumble fix and may not be for you. I don't have the desc. in front of me but a write-up does appear in a few FAQs out there... Also added a ground at the air boost sensor for the 3800 fix (which was what finally nixed it.) I used 12 gauge wire for these two lines, btw.
5) to replace the main engine ground (from behind the plugs/under the oil filter to the chassis.)
6) from the y-pipe (where your exhaust splits to go out to your mufflers) to the chassis. There's supposed to be a factory ground there, but 15 years on the road tends to nuke them.
You might consider adding grounding straps to the back of your car, too. I haven't, but that's because I'm willing to forgoe whatever the benefit is rather than sport attachments that I think look retarded. I don't have tassels on my coat and I'll be damned if I'll have any on my rotary rocket.
Make sure that all your connections are clean. Scrape away paint and remove any dirt or oil. Use an external tooth washer between each connector and the surface, if you can. And tighten the hell out of it. Use a spray-on enamel or good-sized dollop of di-electric grease on all the ground points to inihibit corrosion (if they start to rust they won't be as effective - my boost-sensor ground started to corrode not long after I put it in - I first noticed it when the stubmle started re-appearing! I cleaned it up and nailed it with di-electric grease and she's been fine ever since.)
ttyl,
Amur_
I got a little happy with ground wires on my NA FC, both to help my alternator and to chase the 3800 stumble (which I finally did eliminate.)
Using 6-gauge automotive wire (make sure it's the multi-strand automotive wire - don't use anything else - and don't use anything smaller than 10 gauge) I installed a ground wire:
1) from the negative battery terminal to the chasis (the outer bolt holding the master fuse block in place on front of the strut tower.)
2) from the alternator's tension adjusting bolt to the battery's negative terminal.
3) to replace the ground wire on the backside of the engine (running from the tranny housing to a nut up by the wiper motor.)
4) on the ECU harness in the passenger footwell. But this was a 3800 stumble fix and may not be for you. I don't have the desc. in front of me but a write-up does appear in a few FAQs out there... Also added a ground at the air boost sensor for the 3800 fix (which was what finally nixed it.) I used 12 gauge wire for these two lines, btw.
5) to replace the main engine ground (from behind the plugs/under the oil filter to the chassis.)
6) from the y-pipe (where your exhaust splits to go out to your mufflers) to the chassis. There's supposed to be a factory ground there, but 15 years on the road tends to nuke them.
You might consider adding grounding straps to the back of your car, too. I haven't, but that's because I'm willing to forgoe whatever the benefit is rather than sport attachments that I think look retarded. I don't have tassels on my coat and I'll be damned if I'll have any on my rotary rocket.
Make sure that all your connections are clean. Scrape away paint and remove any dirt or oil. Use an external tooth washer between each connector and the surface, if you can. And tighten the hell out of it. Use a spray-on enamel or good-sized dollop of di-electric grease on all the ground points to inihibit corrosion (if they start to rust they won't be as effective - my boost-sensor ground started to corrode not long after I put it in - I first noticed it when the stubmle started re-appearing! I cleaned it up and nailed it with di-electric grease and she's been fine ever since.)
ttyl,
Amur_
Refined Valley Dude
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2,283
Likes: 2
From: Kitchener, Ontario (Hamilton's armpit)
I'll have to take a pic. My terminals have clamps that the main pos and neg cables are held by. These clamps use nuts and bolts and so I crimped ring connectors on the ends of the 'new' ground wires and bolted one end to the neg clamp.
Hope that makes sense. I'll try to get a pic tomorrow.
Hope that makes sense. I'll try to get a pic tomorrow.
i recentlly put the HKS ground kit on my car.. i made some minor changes as were the went and added a cupple extras but i def feel some diff... i now have the ecu - both coils- the fire wall - shock tower - exhaust - tranny -- altenator -- the two ground wire's coming out of the engine injector harness
over killl is better than under kill
next i'm going to run one to the fuel pump
over killl is better than under kill
next i'm going to run one to the fuel pump