nad1967

I took out my transmission and forgot where the stock (negative) battery ground goes to. Can somebody get real specific with me? thanks

HAILERS

It attaches to the long, outboard bolt that holds the starter on.

nad1967

Thanks, it seemed like it went there but just wanted to make sure, better safe than toast.

devius

does anybody have a picture of this? i need to replace mine too.

NZConvertible

Bolt 'a' is the one Hailers is referring to.

nad1967

So why don't they have a picture of the ground going to the long bolt for dummies like me?

Infini IV

Does it matter if the ground is attached to the starter side or the engine side? I accidently hooked it up to the engine side and its such a bitch to take off the bolt.....

SureShot

No matter as long as you have clean bright shiny metal to metal contact.

fastrotaries

i would throw and additional ground from battery to engine block, or tranny. I used the holes right above the trailing plugs which are already threaded.

javrosario

iTrader: (5)

Sorry to bring this post back, but the ground cable goes on the top driver side transmission bolt. The one close the oil filter.

HAILERS

No...*It attaches to the long, outboard bolt that holds the starter on**

Rotory

iTrader: (1)

well ther is on that goes from the bell housing on the transmission to somewhere on the engine right?

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

There is also a ground that goes from the top tranny bolt to the firewall.

boosted1205

iTrader: (9)

The veterans here know there are more than 1 ground cable. There's the main ground going to the starter bolt, there's one from the bellhousing to the firewall (near the wiper motor via spade connector), one below the throttle body (ring connector), one below the stock air filter (ring connector) and that's for just the engine bay.
Our cars are old and most wires are corroded. You should add grounds before problems arise or if you have wierd problems that seems electrical, it could be the grounds. Some here have had great success by adding new grounds or cleaning up the stock ones.

HAILERS

The ones under the intake are fairly important. Those on the ring are for......the ECU. As in ECU grounds. No ECU ground....no starty.

MRey

someone got pictures for all the grounds?

Project84

It matters! I did that by accident, and when I turned the key, the battery started sparking and the starter started smoking. I toasted the ECU and I'm still troubleshooting stuff throughout the car trying to figure why it idles, but if I hit the gas, it still idles instead of revving up. DO NOT HOOK THE STARTER UP WRONG, AND DO NOT HOOK IT UP BACKWARDS!

This is a public service announcement brought to you by someone who has already made this mistake so you don't have to.

gbowers

Hi, just curious why you indicated "most wires are corroded" on older RX7s. My 1988 RX7 SE does not appear to have any corroded wires and all wiring harnesses seem ok - although engine wiring harness on drivers side is dirty with oil.

Thanks,

Gordon

SomeDude

I am slightly confused as to why it would matter? Isnt he talking about whether the grounding cable is attached to the engine side of the bolt, or the starter side of the bolt? Since they both would be contacting the eingine, directly or indirectly (which is suppose to be/provide a ground in itself) then why would this matter? Can someone confirm or deny what he just said? Because it seems a slightly odd thing.

BTW, nice picture NZ- thanks

Rotory

iTrader: (1)

um sorry to bring this up from the dead but i was interested in HAILERS comment about the ring connector under the intake. Under which part of the intake? The intake manifold or the intake box. Im not sure exactly where you meant and i know i have never cleaned that ground and every wire in my car is corroded so im trying to get them all clean, because im having some pretty bad electrical problems. And my car wont start when cold so i want to knock off some culprits

NZConvertible

Under the intake manifold, on the engine itself.

HAILERS

Its the ground for the ECU. It's located two inches left of centerline on the rear rotor housing. The throttle body has to be removed to access it. It's two/three twenty gauge wires connected to a ring terminal and bolted down with a 10mm size bolt. Black wires.

The other question above about the battery ground. It goes on the long bolt of the starter. Forward side but if you put it on the aft side of the bolt it won't matter. What Project84 is talking about is that he connected it not to the long bolt on the starter but the solenoid itself. That's a no-no. Big time no-no.

GTUser

Today I was working on a electrical short that fried my hydraulic line. I traced the battery negative ground cable and found two copper connections on it. One is about midway along the cable and attaches with a bolt to the drivers side fender well in the engine bay. I found that the terminal connector was not connected to anything but seems to have been grounding against the transmission housing. I also am wondering where the connector should be bolted. Based on its length and location it would appear that the transmission bolt or the starter bolt would be appropriate.

My car is an 89 GTU and it appears to have the original starter and negative battery cable. Can someone verify that what I found is a stock routing for the system ground?

Rotory

iTrader: (1)

thanks hailers im gonna go look tomorrow if its not too cold....can it be accessed by just removing the bolts for the intake manifold or do i have to undo that damn water hose connecting it to the motor?

Rotory

iTrader: (1)

i have looked and looked for the ring connector ground under the intake and the only ground im finding is the one going from the end plate to the spade right by the wiper motor... anyone have pics of the ground ICEMARK is talking about.