Bad grounding

[F14CRAZY]

Howdy. My '93 Limited supposedly has bad body grounds...

Recently, I noticed that my radio (stock) would simply lose power once in a while. The buttons lit up (with the headlights or parks on) but the clock wasn't on and the buttons didn't respond. It would come and go. When the radio was working more or less correctly, the clock setting would be lost when the vehicle was started.

Furthermore, at normal idle, the blower motor would slightly slow down and the headlights would slightly dim. Thinking this was a battery or alternator problem, I took it to Advance auto parts and had them test the system. It checked out fine (rebuilt alternator less than a year ago, and a $80 Interstate battery a couple years ago). The dude said that my body grounds were bad. If it matters, I've been keeping the terminals on the battery and the cables clean/free of corrosion.

So to fix this, I plan on picking up some generic battery cables and connecting one to the frame and one to the body under the hood somewhere, and connecting those back to the battery (and keeping the original ground cable). The original cable goes under the truck and I've had enough of that.

This sound good? Thanks.

 

[410Fortune]

the - cable goes to the frame and then back to the 4.0L engine block near your oil filter. It also has a small lead that goes to the radiator support and a medium lead that goes to the black/white ground wires for your computer.

You can simply replace this cable with a new one, a generic replacement will work, you just have to get the correct number of leads (on your truck I think 3) and the correct length.

Make sure you clean up the frame when you put the new cable in so it is metal on metal. I also prefer to solder all splices and new terminal ends (like new O ring terminal) if any are needed.

Your engine also has a cable on it that goes from the back of the intake manifold to your firewall near the brake booster. Check the condition of this strap as well. There are others too that go from body to frame, if you look at the hood and rocker panels you will see more.

I ran 2 gage stranded wire from my - battery post to my frame and engine.
I have no alternator whine through my stereo or CB amnd I have not had any charging problems or starting problems since

 

[yyc_tbird_sc]

Ditto....when I had the chance I changed the power cable to the solenoid and the grounds. I used a 2 gauge welding cable as a ground, but instead I drilled and tapped a hole directly into the frame, and then continued it onto the block. I left the stock ground from the block to firewall, as it never hurts. As well I also changed out the power lead from the back of the alternator to the solenoid to a 4 gauge welding cable.

All ends were soldered and heat shrunk/sealed. This works awesome and I'd recommend it for anyone.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Thanks. I'll do something soon when I feel like working in the cold again