ok guys, this is a dumb one, but i want to make sure im right in my thinking. not the best at fixing cars. *what is causing the issue of flickering lights?? *you will need to know that i have a cracked motor mount. i plan to fix it, but not today. *its a 12V system with a painless wiring kit *here is the path........ *from the battery runs the ground wire. *it goes behind the engine and is bolted to the "head". *now.... *when i put my car in reverse, the motor jerks(because of cracked motor mount, or thats *why its cracked. chicken and the egg theory). *either way, when i put it in reverse, hit a pot hole, and/or get on it kinda hard, the lights flicker. *aaallll the lights......head lights, tail lights, and dash lights. plus.... the gauges go crazy! *doesn't do it running normal like 40 mph, something has to move the motor. *i "think thats the problem" anyway. *i have seen the crack...its not huge, but it is there. *my plan is to re-route my ground wire to the frame directly. *do you think this is a good plan to fix the problem?? *is it the correct way to run the wire anyway(i kinda thought so, but im a *****). if so, what would be the reason for the previous owner to have done it like that in the first place? *the ground wire is BOLTED to the back side of the head. *when/if i remove it, there will be a hole in place that it was bolted. what do i do with that? put bolt in? need torqued? *any advise besides "fix the motor mount". i already know that one! thanks again to everyone who has helped me over the past few months with dumb question after dumb question!!!
The lights ground through the body. The ground is connected to the motor. I'd suggest another ground strap to the body and the frame. Since you asked about the bolt hole, let's make this simple. Get another fairly big wire or as the other poster said, a woven ground strap,and connect it at the same place on the motor. Connect the other end to the body, usually on the firewall. If your ground cable has a pigtail near the battery end, connect a wire to that and the frame. Otherwise, connect another wire to the body and then also to the frame. Oh, and fix the motor mount!
Ground strap from the engine to the frame. Often forgotten, easy to fix. I doubt the motor mount is the cause, but the lack of proper grounding is giving you a phantom symptom that makes it look that way.
The engine and frame both need grounds. Nice and clean to bear metal don't count the bolt as the contact point. Then once metal to metal is done, you should have great grounds and lots of tiny gremlins dissapear.
There is no such thing as too well grounded; bad grounds are the root of all electrical evil. Maybe not ALL, but they have given me enough headaches over the years to be number one on my list of suspects when the electrons don't go where they are supposed to.
if i understand....BOTH the ENGINE and the FRAME need a wire coming from the battery? my plan was to "lose" the ground to the engine....that will not work?? thanks thanks thanks
The correct way IS to run the ground to the engine, so you have that part correct. A double ground from engine to frame is good insurance. Oh.......fix the motor mount. Frank
I have seen the ground to the block ,then to the frame but dont forget the body ,most light sockets themselves carrythe ground through the body.
You need a big black wire from the battery negative (-) to the block, the bigger the better. Stay away from those bolt on battery terminals (the type that "clamp" to the wire) and go to a store that will crimp the ends on the wire for you. Then put a ground strap from the block to the frame. Also use a strap from the frame to the firewall. No kidding, the bigger the better. All the current from your electrical system is flowing through these grounds, so a larger wire will help eliminate current loss, thus easing the load on your alternator.
That will cause anarchy in your ignition system if you do. The engine is isolated from battery ground mostly, if you think about the engine and transmission mounting you will see why you need both; rubber hoses and motor mounts the engine is bolted to the transmission but, has grease in the u-joints and probably rubber in the trans mounts as well.
If you do that your starter motor will seek it's needed ground through the carburetor and transmission shift linkage. THis may be the only way you're getting ground to the body now. You probably should run a ground to the front sheet metal clip/fenders too, just in case they aren't getting a good ground from the cowl or core support bolts.
Dear James Maxwell, The reason people dont work on their cars themselves is they dont know how to!! so they come onto a web site that offers help and allows someone the opportunity to learn to do it themselves. All though a lot of the questions may seem elementary to a genius like you...they are still welcomed by nice people. they are, obviously, not welcomed by jerk offs like you. A jerk off that thinks he is soooo special cause they know that one shouldnt "lose the ground wire to their engine". thank god for allowing us humans to have "jerk off's", like you. it makes it so much easier to notice and appriciate the nice people that dont mind answering a few questions. however elementary they may be. i wonder what GOD would consider more "special"... someone with the knowledge of where the ground wire goes(obviously very elementary)...........or........ someone willing to take the 4 seconds to explain to someone who doesnt know?? to everyone else. I thank you all for taking the time to explain it. that seems to be the normal way of the hamb. thats why the site and the hobby keeps getting bigger!! unfortunatly there is more then one in every crowd. Chris
that isnt even what i asked.... read before you comment MR. Maxwell. not that my question was any better, but still! lol
The best way is Run a large cable from Neg battery to engine block, preferably NEAR the starter. Bun another large cable (or strap) from the same place on the engine block to the frame. Run a medium sized cable or strap from the engine block to the car body. Done, now everything is happy, even with a broken motor mount. (You might could run the engine to frame strap extra tight on the side with the broken mount to hold the engine down....)
Herb, it just caught me as strange that a person with electrical woes would be taking OFF a ground strap. Carry on.
All of my 60s and 70s cars have the main grounding cable to the engine. Then the engine become the ground for the heaviest current draw which is the starter. Then they usually have two grounding straps to the body from the engine which is grounded with the battery negative cable( bigger the better to a point) There is also a single wire from the negative which is about a 12 gauge wire to the fender. Other than that, there is no ground to the frame. The body ground will control your lights, ignition etc!! Pretty much everything except the starter. So I'm thinking the frame ground is just an extra ground that is not really nessesary unless you are using it for tying other high current circuit grounds to.Theres enough ground usually for the frame through the body. Most of my cars are Musclecars and like I said, I have never seen a frame ground. Body and engine is a must, frame is an option for more ground. You can never have too many grounds!!! 80s and 90s cars were notorious for bad grounds!!!
(You might could run the engine to frame strap extra tight on the side with the broken mount to hold the engine down....) [/QUOTE] this sir....is funny. real funny!! thanks for the laugh and all the advice. the ground strap from the firewall goes to the transmission. near the engine. im ***uming that it is close enough. AND IT WAS NOT CONNECTED!!! told you in the first post that im a *****!! now, i have not seen any ground straps going to the frame. my newest question is...can i run a strap from the same place that the body is ground to the engine? meaning... 1 wire goes from battery to back engine. 1 strap goes from back of engine to firewall. 1 strap goes from back of engine to the frame......will this work?? thanks again.
Like I posted, I have never seen a ground strap to the frame but it couldn't hurt. You can run all ground straps from the same point where the ground wire connects or rub the ground wire from the batery to the shortest point to the engine and then from the back of the engine down to the frame. It really doesn't matter.
Start just by adding a second ground off the engine to the frame, it doesn't matter where on either component, as long as it's a clean connection that can be gently torqued. Then when you're in there, run another smaller strap off the frame and onto the radiator support. Headlights are reasonably high demand and ground thru the radiator support. Old cars rarely have good grounding on the radiator support due to corrosion on mounting bolts. But before you do anything, turn the lights on and shake both battery cables by hand. You may just have one cable with a sketchy connection. good luck
my newest question is...can i run a strap from the same place that the body is ground to the engine? meaning... 1 wire goes from battery to back engine. 1 strap goes from back of engine to firewall. 1 strap goes from back of engine to the frame......will this work?? thanks again.[/QUOTE] The block itself is a large complete chunk of metal. There should be no problem connecting a ground to any point on it to complete the ground circuit. However, it is nice to have it away from hot (exhaust) and spinning (front accessories). The main current flows through the block are the starter (biggest draw on the car!), the charging system thru the gen/alt. case (make sure the mounting points are clean!) and the ignition system (fairly low amps, but high voltage decay = noise). The connection from the battery to the engine should be big. The frame, as mentioned should not carry much current. Some vehicles may have grounds to the frame. A gas gauge comes to mind. This can be fairly small and connect to the body or engine. The body completes the accessories circuits. Lights, wipers, horn, radio, power stuff. This is not a solid chunk like the engine, but many parts bolted together. A good connection either from the battery (there is often a smaller lead coming from the battery end of the cable) or a decent size cable from the block (usually near the back to be out of the way and closer to the firewall) to the body. This does not have to connect at the same point as the big battery cable on the block. Does that cover it?
Anytime I run or renew a ground , the surface is sanded or cleaned with scotchbrite pads then greased with vasoline , DrHerb your motor mounts probably are not cracked - it's the rubber that deteriorates
ok....i found the ground strap!!! it was hidden behind the ditributer!! it had been ripped out of its connector(small washer/connector combo job with crimpable ends??)at the engine/****** when the body was raised a few years ago. it hasnt been driven until i got the car. when i found it, it was hanging on by a thread, but the rest of the wires where "resting" on the connector itself. probably why sometimes it worked, sometimes it didnt. it originally ran from the fire wall to the bell housing cover part of the ******, where the ****** bolted to the engine....but it was to short...hence 2 pages of posts on a very simple problem, so i rerouted it to a different bolt, closer to the firewall....whualla!!! presto!!! magic!!! or just basic automotive wiring!! but however basic it is...i dont think i could have ever figured it out... THANK YOU ALL!!! now....can anyone walk me through how to rebuild my transmision on here?? i will start taking it apart...... just kidding!! Chris p.s. went to our first car show/drive in movie tonight with the car because of all yalls help, my little boy had a ball and so did we. thanks again!!
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