I noticed that when I was cranking my '34 Ford the other night there were sparks flying across my metal kickdown lever for my overdrive and the metal floor. I have a very poxy grounding strap going from my exhaust manifold to the frame, it is most pitiful and thin. However I didn't notice any sparks at the grounding strap. Surely if the gearbox and engine are bolted together you would expect there to be no grounding issues. Did cars have more than one grounding strap? Obviously the first job is to buy a beefy strap instead of relying on pieces of junk lying around, which is my normal method of doing things. The kickdown lever itself is not electrically operated, it's a simple mechinacal thingy. Should my OD solenoid be grounded externally also? There does appear to be a screw on the body of the solenoid that looks made for that purpose. Any help would be appreciated, even though there is a nice light show inside the car when I'm cranking it's engine over.
Nadeem, I think you already know this one....gotta have a heavy ground strap from the engine to the frame and another one from the body to the frame. That said, I have welded a bolt to the frame, bolted the battery ground to the welded bolt and then grounded the car's starter to another welded-on bolt somewhere on the frame. Works for me even though DeSoto will tell us we HAVE TO run the ground cable from the battery to the starter bolt.
I like to use typical Ford "switch to starter" cables for the ground cable from my engine to the frame/body. You can find 'em in the aisle of your parts joint with the "regular" battery cables...just a battery cable with an eyelet at each end...available in various lengths. Overkill? Yeah, kinda...but it makes for a damn good ground!
Nads - put a proper ground on that thing! [ QUOTE ] That said, I have welded a bolt to the frame, bolted the battery ground to the welded bolt and then grounded the car's starter to another welded-on bolt somewhere on the frame. Works for me even though DeSoto will tell us we HAVE TO run the ground cable from the battery to the starter bolt. [/ QUOTE ] I didn't mention this in the post about grounds ( Ground Thread ) This works well if maintained. The frame can carry more current than ANY cable could ever hope to. However, the more contacts you have (batt-cable, cable-frame, frame-cable, cable-starter), the more chances of poor connections, corrosion, etc. Consequently, the more potential trouble spots you've got. Welded studs need to be carefully ground around the edges to allow the cable lug to sit flush & make good contact. Dielectric grease is beneficial to help keep things clean too. Star washers if you can find 'em that large are useful too, but regular lock washers work. It's really only a factor for trunk/remote mounted batteries anyway. If your battery is under the hood or under the floor, the cable run directly to the starter is short enough that you should do it with the highest quality, multi-fine-strand welding cable in the largest gauge possible (1/0 works well). The ****ty 4/0 gauge pre-fab cables at the computer-game "parts" stores are a complete joke. I use 1/0 welding cable from the local welding supply house & solder-on ends. The crimp terminals are **** & tough to do even half-***ed w/o a hydraulic crimper. The bolt-on battery terminals are a joke as well. Get some solder-on terminals & either find a soldering gun large enough or use a propane torch. The last set I made up I used 00 gauge!! I get virtually zero voltage drop at the starter.
Having moved half way around the Earth to his present home, I don't think Nads has a serious concept of being well grounded... (That was for fun, Nads, not a dig, I think it's cool moving all over, since I haven't..)
Hey Nads how are you and your beautiful family doing? You should run a cable from your battery gd to a bell housing bolt and another one from the bh/motor to the frame. Manifolf,or waterpump,or bh bolt.Also ground the body. Sold the `34,got another Triumph. Hope I catch you later.Maybe Daytona? JR...
A good ground strap to the ****** is a must. Most transmissions aren't painted. Most engines are. That thin layer of paint between mounting surfaces will act as a resistor or even an insulator. A trans with any type of electrics within will develope problems without a proper ground.
you forgot to take off your tap dancing shoes, thats where the sparks are coming from. prolly' still wearing your tights too, you freaking fruitcake!
Thanks for the advice fellas. I've been meaning to run heavy gauge battery cables too, the old ones are measly and pathetic, like Calista Flockhart's **** cheeks. Hey Mike, I got the caps, but I have a feeling they're trailer caps. I picked up the boat today and it has one cap exactly like the ones I bought. Me can run the caps by after work and see if they be fit. Blownranger, I don't know if we're too late to set up in Daytona, but I'll be out there anyway, I can't wait to see you again.
I had one of those flat braided copper ground straps from the bellhousing to the frame. A while back when I had trouble with vapor-lock and oc***ionally had to crank the engine quite a while, that ground strap got so hot it melted! Replaced it with a big burly battery cable wire and no troubles since. It is amazing to me that an engine/trans which is bolted to a frame still needs to be grounded - but that's because I am electrically challenged.
The Jalopy Journal
