The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay ground wires

I want to add more ground wires to my truck ( I.E. - body to frame ,frame to engine ,etc. ). Where can I purchase the appropriate cables or wires ? Does it have to be the braided type or can you use a regular wire such as 10 ga or ...? I'm having a problem with my charging system and have been told I have some bad grounds or insufficient grounds . Where can I get what I need ? Thanks !

Your local parts store should be able to take good care of those needs.

I would suggest you go with the braided strap type. No only does one need the connection to be electrically sound, but also able to handle vibration and movement between the different parts. The ground strap was designed for this situation.

A piece of regular #12 primary wire with terminal lugs soldered, not crimped in place will outlive you, and possibly your grandchildren, if you install it with about an inch of slack or a loop to take into account any body/frame movement. The problem occurs when such things as taillight housings or sockets get a layer of rust between the bulb holder and the body, or similar situations with items that need a chassis ground. Get the ground wire as close to the item having the problem as possible to eliminate as many mechanical connections as possible. Occasionally, I've had to solder a ground wire directly to a bulb socket.
Jerry

I went to Advance AP and bought two new braided ground straps .I replaced the original one from firewall to engine and put one from engine to frame . I will use the original firewall strap to ground the bed to the frame . All mounting areas were cleaned with a file and sandpaper to assure good contact .I started the engine afterward and I still have a slight discharge at idle and a 8 - 10 amp discharge ( at idle ) with the headlights on .The slight discharge ( at idle )could be inaccuracy of the gauge but the large discharge is worrisome . To get the ammeter to show a neutral ( 0 ) on the gauge , with the head lights on , you have to rev it up to approx. 1900 rpm's . After that , it shows a small charge . The alternator has been checked numerous times and passed each time . The regulator is a new solid state unit which was installed last week .The battery also has been checked and is okay . Any help will be appreciated ! P.S. -I don't know JDL's location but otherwise this has been an all Tn . thread !

Jordan is in southwest Indiana, and I'll mess the thread up, as I'm in east central Illionois.
I went the same route that Jerry mentions, exept I used 10 guage cable (just 'cuz that's what I had on hand). In addition to making sure i had metal to metal contact by sanding the contact area bare, I overcoated the area with a sealer coat to prevent corrosion after the connection was made. Rand leads form both taillights to the bed, one from the bed to the cab, plus the ignition module and tahc have separate grounds direct to a common ground stud mounted on the bottom of the cab which also mount the negative battery cable. The mounting stud is stainless for corrosion resistance, as are all bolts/screws used for grond wires.

Has anyuone actually measured the output of the alternator, and then checked to see how much charge the battery is getting? (On the truck- - - -not with the alternator on a test bench.) I'm going to guess you're probably getting more charge than the dash-mounted ammeter is showing. Without an accurate volts/ampere tester, and an experienced technician to interpret what it's indicating, you're shooting in the dark. If you can get the truck to Nashville sometime, I've got about $50,000.00 worth of specialized electronic test equipment available to diagnose the problem. I just can't haul it to Chattanooga anytime soon!
Jerry