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Apr 26th, 2026 | | AD Chevy Trucks  Over 6,000 pictures Brad Allen has an awesome collection of Chevrolet factory pictures that he has set up from film strips. Check them out!
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| | | | Joined: May 2010 Posts: 74 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: May 2010 Posts: 74 | After spending a good bit of time trying to figure out why the taillights (and brake lights) were not working, I finally figured out that the light housings were not grounded. I rigged up a ground and now they are working, but I cannot figure out how they are correctly supposed to be grounded. I tried checking the assembly and shop manuals, but could not find the details in there. Any help is appreciated. | | | | | Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 29,269 Bubba - Curmudgeon | | Bubba - Curmudgeon Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 29,269 |
them bones, them bones, them dry bones, . . .
The ground comes from the battery, which is connected to the frame, which is connected to the sheet metal (and the engine), which is connected to the sheet metal, which is connected to the lamp housing, which is connected to the lamp socket, which is connected to the side of the bulb.
If at any point there is not a clean bolt/screw connection, the ground degrades from poor to none. Clean grounds, clean metal, and a conductive anti-oxidant grease make for good ground connections.
Does anyone know what year GM started using wire ground leads?
| | | | | Joined: May 2010 Posts: 74 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: May 2010 Posts: 74 | thanks. I was wondering whether it is supposed to ground through the mounting screws, or whether there was a wire that I was missing. From your post, I assume it is supposed to ground through the mounting screws. The housing seemed to have an extra hole, and I wondered whether it was for a ground wire. I added a wire from the mounting screw to the frame, and that took care of the problem for the moment. I'll check the holes for the mounting screws and make sure they are bare (no primer or anything else). | | | | | Joined: Jul 2001 Posts: 3,887 Cruising in the Passing Lane | | Cruising in the Passing Lane Joined: Jul 2001 Posts: 3,887 | I think the 'extra' hole you refer to would be the one at the bottom for water drainage ... the correct mounting screws should cut in enough to get a good ground ... if your body doesn't supply a good ground you probably don't have the battery ground wire connected to the right place, which would be to the boss just behind the battery on the firewall - then there's also a ground strap from the toeboard below to a starter mount bolt
Bill | | |
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