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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!
Lots of work on Brad's part ... pure enjoyment (and references) for you!
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| | | | Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 940 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 940 | So, I think my answer is obvious but I want to confirm or disprove my suspicions.
Are the tail lamps on the AD pickups grounded thru the brackets and into the body?
I am replacing the brackets on mine and I had to cut the bolts. It got too dark to work so I ziptied the old brackets back to the stake pockets thru the original holes and now they don't work at all. Haven't had time to experiment yet as its been raining. | | | | | Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 6,377 Ex Hall Monitor | | Ex Hall Monitor Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 6,377 | The ground is through the housing into the body.
Save a life, adopt a senior shelter pet.
The three main causes of blindness: Cataracts, Politics, Religion.
Name your dog Naked so you can walk Naked in the park.
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 940 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 940 | Cool, thanks! That's what I thought. So, I'll need to toss a set of bolts thru to complete the circuit. should I sand the brackets where the bolts pass thru at the housing and the stake pocket? | | | | | Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 6,377 Ex Hall Monitor | | Ex Hall Monitor Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 6,377 | There's always a bit of a compromise in exposing metal to the environment to get a good ground when doing so promotes rust that kills the ground. I've had pretty good luck using star lock washers to provide a good ground.
Save a life, adopt a senior shelter pet.
The three main causes of blindness: Cataracts, Politics, Religion.
Name your dog Naked so you can walk Naked in the park.
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 940 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 940 | So you're just using the star washers against the painted metal and letting them dig in? | | | | | Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 6,377 Ex Hall Monitor | | Ex Hall Monitor Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 6,377 | That's what I do and it's worked well so far. There are times I have to scrape a bit of paint, you just need to play it by ear. If the star washers work for your application that is the way I'd go if it were me. If they don't work you'll have to scrape some paint.
Save a life, adopt a senior shelter pet.
The three main causes of blindness: Cataracts, Politics, Religion.
Name your dog Naked so you can walk Naked in the park.
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 940 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 940 | Cool. Thanks for the input. Much appreciated! | | | | | Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 4,983 Master Gabster | | Master Gabster Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 4,983 | Grounds on your Bolt are like money, you can't have too many.
~Jim
| | | | | Joined: Oct 2009 Posts: 201 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Oct 2009 Posts: 201 | Call me paranoid, but when I ran my new harness, I ran everything to one of three ground buses. One by the radiator, one in the cab, and one at the rear end. All three are connected by heavy gauge wire that connects back to the battery. Seemed easy enough and read too many posts of people with grounding problems.
'69 1/2T stepside, Sea Foam Green, 250 L6 w/ 3 on the tree, not an option on it, in the family since new.
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 940 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 940 | ^ Yeah. I was considering going the same route when I rewire everything. | | | | | Joined: Jan 2000 Posts: 124 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Jan 2000 Posts: 124 | Ground is your friend and when you have plenty of 'em life is good. The current from the battery needs the same good path going back to the battery as it had when it leaves the battery. Anything you do that blocks or slows down that path will upset the electrical gods who will immediately let you know that you did wrong... | | | | | Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 457 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 457 | I added a ground wire in the lamp housing, and grounded to the frame....just to be sure!
1940 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup "KC"
A day without sunshine is like, well, ..... dark!
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