the12volt.com spacer
the12volt.com spacer
the12volt.com spacer
the12volt.com spacer
icon

are my connections good for big 3


Post ReplyPost New Topic
< Prev Topic Next Topic >
rfhvhtoo 
Copper - Posts: 238
Copper spacespace
Joined: June 13, 2008
Location: Florida, United States
Posted: May 04, 2009 at 10:16 PM / IP Logged  

kenwood_nut wrote:
The engine block is always grounded to the frame. 

Alright what ive been hearing for my truck is

1/0 ground from battery to firewall

1/0 ground from battery to block
1/0 ground from chassis to block ( how do I go about doing the chassis to block connection? do i need to make my own?)
1/0 + from battery to Alternator

I can't hear you!
kenwood_nut 
Stock Boy - Posts: 227
Stock Boy spacespace
Joined: April 10, 2009
Location: Washington, United States
Posted: May 05, 2009 at 10:31 AM / IP Logged  

Battery to firewall?  You still have me baffled there, but it's your ride.  You should notice that there is a small braided steel strap attached to the passenger side of your engine on the back of the head that goes to the firewall. This completes the ground to the body.  You should also find a ground somewhere going to the frame.  If not, it would be easy to make your own with a cable and a couple terminals.  It doesn't really need to be a 1 or 0 gauge ground from the engine to the frame. Heck, an 8g is fine.  You should already find a hole somewhere to mount it to, but if not, all you really need to do is drill a small enough hole to get a sheetmetal screw into.  Some Fords actually used a seperate chassis ground that ran from the underside of the body to the frame rather than directly from the engine.  But since the engine gets the biggest ground from the battery, I would run mine directly from my block to frame even if there is one already under the car.  Just to make sure.  Again, you will most likely find a ground strap going to the firewall from the back of the right (passenger side) cylinder head.  You should also find a small ground strap identical to that one that runs from the firewall to the hood IF you don't have the factory Ford little metal flexible ground that contacts the hood when it's closed.  So, in my own opinion, although I'm far from being an ASE Certified Tech, is that simple small grounds from firewall to engine and hood are fine, then a 1g from the battery to the block.  As far as a ground directly from the battery to the firewall or fenderwell, I suppose a 1g would be okay but on Fords they never had more than a small 8g to the fenderwell from the battery. My present car, a Dodge Stratus, has a 1g ground to the fenderwell only because it branches off to the battery, which is inside the fender.  The mount a large post on on the strut tower so you can hook jumper cables or chargers to it.  But of all the cars I've owned in the last 35 years, more than 9 out of 10 have been Fords, and all but 2 were pre-emission cars from the 60's to 70's without all the extra crap they shove under the hoods of newer cars.  So I'm very familiar with Fords. The good thing here is that a ground from the battery to the firewall certainly won't harm anything, and will only make for more complete system grounds.  Most Ford dealers will print you out a page that shows engine electrical connections and grounds for free if they are good dealers.  If you ask the parts guys to look up Battery Ground or Ground Strap, their computers should show any and all grounds under the hood.  But I have no doubt someone from this forum will have the complete and better answer than mine.

So, yep, you're on the right track!  Keep up the good job of grounding stuff.  This shows a concern for safety as well as attention to detail.

Oh, the ground straps I'm speaking of on Fords look like these.  One is to the back of the right cylinder head, and the other is to the hood. This same type of strap will work for chassis ground.  You can snag one at a wrecking yard for under a buck I'm sure.

are my connections good for big 3 - Page 2 -- posted image.

are my connections good for big 3 - Page 2 -- posted image.

rfhvhtoo 
Copper - Posts: 238
Copper spacespace
Joined: June 13, 2008
Location: Florida, United States
Posted: May 06, 2009 at 12:37 AM / IP Logged  

Yes the rope wire i have seen before.

I have added 4 wires already ( All add-ons to OEM).

Battery (-) to firewall

Battery (-) to Starter/Tranny (im gonna guess that is part of the engine block?)

And Battery (+) to Alt

And A wire below the passenger door that is rope like the ones above^^^ in your pictures. they called it Cab to Chassis ground

Now that is 4 upgraded wires so far.

So The Engine Block to Chassis ground should be on the firewall in plain view from under the hood?

I can't hear you!
kenwood_nut 
Stock Boy - Posts: 227
Stock Boy spacespace
Joined: April 10, 2009
Location: Washington, United States
Posted: May 06, 2009 at 7:21 AM / IP Logged  
Yes.  You should be able to walk over to the passenger side and look toward the back of the engine and find it somewhere there.  If not, someone has removed it.  As for a ground at the starter, you just need to make sure the connection is to a bolt into the block and not the transmission bellhousing because the bellhouseing that the starter goes into is aluminum, not a good ground source.  Usually the battery's negative ground wire goes somewhere under the driver's cyclinder head to a bolt in the side of the block on whatever side your battery is on.  After you find or add the ground from engine to firewall, also make sure you find or add the ground to the hood.  It will either be a thin bent piece of metal or a strap, but the hood really does need to be grounded.  Hard to explain, but it does.  Hey, you're still on the right track.  Keep us posted.
rfhvhtoo 
Copper - Posts: 238
Copper spacespace
Joined: June 13, 2008
Location: Florida, United States
Posted: May 06, 2009 at 8:34 PM / IP Logged  

Alright yes I found the ground that goes from the engine to the firewall. It is flat but it has a black (probably electrical) tape wrapped around it so I cant see the design but im sure its the rope.

I also found the ground to the hood that is very small i'd guess 16awg and 6 inches at most. It is in the middle of the hinges so I will probably end up using some 0awg wire and 2 different bolts( but in the same areas as the original OEM bolts) and I will need to get more 0awg for the Engine to firewall as well.

Now will that Engine to Firewall cover the "Engine block to Chassis" ground? Or am i still missing that?

Oh and the ground bolt from my battery (-) to the Tranny/starter is a add on to an OEM connection. So i didnt just randomly put that there just to let you know.

I can't hear you!
kenwood_nut 
Stock Boy - Posts: 227
Stock Boy spacespace
Joined: April 10, 2009
Location: Washington, United States
Posted: May 06, 2009 at 8:44 PM / IP Logged  

Cool.  You're finding importand grounds, and that's a good thing!

Everything needs to be grounded, believe it or not, mainly because almost the entire vehicle is sitting or rubber in one way or another.  So, you'll want to check to make sure you have...

1. Battery to engine.

2. Engine to firewall.

3. Body to frame/chassis.

4. Hood.

As long as you have all 4 of these, you'll be rockin' out with the bad boys!

The motor mounts are rubber, and there are rubber spacers between the body (where you sit in the cab) and the frame.  And there is really nothing to the hood besides hinges, which are not really "secure" because they are loose.  So as long as you check and/or ground the above points you'll be good.  I hate to suggest it, but I hope you will lay under your ride and look for the ground that goes to the the frame rails from the body.  You should find one within a few feet from the engine/firewall area.  Once you find it, you're done!  If not, you should make your own.  It does not need to be much of a thick gauge.

Keep us posted, and good luck man!

rfhvhtoo 
Copper - Posts: 238
Copper spacespace
Joined: June 13, 2008
Location: Florida, United States
Posted: May 06, 2009 at 9:13 PM / IP Logged  
kenwood_nut wrote:

3. Body to frame/chassis.

Ok I have a ground done that looks the same ground done you have in the picture above with the rope wire done on my truck. Is that the same ground as body to frame/chassis? or should there be another?

The OEM wiring is about 6 inches and goes pretty much from the metal of the truck to the metal of the truck. which i would say has to be frame to chassis.

I should only be missing the hood ground and firewall to engine if that^^^ wire is correct.

I can't hear you!
rfhvhtoo 
Copper - Posts: 238
Copper spacespace
Joined: June 13, 2008
Location: Florida, United States
Posted: May 06, 2009 at 9:24 PM / IP Logged  

is 3.Body to frame/chassis what you meant when you said frame rails to body ?

I can't hear you!
kenwood_nut 
Stock Boy - Posts: 227
Stock Boy spacespace
Joined: April 10, 2009
Location: Washington, United States
Posted: May 06, 2009 at 10:28 PM / IP Logged  

I'd say you're good now!  The body to anywhere under the vehicle is going to be more than likely from the factory, so it's good.  And your firewall to engine that you already found sounds good.  So, looks like you're off and rolling! Oh, yes, I did mean "Body to frame/chassis". So, yes, you found the right one.  You're good now, man!

Oh, the ground to the hood can be as little as 16 gauge!  Really, they are never real thick from the factory, and many vehicles just use a thin metal strap. Since nothing is really "hooked up" to your hood, the hood really isn't critical as for the size of the ground.  Something simple will work. Heck, even a piece of speaker wire will do.  And hey, I'm as baffled as you are about the hood: I never really understood the reason for grounding the hood, but apparently it's important so I never really checked into it much more, and I've seen the hood grounds for many years.

Just wanted to reassure you that at first you may have thought I had experimented a bit too much with a green, leafy vegetable matter as a teen (which I did) and that I may have been trippin.  But you quickly found out that what I said you should find, you found. So I wasn't trippin.

Good luck, man, you're pretty much done with any and all grounds.  Now it's time to ground your stereo system.

rfhvhtoo 
Copper - Posts: 238
Copper spacespace
Joined: June 13, 2008
Location: Florida, United States
Posted: May 07, 2009 at 12:30 AM / IP Logged  

And I think I found the perfect Ground last weekend for my amps. You know where the bottom of the backseat is bolted to the frame of the truck (Not where the seatbelt starts but where it ends) well its on the ground and I took that up and scrapped the paint and added a 0gauge wire to a distributer.

Thanks man you;ve been a huge help. Hey I have no problem with the hood ground if the factory has it done then theres some type of theory behind it. So i'll stick with it.

Thanks again. You definately know your stuff and I definately needed to find someone that was deeper into the build of a vehicle then just a general area of where to put the wire. I needed details becuse if i dont understand the reasoning for something then I dont think I know my own stuff... and i like knowing my stuff are my connections good for big 3 - Page 2 -- posted image.

I can't hear you!
Page of 4

  Printable version Printable version Post ReplyPost New Topic
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

  •  
Search the12volt.com
Follow the12volt.com Follow the12volt.com on Facebook
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 • Copyright © 1999-2025 the12volt.com, All Rights Reserved Privacy Policy & Use of Cookies
Disclaimer: *All information on this site ( the12volt.com ) is provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to fitness for a particular use. Any user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and use of this information. Please verify all wire colors and diagrams before applying any information.

Secured by Sectigo
the12volt.com spacer
the12volt.com spacer
the12volt.com spacer
Support the12volt.com
Top
the12volt.com spacer
the12volt.com spacer